College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences > Academics > Modern Languages > Student Resources > Translator & Interpreter Corps > About Us

About Us

​​The Translator and Interpreter Corps (TIC) gives its student employees, who are proficient in at least one foreign language, the opportunity to provide translation and interpreting services to clients across Chicagoland and beyond. TIC students gain valuable experience in translation and interpreting as they help break down language barriers and build bridges between cultures.

TIC provides students with a unique opportunity to use their language skills in the service of others as they develop competencies that may serve them in the future. TIC students work with the support and guidance of the Director of TIC and other faculty from the Department of Modern Languages.

TIC offers a limited number of student worker positions depending on current and projected needs. To inquire whether TIC is currently accepting applications, or for any other information about TIC, please contact Elias Shakkour, Director of TIC, at tic@depaul.edu.

Mission

The Translator and Interpreter Corps (“TIC”) is a student-centered language access service housed in the Department of Modern Languages (“MOL”) at DePaul University. Our mission is to provide language students in MOL and across the university with real-world experiences by offering translation, interpreting, and related services to organizations who need them. TIC makes its services available by hiring student workers to complete assigned projects in their language pair(s). The services are offered pro bono to community organizations that do not have the resources to obtain them otherwise. Through TIC, student translators and interpreters develop and utilize language and professional skills as they carry out DePaul’s Vincentian mission of service.

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TIC was originally founded through support from the MacArthur Foundation, as an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Law School’s Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic and the Department of Modern Languages. Since the fall of 2019, TIC has been housed in and funded by the Department of Modern Languages.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the translation and interpreting professions are projected to grow by 18% by 2026. Despite the aid of machine translation and other tools, nuanced human intervention remains essential, hence the need for talented translators and interpreters.

Additionally, translation and interpreting skills are advantageous in many careers, as there are a host of areas that intersect with translation and interpreting, such as scientific and medical research, business operations, literature, trade and patent work, media, immigration and legal services, government and intergovernmental positions, education, medicine, museology, and archaeology. The skills acquired through TIC work have lasting professional value across a variety of disciplines and fields.

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