The Specialised Translation MA is open to native and non-native speakers of English, who combine English with any of the following languages: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Polish or Spanish. If you are a native speaker of English, you can elect to study translation with one or two of the above source languages. If you are a non-native speaker of English, you will study translation both from English into your first language and from your first language into English.
The Specialised Translation MA will prepare you for a career in the translation market. Building on your existing language skills, you will learn how to research specialised subjects to produce commercially usable translations of specialised technical and institutional texts, applying insights drawn from the study of linguistics and translation theory as well as from professional practice. You will complete a Translation Project or a Research Thesis.
Entry requirements vary among our postgraduate courses, but most courses have the following minimum standard entry requirements. Any course-specific requirements are described on our course pages.
Note that even if you meet our minimum entry requirements, we cannot guarantee you a place on the course.
Our standard postgraduate entry requirements for most courses are:
a good honours degree from a recognised university or qualification or experience deemed to be equivalent
English Language competency requirements vary among courses, but as a minimum, you will need the equivalent to an IELTS* score of at least 6.5 overall (and minimum 5.5 in each component)
* If you have not already completed one, you can complete an IELTS test at the University.
Core modules
MAIN LANGUAGE INSTITUTIONAL TRANSLATION (INTO YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE)*
You will be introduced to specialist texts of the kind you will be expected to handle in a professional context. These will cover international and government institutions, as well as the fields of economics, finance, business, politics and law.
MAIN LANGUAGE TECHNICAL TRANSLATION (INTO YOUR FIRST LANGUAGE)*
You will be introduced to a wide range of specialist texts relating to technology and science of the kind you will be expected to handle in a professional context.
*Native speakers of English studying the course with two foreign languages will take the core Main Language Translation modules in both languages of study. Native speakers of English studying the course with one foreign language will take Editing: Principles and Practices and Computer-assisted Translation (see option modules below) as additional core modules and choose their option modules from the remaining range of options.
SECOND LANGUAGE TECHNICAL TRANSLATION AND SECOND LANGUAGE INSTITUTIONAL TRANSLATION (NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ARABIC, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, POLISH OR SPANISH ONLY)
These modules differ from the Main Language modules only in that you will be translating into English as a second language for information purposes.
MA TRANSLATION PROJECT OR MA THESIS
The MA Translation Project is a 6,000-8,000-word extended translation into your native language on a subject of your choice, accompanied by a preface and a set of annotations on the translation challenges involved. Preparation for writing the preface and annotations will be provided by a series of lectures throughout the course. The MA Thesis is a piece of scholarly research, 12,000-15,000 words long, into a translation-related topic. You will attend regular research methodology and work-in-progress sessions. You will also receive individual supervision for the Translation Project or Thesis.
Option modules
COMPUTER-ASSISTED TRANSLATION (CAT)
The CAT module will introduce you to the basic features of computer-assisted translation (translation memory and machine translation), and provide practical experience of some common tools currently available. N.B. For native speakers of English studying translation with one source language only, this module is core. You will choose your option modules from the range of non-core options for your pathway.
EDITING: PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE
This module will introduce you to the
skills of translation criticism and quality reporting, translation editing and revision, post-editing and proof reading. N.B. For native speakers of English studying translation with one source language only, this module is core. You will choose your option modules from the range of non-core options for your pathway.
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
You will be introduced to the different theories of the nature of cross-cultural interaction and of intercultural competence. The module also looks closely at the application of these theories to specific issues in professional contexts, such as translation, cross-cultural skills and knowledge transfer, and the cross-cultural implications of globalisation.
INTRODUCTION TO AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION
The module will introduce you to the subject of audiovisual translation and includes hands-on translation experience and training in how to use subtitling software.
INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The module will introduce you to the principles and processes of managing large translation projects in an industry context, developing your skills sets to prepare you for a range of in-house career paths.
SOCIOLINGUISTICS
This module will cover concepts and issues in sociolinguistics, such as class, gender, ethnicity, multilingual communities, language variation, choice, planning, change, decline and death, and language in face-to-face interaction.
SUBSIDIARY LANGUAGE (LANGUAGES SUBJECT TO ANNUAL CONFIRMATION)
Over the year, you will be introduced gradually to a language that is cognate with your main language. You will gain an overview of the language based on grammar and syntax, and source language texts. As the year progresses, you will learn to translate graded technical and non-technical texts.
TRANSLATING CULTURES
This module opens up the understanding of ´translation´ to include the transmission and interpretation of values, beliefs, histories and narratives not only across linguistic, cultural or geographical boundaries, but also, for example, from one medium or time period to another. By reading the works of key theorists from around the world in the intersecting fields of translation and cultural studies, the module aims to enhance students´ understanding of how historical and contemporary cultural interactions can be examined through a translational paradigm.
UNITED NATIONS AND EUROPEAN UNION FOR LINGUISTS
This module will equip you with a detailed knowledge and understanding
of the structures and functioning of the UN and EU. In particular, it aims to explain the role of the main institutions of the UN and EU and their interaction with national governments, and the role of professional linguists in these processes.
ANALYSING SPOKEN AND WRITTEN DISCOURSE
This module will introduce you to the theories of genre and discourse analysis; audience design, purpose and style; rhetoric and persuasion; text-types, text structures, and grammatical and lexical features. Texts are selected from a wide range of sources, typifying different styles, levels of formality, registers, audiences, purposes and specialisations.
Graduates of the Specialised Translation MA have gone on to work as in-house translators within industry, commerce, international organisations and translation companies, as freelance translators, as translation project managers, or as editors, revisers, proofreaders, terminologists, or specialists in translation tools.
