Translation students learn how to convert written words from one language to another and may focus on one or many languages during their studies. It differs from interpretation in that it is specific to written documents, while interpretation involves communicating messages or words that are spoken.

Earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree is an academic achievement upon completing a series of courses over the course of three or four years. The subjects that are studied in order to earn this degree vary widely under the disciplines of the liberal arts and sciences.