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MA Translation Studies

Develop your career as a professional translator through the flexible and industry ready Translation Studies programme from University of Birmingham. Join the global community of translators to discover the art of translation at one of the world’s top 100 Modern Languages departments.

Quick Facts

  
Duration: 1 year (Full-Time)
2 years (Part-Time)
Starting in: September
Tuition Fee: £21,150 per year
Location: Birmingham, United Kingdom

The Translation Studies programme from University of Birmingham is designed cover the list of competences required by professional translators published in 2017 by the European Master’s in Translation network. We work closely with translation agencies, freelancers and other stakeholders to ensure that our syllabus prepares you for professional employment in the growing translator industry.

Translation practice is at the heart of the programme, and you will undertake extensive practical and specialised translation in your chosen language pair(s). We also offer training in state-of-the-art translation technology and the opportunity to study another foreign language at beginners, intermediate or advanced level. The MA also provides excellent preparation for further study at PhD level.

The programme is available to students who are proficient in English and one of the following languages: Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese or Russian. The industry standard is for translators to work into their mother tongue: we can accommodate all language pairs in both directions except Mandarin, where we offer English to Mandarin but not Mandarin to English.

Courses included:

  • Theoretical and Analytical Skills
  • Translating for Business
  • Translation Technology
  • Specialised Translation
  • Multimodal Translation
  • Professional Development (Translation/Interpreting)

“The transition from undergrad to postgrad can be a big step up in terms of workload and what is expected of you, but there is so much support available to you as a postgrad student, from academic writing support (if you’ve been out of education for a few years or just want a bit of extra help) to mental health and wellbeing services. The careers support is fantastic – the uni puts on employer fairs throughout the year and you have access to one on one support from the Careers Network team, who can help you develop your skills ready for your next step!”

Emma Sutton // PhD Psychology

Careers

The programme will enable you to develop a wide range of skills and attributes which will be vital in your future career. In particular, it will give you the ability to:

  • Analyse and translate samples of English and other languages, using appropriate methods
  • Retrieve information, terminology and specialised-knowledge from a range of sources, and use them in their translation practice
  • Communicate effectively in written academic English and use appropriate IT skills, including a range of computer-aided translation tools
  • Interact effectively in a group
  • Plan work effectively, with appropriate time-management skills
  • Carry out research in a selected area, both individually and in terms, and report that research appropriately.

Requirements

  • The language into which you intend to translate should be the language in which you have mother tongue competence, or alternatively your language of habitual use. In the latter case, you may be asked to provide evidence of proficiency.
  • It will normally be necessary to have training to degree level in the language(s) from which you intend to translate. If you do not hold a degree in your ‘second’ language, you may be asked to provide other evidence of proficiency (equivalent to at least level C1 on the Common European Framework for Languages). If you do not hold a languages or humanities-related degree, you may be asked to provide evidence of relevant work experience.

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