Spanish professors in the School of Modern Languages department are developing a Spanish/English Translation and Interpretation certification program at Santa Barbara City College.

“This has been an aspiration of the School of Modern Languages for some time,” Spanish professor Dr. Francisco Rodriguez said in an email.

This program is designed to assist professionals in the medical field, law enforcement and court of law with translating and interpreting with Spanish speaking citizens during everyday activities.

The need for Spanish speaking professionals in these professions has been on the rise in the United States over the past few years, according to PBS.

“We believe [this program] will help bilingual students who want to dive into the fascinating world of translation and interpretation services,” Rodriguez said.

In order for a career/technical certificate program such as this one to receive approval, it needs to be reviewed by the region to avoid competition amongst nearby colleges.

“We are in the process of requesting this approval,” Rodriguez said.

At the same time, a curriculum is being developed for each of the classes that will be offered, which must also be approved by City College’s Curriculum Committee.  The program must then be approved by the program evaluation committee.

“As you can see, this is a long process and we are in the middle of it,” Rodriguez said.

“I wanted to not only become bilingual, but to also search for opportunities where I could put my newly learned language to use,” said biology major Dunni Debeb, who is enrolled in a Spanish course at City College. “After learning about this up and coming certification program, I plan on going far in the Spanish department [class wise] and eventually trying out the program, if this whole bio thing doesn’t work out.”

Although this program is starting with Spanish, Rodriguez said he would like to serve many more students by expanding the program to the other 11 languages offered as City College classes.

If you are enrolled in a Spanish course and would like more information on the program, you can contact either Dr. Rodriguez via email or schedule an appointment with department chair Dr. Dina Castillo at (805)965-4208.