Spanish Translation and Interpretation

Careers

We have a well-connected and influential alumni network that is eager to help you launch your career. Our recent graduates are sought after around the world by high-profile government and intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations, Organization of American States, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Inter-American Investment Corporation, Bank for International Settlements, and U.S. Department of State’s Office of Language Services. They also work for language service companies and educational and nonprofit organizations. Many thrive as freelance translators and interpreters.

As the Spanish-speaking population continues to grow in the U.S., our alumni are in great demand for court, medical, conference, and diplomatic translation and interpretation.

We offer a special training module to help our students prepare for the United Nations language competitive exam for Spanish.

Internships

During the summer and winter breaks, students take advantage of internship opportunities at organizations like the U.S. Commercial Service, the United Nations, and Stanford Health Care.

During the semester, our location in Northern California provides students with numerous opportunities to interpret and translate for nonprofit organizations and community events in areas such as health care, agriculture, education, IT, and outreach.

Course Work

Thanks to our small class sizes, you will receive individual attention, immediate feedback, and intensive mentoring from your professors, greatly accelerating your development. This also means you will have more hours of practice in our interpretation booths, giving you a competitive edge once you graduate.

We integrate the latest technology trends into the classroom. As a result, our Spanish translation students learn to work with online corpora, term banks, and other common CAT tools, while our Spanish interpretation students explore new technologies, such as remote interpreting platforms, and interpret for live webcasts of high-profile campus events.

Our students can choose electives such as Community Interpreting as a Profession, as well as medical and legal interpreting classes.

International Students

Our international students greatly benefit from the immersive English environment at the Middlebury Institute. Upon graduation, international students may be able to take advantage of Optional Practical Training (OPT) to work in the U.S. for a year (or two years for Translation and Localization Management graduates).

Students from Spain may be able to take advantage of Fulbright and la Caixa scholarships or the European Commission Bursary for Conference Interpreters to fund their education.

Faculty

Our faculty are active professionals who bring a broad range of experience and expertise to their teaching, having translated and interpreted for organizations such as the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Olympic Committee, local Silicon Valley IT companies, high-profile international conferences, and many more. They foster strong mentoring relationships with students, providing guidance on academic performance and career opportunities.

News

Up to the Test: Passing the United Nations Exams for Interpreters

How recent Middlebury Institute graduate Gustavo Mercado MACI ’19 passed one of the United Nation’s most difficult interpretation examinations. Read more.

Student Wins World Literature Today Translation Contest

In her second year in the Spanish translation and interpretation program, Samantha Vila won the World Literature Today student translation contest. Read more

Leader in Residence Alumna Lorena Ortiz Schneider Shares Insights from a Career in Language Services

As part of the Middlebury Institute’s Leaders in Residence program, alumna Lorena Ortiz Schneider, a 1992 graduate of our translation and interpretation programs, recently presented three sessions for students sharing experiences and insights from her 30-year career in language services. Read more.

Three Institute Students Excel in UN Translation Contest

Once again, Middlebury Institute students excelled in the United Nations-sponsored St. Jerome’s Translation Contest. Held for the 14th time in 2019, the contest is organized by the Conference Management Service of the United Nations at Vienna. Read more