The A. Eugene and Bernice Hoeper ASL and Interpreting Program
Study Deaf culture and become proficient in American Sign Language (ASL). In addition to learning American Sign Language, you can also prepare to professionally interpret between ASL and English in a high paying, in-demand career.
CCBC offers two degree tracks and two certificate tracks for you to pursue, depending on your current level of fluency, and your post-graduation goals. Our students receive experiential and service learning opportunities, video lab assignments and on-site observations, creating a holistic learning experience to hone practical skills and expand theoretical knowledge.
Looking for continuing education options? If you are already a working interpreter, CCBC offers several ways to advance your career.
CCBC completely shaped the outlook of my interpreting career. I came in on the fence about the whole field after earning my bachelor's degree and left confident that this is what I could and would be able to do.
Take the next steps!
The ASL screening is a half-hour appointment with one of CCBC's deaf instructors to assess your ASL proficiency. CCBC will place you in the appropriate level of ASL coursework based on your ASL expressive and receptive skills. You must have some fluency in American Sign Language to test out of some or all of CCBC's ASL classes (ASL I — ASL V). Candidates usually have either already taken formal ASL classes or have deaf relatives, friends or co-workers who they communicate with on a regular basis.
Students who are screened out of any course work pay the Credit By Exam fee for the waived courses (currently 50% of the current in-county tuition rate).
If you are already an interpreter, these new classes could be a great option for continuing education credit.
Mrs. Bernice Hoeper and the Hoeper Foundation have given CCBC more than $1 million in endowment funding to support scholarships for the college’s ASL and Interpreter Preparation students.
To honor and recognize the late Bernice Hoeper and her husband, Eugene, in 2018 the CCBC Interpreter Preparation program was dedicated in their names, and the program’s Learning Lab was renamed in honor of their foundation.
Department Chair, Communication Arts
Assistant Professor, Interpreter Preparation Program Coordinator
Associate Professor ASL & Deaf Culture Program Coordinator