Program Overview

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BA (Hons) British Sign Language (Interpreting)

Overview

The BA (Hons) British Sign Language (Interpreting) is a long established and highly respected course with a team of Deaf and hearing staff from diverse backgrounds.

Award

• BA (Hons)

Start Date

• 15 September 2025

UCAS Code

• Q1AL

Course Specifications

• View course spec

Course Length

• Part-time (6 years)
• Full-time (3 years)

Campus Location

• University: City Campus

School

• School of Social Science and Humanities

UCAS Points Calculator

• Open Points Calculator

Why Choose This Course?

The BA (Hons) British Sign Language (Interpreting) is one of the few courses of its kind in British Sign Language (Interpreting) in the UK. The award offers the potential to lead to Trainee interpreter or Registered Sign Language Interpreter status recognised by the professional registration body - the NRCPD.

What's Unique About This Course?

• The course makes use of innovative teaching and learning practices in simulated learning environments.
• Throughout the years, staff have been nominated for various awards in recognition of support for students and innovation in teaching.
• External examiners through the years have commented on the high standard of teaching and varied assessment.

What Happens on the Course?

Our BA British Sign language (Interpreting) course provides a unique course which engages with the local community to provide students with current research and good links with the deaf community. Our ongoing research within the team feeds directly into and informs our teaching on the programme.

Subject Areas

• Modules across the programme are designed to introduce you to the topics of linguistics, language, culture, deaf history, deafblindness, interpreting, translation and the wider deaf community and its heritage.
• Modules are designed to help you develop a range of study related skills, such as research, communication, essay writing and presentations.

Work Placement Experience

• The course has links with a range of organisations, educational establishments, and freelance interpreters across the country who offer opportunities to our BA (Hons) Interpreting Students each year.

Facilities

• A range of environments are used for our teaching. These include traditional style classrooms as well as other environments for simulated learning experiences.
• You will also have access to information for your subjects via our virtual learning environment – Canvas

Assessments

• You will be assessed in many different ways, through academic assignments such as essays and case studies, presentations, observations, reflective/critical writing and presenting a portfolio of work as part of your work placement experience.

Links and Collaborations

• We work closely with other subject areas, e.g. nursing and social work to create authentic interpreting scenarios.
• We have many links with local organisations and strongly encourage students to take up volunteering opportunities with organisations such as Zebra Access, Sandwell Deaf Association, BID, Deafblind UK, NDCS to name but a few.

Course Modules

Year 1

• British Sign Language 1
  • Module: 4DI001
  • Credits: 40
  • Period: 1
  • Type: Core
• British Sign Language 2
  • Module: 4DI004
  • Credits: 40
  • Period: 1
  • Type: Core
• Deaf History and Heritages
  • Module: 4DI003
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 1
  • Type: Core
• Linguistics: British Sign Language
  • Module: 4DI002
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 1
  • Type: Core

Year 2

• British Sign Language 3
  • Module: 5DI001
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 2
  • Type: Core
• British Sign Language 4
  • Module: 5DI004
  • Credits: 40
  • Period: 2
  • Type: Core
• Deafblindness: Practical and Social Issues
  • Module: 5DI003
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 2
  • Type: Core
• Flourishing Deaf Lives
  • Module: 5DI002
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 2
  • Type: Core
• Interpreting 1
  • Module: 5DI006
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 2
  • Type: Core

Year 3

• Interpreting 2
  • Module: 6DI003
  • Credits: 40
  • Period: 3
  • Type: Core
• Translation: Sight and Immediate
  • Module: 6DI002
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 3
  • Type: Core
• Work Placement
  • Module: 6DI008
  • Credits: 40
  • Period: 3
  • Type: Core
• Educating Deaf Children and Young People
  • Module: 6DI004
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 3
  • Type: Optional
• Welfare and Campaigning by Deaf Communities
  • Module: 6DI005
  • Credits: 20
  • Period: 3
  • Type: Optional

Potential Career Paths

• British Sign Language Interpreter
• Communication Support Worker
• Deaf Support Worker
• Video Relay Interpreter
• Sign Language Tutor
• Community Interpreter
• Educational Interpreter
• Sign Language Translator
• Freelance Sign Language Interpreter
• Access Coordinator
• Deaf Services Coordinator
• In-House Sign Language Interpreter
• Health and Social Care Interpreter
• Conference Interpreter
• Sign Language Advocacy Specialist
• Language Accessibility Specialist
• Courtroom Sign Language Interpreter
• Theatre and Arts Interpreter
• Deaf Awareness Trainer
• BSL Researcher

Additional Information

• Everything you need to know about this course!

Why Wolverhampton?

• The BA (Hons) British Sign Language (Interpreting) is one of the few in the country.
• The course is taught by a well-established and long-standing team of deaf and hearing staff from diverse backgrounds, with many years of experience and well known within their field.
• The course makes use of innovative teaching and learning practices in simulated learning environments.
• Throughout the years, staff have been nominated for various awards in recognition of support for students and innovation in teaching.
• External examiners through the years have commented on the high standard of teaching and varied assessment.

What Skills Will You Gain?

• On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate advanced bilingual, bi-cultural skills and intercultural competence.
  • Use a range of established techniques to initiate and undertake analysis of information, including your professional performance and be able to propose solutions to problems arising from that analysis.
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply the theories of linguistics, translation and interpreting to professional practice.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the well-established principles of your area(s) of study, and of the way in which those principles have developed with an understanding of the limits of your knowledge and skills, and how this influences analyses and interpretations based on that knowledge.
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply underlying concepts and principles outside the context in which they were first studied, including, where appropriate, the application of those principles in an employment context.

Course Fees and Finance

• Location | Mode | Fee | Year
  • Home | Full-time | £9250 per year |
  • Home | Full-time | £9535 per year |
  • Home | Part-time | £4625 per year# |
  • Home | Part-time | £4768 per year# |
  • International | Full-time | £14950 per year |
  • International | Full-time | £15995 per year |

Entry Requirements

• Typical entry requirement: 96 UCAS points
  • A Levels - grades CCC / BCD
  • BTEC L3 Extended Diploma or OCR Cambridge L3 Technical Extended Diploma - grades MMM
  • BTEC L3 Diploma - grades DD
  • Access to HE Diploma (60 credits) of which a minimum of 45 must be at Level 3 (96 UCAS point equivalence, minimum 45 credits at merit)

Other Requirements

• Students must have studied a minimum of two years post GCSE level. However, it is expected that some applicants will be mature students with work experience, who wish to further their career development. These applicants will be processed through standard procedures, which may involve an interview as part of the process.
• An Enhanced DBS Police Check is required prior to attending the final year work placement modules. Your tutors will notify you when to start this process.

What Our Students Say

• 'I completed my studies in April 2022, since then I have worked several freelance bookings and in June 2022 I began working as an interpreter at an agency in London. My time at university prepared me for my current role as I have gained an awareness of the Deaf community, their culture, and their language. From the ‘Consecutive’ and ‘Simultaneous’ interpreting modules, I developed the critical thinking skills to decipher a speech in order to translate meaning accurately. Before starting my course, I had minimal to no BSL ability, I only knew the alphabet, but through the completion of my studies I have achieved Level 6 proficiency.'

Who Accredits This Course?

• National Register of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind people, the (NRCPD)
• Accredited by the National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) for the purpose of fulfilling the educational requirements to become a Registered Sign Language Interpreter.

Funding

• Tuition Fees Loan(Home Fee Status):
  • Most students will be able to apply for a loans to pay for these subject to eligibility. To find out more information please refer to the government Student Finance website.
• Changes for EU students:
  • The UK government has confirmed that EU students starting courses from 1 August 2021 will normally be classified as having Overseas Fee status. More information about the change is available at UKCISA:
• Self-funding:
  • If you don’t want to take out a loan to pay your fees or if you aren’t eligible to receive a loan, you might want to take advantage of the University’s scheme to pay by instalments: See How to pay.
• Your employer, embassy or organisation can pay for your Tuition fees:
  • If your employer, embassy or organisation agrees to pay all or part of your tuition fees; the University will refer to them as your sponsor and will invoice them for the appropriate amount.
• Financial Hardship:
  • Students can apply to the Dennis Turner Opportunity Fund. for help with course related costs however this cannot be used for fees or to cover general living costs.
• Bursaries and Scholarships:
  • In addition the University also offers a range of Bursaries and Scholarships packages
  • You can find more information on the University’s Funding, cost, fee and support pages.

Contact Us

• Telephone:
• Email:
• Online: Order a prospectus

How We Compare

• Find out how our course is rated on Discover Uni, the official website for comparing UK higher education courses
• Full-time Course:
  • 86%say staff value students views and opinions about the course
  • 100%of students say teaching staff have supported their learning well.
  • 90%in work or doing further study 15 months after the course.
• Part-time Course:
  • British Sign Language (Interpreting) at University of Wolverhampton
  • To see official information about this course and others visit Discover Uni.
  • Make an informed choice.

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• BA (Hons) British Sign Language (Interpreting) - University of Wolverhampton
• Apply for British Sign Language (Interpreting)
  • BA (Hons) Part-time 6 years, Full-time 3 years
• Course Options
  • Location | Study mode | Duration | Start date |
  • University: City Campus | Part-time | 6 years | 15 September 2025 | Apply Directly
  • University: City Campus | Full-time | 3 years | 15 September 2025 | Apply via UCAS

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