Frequently Asked Questions

Noncredit classes are open-enrollment, professionally focused or personal enrichment classes that provide maximum flexibility to create a personalized educational experience. Certificates are open-enrollment credentials for those who wish to gain a broad-based understanding of a field as a career path or for career change.

Noncredit classes and certificates are not applicable toward a degree. For information on CALA's graduate degree programs, see MS in Professional Writing and MS in Translation.

Please contact the Office of Noncredit Student Services at (212) 998-7200 or email sps.info@nyu.edu.

Professional Pathways

Register for Courses

Syllabi are available to registered students in NYU Classes (NYU’s learning management system)  or given out during your first class session. You will receive more information about NYU Classes in your registration confirmation. For additional assistance in accessing and using NYU Classes, please refer to NYU’s NYU Classes Guide.

You should receive an email from the SPS Office of Noncredit Student Services once your room is assigned. If you do not, please contact them at 212-998-7200 or sps.info@nyu.edu. 

Once you are registered for a course, you can view class attendance policies  on your syllabus or contact your instructor. Students who have not registered for a course should contact our department at sps.cala@nyu.edu. We are unable to provide the contact information of our faculty members to unregistered students.

Please send your questions to sps.cala@nyu.edu and they  will be forwarded to the instructor.

Registration opens in July for Fall courses, in  November for Spring courses, and in March for Summer courses.  We highly recommend registering at least one week prior to the course start date.

Students who are currently enrolled in noncredit courses at SPS are issued a building access pass which gains you access to your classroom building. Please bring the registration confirmation you receive from the Office of Noncredit Services on your initial visit to NYU. An SPS staff member will distribute passes at the assigned location on the first day of class. Students are expected to carry their building access pass, along with a personal photo ID and their NYU registration confirmation at all times.

Refer to the links below for more information about specific certificate programs available at the Center for Applied Liberal arts. For more information about general Certificate benefits and requirements, please refer to the NYU SPS website https://www.sps.nyu.edu/professional-pathways/certificates.html

Certificate in Translation Essentials

Certificate in Filmmaking

Certificate in Storytelling: Narrative Tools and Applications

Certificate in Arts Management

Certificate in Historic Preservation Studies

Certificate in Effective Business Writing

You will need to submit the online Certificate Declaration Form to sps.certificate@nyu.edu before the end of your first course.

We do not provide students with copies of software for their personal computers. However, students will have access on classroom computers and in labs during open hours. If you choose to purchase your own copy, you may be entitled to a student discount and/or free trial.

E-mail CALA at sps.cala@nyu.edu or call 212-998-7272 and address your query to:

Angela Vara - History and Culture, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Theater, Music and Acting, Graphic Design

Andrew Dicus - Writing and Publishing

Miguel Ortiz-Crane - Filmmaking, Interpreting, Translation, 3D Design

Alicia Kubes - Arts, Historic Preservation, Interior Design

Suzanne Kaplan-Fonseca - Foreign Languages

This information is available on the course syllabus. The course syllabus will be made available on NYU Classes or it will be e-mailed by the instructor before the class start date or handed out in the first class session.

This information is available on the course syllabus. The course syllabus will be made available on NYU Classes or it will be e-mailed by the instructor before the class start date or handed out in the first class session.

No, our translation courses are open enrollment.

The program is entirely online and asynchronous, which means that while the courses have specific start dates, end dates, and weekly assignment deadlines, there are no required class meeting times. This format allows you to learn largely at your own pace and on your own schedule from anywhere in the world.

Language-neutral simply means that the course is designed to accommodate students from any language pair. It is important to note that even if you are enrolled in a language-neutral course or program, you will be conducting work in your specific language-pair, which is why you are required to specify one before you enroll (it is not specified during the registration process, but we will reach out and ask before the start of the semester).

Each of our translation courses is currently $795. Since they are non-credit courses, there is no financial aid available, but you may contact the Registration department at (212) 998-7150 to learn more about payment plans and eligibility requirements.

While our Certificate in Translation Industry Essentials does provide a prestigious professional credential, "certification" cannot be achieved through any educational course alone - not ours, and not any other institution’s.  For translation, certification is offered through the ATA (American Translators Association) in specific language pairs; and legal "certification" is commonly done on a state-by-state basis, through your state's court system (a lengthy, involved and thoroughly challenging and worthwhile process). The courses we offer here at NYU's SPS CALA, including the Certificate in Translation Industry Essentials, arm you with the knowledge to assist in these certification processess. More information on ATA certification may be found here: https://www.atanet.org/certification/index.php

All prospective students must pass a two-part admissions exam in order to enroll in the course. The first part is a verbal assessment conducted with one of the course instructors over the phone or via Skype and the second part is an in-person, one-hour written test that is held at our office. The written part—which will ask you to translate basic medical vocabulary and sentences and answer grammar and reading comprehension questions—is scheduled separately by email after we are informed of your verbal assessment results. If you are interested in testing, please contact (212) 998-7250 or email sps.translation@nyu.edu.

Medical interpreting certification cannot be achieved at an educational institution, but rather at the national level through the NCBMI (National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters). In addition to preparing you for employment in the field, our Overview course fulfills the 40-hour education and training requirement necessary to register for the NBCMI certification exam. Here are some resources that may help you to learn more:

National certification website: http://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/

Prerequisites page: http://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/prerequisites

Online testing is available for Hebrew and Spanish only.

Hebrew: Click for Online Hebrew exam registration/payment

Spanish: Click for Online Spanish exam registration/payment

For all other languages: Click for more information on On-site/Off-site exams for all other languages

Please call 212.998.7030 or email sps.flpe@nyu.edu to make appointments.

Prepare to provide the following information:

• Name
• Email address
• Daytime telephone number
• Language and number of points of the exam you wish to take (4, 12, or 16 points)

Student must arrange to have the exam administered by a proctor who is a college faculty member, administrator, or a government or company official (e.g., a member of the human resources staff). Off-site Exams requests require the following items to be mailed to our office to complete your request:

1. Proctor’s Letter
2. Shipping fee [check or money order]
3. Exam fee [if payment is a check or money order]
4. Registration form – Click this link to download the registration form