Judicial interpretation education in U.S. colleges and universities: The path to academic recognition

As education programs preparing interpreters for legal settings gain visibility in academia, the need to analyze the associated teaching and learning processes becomes more pressing. Voids in interpreter education can be as simple as a lack of consensus on the profession’s name (court, judicial, or legal interpreting or interpretation) or as fundamental as how to assess student learning outcomes and even what those outcomes should be. The lack of research to assist in the development of standards and teaching methodologies in interpreter education prompted the authors to conduct a study of interpreting programs and courses taught in colleges and universities in the United States. The study sought to identify the level of courses taught, faculty credentials, similarities and differences in pedagogy, the use or development of tools to assess student learning outcomes, and other characteristics of the programs. The study is expected to provide the basis not just for further research, but also engagement between academia and key stakeholders to fill voids in interpreter education and contribute to the development of teaching standards and methodologies for the field.