Best Interpreter programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Interpret oral or sign language, or translate written text from one language into.
14 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 164 people a year. The job pays a median of $53,590 in Kentucky across about 480 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
14 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish Language and Literaturemain feeder CIP 16.0905In Kentucky → | 68 | 41.5% | 11 | $34,541 | $22,748 |
| 2 | Deaf Studiesmain feeder CIP 05.0211In Kentucky → | 20 | 12.2% | 1 | $31,459 | $23,000 |
| 3 | Chinese Language and Literaturemain feeder CIP 16.0301In Kentucky → | 17 | 10.4% | 2 | $27,331 | $20,685 |
| 4 | CIP 16.9999In Kentucky → | 11 | 6.7% | 1 | $34,944 | $24,828 |
| 5 | Linguisticsmain feeder CIP 16.0102In Kentucky → | 9 | 5.5% | 1 | $27,449 | $20,824 |
| 6 | French Language and Literaturemain feeder CIP 16.0901In Kentucky → | 8 | 4.9% | 6 | $34,541 | $22,748 |
| 7 | German Language and Literaturemain feeder CIP 16.0501In Kentucky → | 7 | 4.3% | 5 | $44,390 | $23,202 |
| 8 | CIP 16.1200In Kentucky → | 6 | 3.7% | 2 | — | $22,560 |
| 9 | Sign Language Interpretation and Translationmain feeder CIP 16.1603In Kentucky → | 5 | 3.0% | 1 | $32,695 | $25,209 |
| 10 | CIP 13.1003In Kentucky → | 4 | 2.4% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 11 | Japanese Language and Literaturemain feeder CIP 16.0302In Kentucky → | 3 | 1.8% | 1 | $27,331 | $20,685 |
| 12 | Latin Language and Literaturemain feeder CIP 16.1203In Kentucky → | 3 | 1.8% | 1 | — | $22,560 |
| 13 | Foreign Languages and Literatures, Generalmain feeder CIP 16.0101In Kentucky → | 2 | 1.2% | 1 | $27,449 | $20,824 |
| 14 | Arabic Language and Literaturemain feeder CIP 16.1101In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.6% | 1 | $48,355 | $15,526 |
Top 14 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 14 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 4 feeder programs | 49 | Deaf Studies | — | 56% | — | 94% |
| 2 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 6 feeder programs | 35 | Spanish Language and Literature | — | 71% | — | 93% |
| 3 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Spanish Language and Literature | — | 50% | — | 78% |
| 4 | Murray State University Murray, KY Public · 4 feeder programs | 15 | Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other | — | 61% | — | 86% |
| 5 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 3 feeder programs | 14 | Spanish Language and Literature | — | 61% | — | 79% |
| 6 | Centre College Danville, KY Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 11 | Spanish Language and Literature | $19,503 | 81% | $18,407 | 54% |
| 7 | Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY Public · 4 feeder programs | 8 | Japanese Language and Literature | — | 52% | — | 68% |
| 8 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Spanish Language and Literature | — | 52% | — | 77% |
| 9 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 3 | Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 10 | Berea College Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Spanish Language and Literature | — | 58% | $5,274 | 19% |
| 11 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Foreign Languages and Literatures, General | — | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 12 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Spanish Language and Literature | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 13 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Spanish Language and Literature | — | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 14 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | German Language and Literature | — | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
All 14 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky University | Bowling Green | Public | 49 | 4 |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 35 | 6 |
| Eastern Kentucky University | Richmond | Public | 17 | 2 |
| Murray State University | Murray | Public | 15 | 4 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 14 | 3 |
| Centre College | Danville | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 4 |
| Northern Kentucky University | Highland Heights | Public | 8 | 4 |
| Morehead State University | Morehead | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Asbury University | Wilmore | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 2 |
| Berea College | Berea | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Georgetown College | Georgetown | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What interpreters and translators earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $60,170. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Kentucky
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Interpreters and Translators page.
How to become a Interpreter
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 25 majors mapped to Interpreters and Translators17 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 05.0211Deaf Studies
- 13.1003Education/Teaching of Individuals with Hearing Impairments Including Deafness
- 16.0101Foreign Languages and Literatures, General
- 16.0102Linguistics
- 16.0103Language Interpretation and Translation
- 16.0105Applied Linguistics
- 16.0201African Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
- 16.0300East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
- 16.0301Chinese Language and Literature
- 16.0302Japanese Language and Literature
- 16.0303Korean Language and Literature
- 16.0304Tibetan Language and Literature(no graduates reported)
- 16.0399East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
- 16.0400Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
- 16.0401Baltic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics(no graduates reported)
- 16.0402Russian Language and Literature
- 16.0404Albanian Language and Literature(no graduates reported)
- 16.0405Bulgarian Language and Literature(no graduates reported)
- 16.0406Czech Language and Literature(no graduates reported)
- 16.0407Polish Language and Literature
- 16.0408Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian Languages and Literatures(no graduates reported)
- 16.0409Slovak Language and Literature(no graduates reported)
- 16.0410Ukrainian Language and Literature(no graduates reported)
- 16.0499Slavic, Baltic, and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
- 16.0500Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing interpreters and translators programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become an Interpreter?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Spanish Language and Literature, which awarded 68 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 41.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Interpreter?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 14 programs to this occupation. The largest are Romance Languages, Ethnic, East Asian Languages, Linguistic, plus 6 more. Together they graduate about 164 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do interpreters and translators earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $53,590 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 10.9% below the U.S. median of $60,170. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for interpreters and translators growing?+
BLS projects a +1.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 6,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
14 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 14 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do interpreters and translators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Translator, Interpreter, Medical Interpreter, Sign Language Interpreter among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-3091.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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