Application FAQs
Go to Apply Yourself and set up an account. Here you will fill out the basic questions and upload your transcripts, personal statement, and 2 letters of recommendation.
The minimum graduate admission requirements are:
- A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution.
- A satisfactory GPA, usually a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale.
- Two letters of recommendation: one academic and one professional (from a job or internship supervisor.
- A personal statement (in English) where you declare bilingual and biliterate proficiency. Note: Your language pairing must be English paired with one of the following languages: Chinese, Russian or Spanish.
As a terminal MA in a professional field of study, the MATI program does not require GRE scores.
The personal statement is a 500-word essay in English that you will submit to let us know who you are in your own voice. Here, you should detail your academic background and profession experience (if any) and reflect on why you have decided to pursue studies in translation and interpreting. IMPORTANT: Discuss your language background and declare Language A and B.
Follow the guidelines provided on the program web page concerning the definition of Language A and B. In your personal statement describe how you acquired Language A and B–for example, language(s) spoken at home, learned while living overseas, length of time studying one or the other, which language you read and write in and so on. If you are unsure as to which language counts as A or B, you may assign A and B randomly and clarify during your interview with the faculty advisor.
The language proficiency interview will be a 20-30 minute meeting held with a faculty advisor via phone or video conferencing (Skype, Zoom, or WebEx).
The first 10-15 minutes will be a general conversation in the two languages that you have declared (and here you may opt to demonstrate your interpreting skills); the second 10-15 minutes are allotted to written language verification for Language A. Here you’ll be provided with a prompt and you will have 10 minutes to write a short written response and submit by email to the faculty advisor.
The meeting concludes upon the advisor’s receipt of your response.
Within the week of the interview, the faculty advisor will provide the results as Pass or Fail or may reach out to you to further advise.
As a recent Hunter graduate, your application fee is waived; if you graduated as a BA major in Chinese-, Russian- or Spanish translation and interpreting, you will be exempt from the language proficiency interview.
Yes, you may apply if you have completed a bachelor’s degree (or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution) and possess oral and written proficiency in English and another language such as Chinese, Russian or Spanish.* If you have not taken any translation courses and have no prior professional experience in translation or interpreting, you may be required to take one extra language course in your first semester.
*If you plan to work a language other than Chinese, Russian, or Spanish, please contact the program director at jt3361@hunter.cuny.edu before applying.
There is no deadline. The program accepts students on a rolling admissions basis which means you may start in the Fall (September) or Spring (January) semester, whichever is the next upcoming term nearest to the time you receive notice of official acceptance. If you’re applying early, say, in winter for next fall, state so in your personal statement and write to the program director jt3361@hunter.cuny.edu.
Yes, if you’ve obtained a 4-year bachelor’s degree you are eligible to enroll in classes as a non-degree student; you could also join a class while your application to the MATI is under review. Any courses you take as a non-degree student may be credited to the MATI degree once you are matriculated with the MATI program.
Enroll as a Non-Degree Grad StudentA master’s level course completed in a comparable translation and interpreting program of an accredited institution may be eligible for credit transfer subject to the approval of the program director. Upon admission to Hunter, ask for a Credit Transfer form to fill out and submit to the program director. Note: Credit transfer prior to admissions is limited to three courses; only relevant courses awarded a grade of ‘B’ or higher may be considered for credit transfer.
Students who have completed all or part of their post-secondary education and who obtained a bachelor’s degree in a language other than English will be required to submit their TOEFL scores. To be eligible for graduate studies Hunter School of Arts and Science requires a minimum score 80 IBT, 213 CBT or 550 on the paper administered test.
No, you are not required to submit test scores to apply. If you’ve already taken the ACTFL tests at some point prior, you may include your scores in this application (as a reference), but these will not exempt you from the language proficiency interview in Chinese, Russian or Spanish.