Specialised Translation MA

Course summary

The Specialised Translation MA is open to native and non-native speakers of English, who combine English with any of the following languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Polish, or Spanish. At the heart of the Specialised Translation MA lie our weekly practical translation classes between English and one of the languages listed above. If you are a native speaker of English and would like to study translation with two of the above languages, you can choose to replace the Audiovisual and Computer-Assisted Translation and Quality Assurance and Project Management modules with a further two Specialised Translation modules in your second foreign language.

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, with and without the use of translation memory software tools, commercially usable translations of specialised technical and institutional texts, applying insights drawn from linguistics and translation theory as well as from professional practice.

If you are studying the Specialised Translation MA with English and one other language, you will also be attending modules that introduce you to audio-visual and computer-assisted translation, revision, editing, post-editing, quality assurance, and project management skills for translators, and a comprehensive programme of professional development activities. You will also be able to complement the knowledge and skills acquired on the core modules by choosing either Translation as Cultural Practice or International Organisations and Institutional Discourses as an option module. At the end of the course, you will submit an MA Translation Project or an MA Thesis.

The course emphasis is on practical training in translation, developing your skills to a high level and learning about the professional environment. Your core Specialised Translation modules will involve both direct and inverse translation training between English and Chinese, French, German, Italian, Polish or Spanish. The majority of your translation assessments, including the final translation exam, will, however, be conducted into your mother tongue only. All students will translate institutional texts (such as economic, political, legal and EU/UN texts) and technical material, and acquire a wide range of additional skills, including career building and professional development skills, through the remaining core and option modules.

CAREER PATH

The Specialised Translation MA has an excellent graduate employment record. Many of our graduates work as in-house translators in international organisations such as the United Nations and the European Commission, or within translation companies both in the UK and across many other countries all over the world.

Other graduates work as freelance translators, or as translation project managers, subtitlers, editors, revisers, proofreaders, or terminologists.

CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY SERVICE

Our Careers and Employability Service is here to support you to achieve your full potential.

With a growing network of over 3,000 employers around the world and a team of experienced careers consultants, we provide you with a variety of opportunities to work and develop new skills. As a University of Westminster student, you’ll have access to our services throughout your studies and after you graduate.

A minimum of a lower second class honours degree (2:2). Linguists without a degree, but with sufficient experience in a relevant area, will also be considered. Applicants will be interviewed in person or on the telephone and set a translation test to check your suitability for the course. The course is open to native speakers of Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Applicants will need fluent written and spoken English.