College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies
www.kent.edu/mcls

About This Program

Our Bachelor of Science in Translation combines language proficiency with cultural competency to prepare you for a career as a professional translator. With experienced faculty, immersive learning opportunities and access to state-of-the-art resources, you will gain the skills needed to bridge language barriers and foster cross-cultural communication. Read more...

Contact Information

• Geoff Koby | gkoby@kent.edu | 330-672-1814
• Speak with an Advisor
• Chat with an Admissions Counselor

Program Delivery

• Delivery:
  • In person
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

Applications to the Russian concentration are not being accepted at this time.

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries*

^{* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.}

Admission Requirements

Applications to the Russian concentration are not being accepted at this time.

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

¹

ENG 20002 is recommended for students pursuing a technology-related minor, certificate or second major; ENG 30063 is recommended for students pursuing a business-related minor, certificate or second major.

²

Students must declare and complete a minimum of 18 credit hours in a minor, certificate or second major subject to department faculty advisor approval in a field related to business, technology, health, medicine, science, law, politics or other field in which there is currently a high demand for translators.

Arabic Concentration Requirements

French Concentration Requirements

¹

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement. Students may also fulfill this requirement by earning a minimum C grade in any of the language-specific advanced translation practice courses or a language-specific elective that is designated as writing-intensive.

German Concentration Requirements

¹

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement. Students may also fulfill this requirement by earning a minimum C grade in any of the language-specific advanced translation practice courses or a language-specific elective that is designated as writing-intensive.

Russian Concentration Requirements

¹

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement. Students may also fulfill this requirement by earning a minimum C grade in any of the language-specific advanced translation practice courses or a language-specific elective that is designated as writing-intensive.

Spanish Concentration Requirements

¹

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement. Students may also fulfill this requirement by earning a minimum C grade in any of the language-specific advanced translation practice courses or a language-specific elective that is designated as writing-intensive.

Graduation Requirements

• Students are expected to start in a course appropriate to their language proficiency level. Students lacking in sufficient proficiency to take the first concentration course can reach it by taking courses in the prerequisite sequence based on their placement score and high school training. One or more of the prerequisites may be waived with demonstrated proficiency through the Kent State placement test, AP, CLEP, International Baccalaureate, official ACTFL Proficiency Rating or another department-approved assessment.
• Students who fulfill the college language requirement in fewer than 8 credit hours as a result of proficiency will complete remaining hours with general electives. Completion of first junior-level course completes the College of Arts and Sciences foreign language requirement.

Program Note

• Some courses in the Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies are offered on a rotating basis, and course availability may change at any time. Please see the program coordinator or your academic advisor for course planning.

Foreign Language College Requirement, B.S.

• Students pursuing the Bachelor of Science degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 8 credit hours of foreign language.¹ 
• The following programs are exempt from this requirement: The Bachelor of Science in Cybercriminology and the Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science.²
• Minimum Elementary I and II of the same language

¹

All students with prior foreign language experience should take the foreign language placement test to determine the appropriate level at which to start. Some students may start beyond the Elementary I level and will complete the requirement with fewer credit hours and courses. This may be accomplished by (1) passing a course beyond Elementary I through Intermediate II level; (2) receiving credit through one of the alternative credit programs offered by Kent State University; or (3) demonstrating language proficiency comparable to Elementary II of a foreign language. When students complete the requirement with fewer than 8 credit hours and two courses, they will complete remaining credit hours with general electives.

²

The Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science exemption exists under another college policy (Three-Plus-One Programs). The Bachelor of Science in Cybercriminology exemption is due to its extensive collaboration with and contribution from the Information Technology program in the College of Applied and Technical Studies, which does not have a foreign language requirement.

Roadmaps

Arabic Concentration

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

French Concentration

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

German Concentration

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Russian Concentration

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Spanish Concentration

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

University Requirements

All students in a bachelor's degree program at Kent State University must complete the following university requirements for graduation.

NOTE: University requirements may be fulfilled in this program by specific course requirements. Please see Program Requirements for details.

Kent Core Requirements

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Participate in most informal and some formal conversations with sufficient accuracy, clarity and precision to convey their intended message without misrepresentation or confusion and identify the cultural variables likely to lead to misunderstanding when communicating in their language pair.
2. Compose routine social correspondence and write summaries, narratives and descriptions of a factual nature needed in a professional context (i.e., business letters, memos, commercial and legal forms, etc.) in their non-native language.
3. Translate short general and semi-specialized texts in various domains and in a variety of translation contexts from the source language into their native language with a basic understanding of translation principles and text features relevant in the translation decision-making process.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the typical life cycle of multilingual information in the language industry and common computer applications used by translators.

Full Description

The Bachelor of Science degree in Translation is a pre-professional program designed for students who are seeking the more professional focus and interdisciplinary breadth that the B.S. degree offers with the inclusion of a minor, double major or certificate to develop the skills needed to translate in a professional setting. It introduces the basics of translation theory as it applies to the actual practice of translation.

The requirement of a minor, certificate or second major enables students to acquire a level of expertise in a specific field in which they can specialize as translators. This degree also enables students to have a major and a minor that make them more competitive and prepare them for a sector that the U.S. Department of Labor projects as one of the fastest-growing sectors globally. Translation majors are strongly encouraged to undertake study in a country where their language concentration is spoken so that they can achieve the necessary proficiency level. Skills necessary include an excellent command of the source language, an excellent command of the target language, cultural knowledge, specialist knowledge, research competence, terminological competence, technological competence, an understanding of the translation industry and transfer competence.

Graduates may enter graduate programs in translation (the professional degree) or go on to work for government, business, industry or translation agencies, or as freelance translators.

The Translation major comprises the following concentrations:

• Arabic
• French
• German
• Russian - Applications to the Russian concentration are not being accepted at this time.
• Spanish

Many study abroad opportunities exist, including:

• France: Université Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux III, Bordeaux (all class standings, all majors/minors)
• Germany: Julius-Maximilian-Universität Würzburg, Würzbug (all class standings, all majors/minors)
• Germany: Universität Leipzig, Leipzig (intermediate German language proficiency required)
• Spain: Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid (all class standings, all majors/minors)
• Spain: Universidad Europea de Valencia, Valencia