MSc Translating

Year 1

• Semester 1 (Sep-Dec): 60 credits (4 taught courses)
• Semester 2 (Jan-April): 60 credits (4 taught courses)
• Semester 3 (May-Aug): 60 credits (MSc dissertation)

Semester 1

Mandatory

• Translation Practice 1
• Translation Technologies
• Subtitling
• Translation and Interpreting Studies

Semester 2

Mandatory

• Translation Practice 2
• Introduction to the Translation and Interpreting Professions
• Research Methods

Optional courses

Plus one from the following options:

• Project Management
• Liaison Interpreting for Business
• Business Communication 2: Communicating with External Audiences 
• Global Englishes and the International Workplace

Semester 3

• MSc Dissertation

For the MSc dissertation, students can choose one of these three options:

1. Research dissertation (12,000 words): completion of an original research study.
2. Translation and Commentary Dissertation: students in one of the programmes with translation can work on the translation of a text of +/- 6,000 words that has not been translated before following an invented brief, and commentary (+/- 6,000 words) of the strategies applied underpinned by relevant theories and/or theoretical models.
3. Interpretation and Commentary Dissertation: students in a programme with interpreting can choose this option, which includes transcribing an interpretation performed by the student of between 20-30 minutes, and commentary (+/- 6,000 words) of relevant features depending on the mode, setting, communicative encounter, and analytical focus, which will be underpinned by relevant theories and/or theoretical models.

Course descriptions

Translation Practice 1

The course helps students to develop mastery of the skills and techniques of translating to professional standards through study of a number of text types and genres and practice in translating these text types and genres. Transferable skills (e.g. the ability to work in a team) which are crucial in professional translation contexts are also developed.

Translation Technologies

This course provides the knowledge and skills required by the computerised multilingual document processing work environment that characterises the translation industry today. It gives students the opportunity to undertake independent research with the aid of a computer-aided translation (CAT) tool, and CAT projects both individually and as part of a team. Software programmes used in the course include a range of CAT tools, terminology management software and machine translation tools. The practical application and integration of these software programmes and tools in real-world professional workflows, situations and paradigms is also examined.

Translation and Interpreting Studies

The course covers the major theoretical areas in Translation & Interpreting Studies, as well as various models of text processing and translating and interpreting. The course also looks at the relevance and applicability of this to the practical concerns of the translator/interpreter

Translation Practice 2

The course further enhance mastery of the skills and techniques of translating to professional standards through study of a number of text types and genres and practice in translating these text types and genres. The course also helps learners develop a number of key transferable skills (e.g. revising, abstracting, editing, summarising, proof-reading) which are important in professional translation contexts and non-translation-related situations.