Course overview

The MA Translation Studies at the University of Portsmouth is an accredited member of the European Masters in Translation Network, and the University is also a member of the OPTIMALE translator training network funded by the Erasmus lifelong learning scheme of the European Commission. 

The course is designed both for language graduates wishing to become translators and practising translators wishing to obtain a formal qualification in translating between English and any of the following:

• Arabic
• Chinese
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Spanish

It has a strong practical orientation and features units that have a high degree of professional relevance and training, particularly in relation to the use of technology and research skills. It also offers a professionally relevant qualification to those who wish to follow translation as a career.

The course is designed for language graduates wishing to become translators and practising translators wishing to obtain a formal qualification in translating between English and any of the languages offered for study.

The course includes a strong practical element, as well as a careers element, which enables those who wish to become professionals to understand the basics of staff, agency and freelance translation work.

Course content

The MA Translation Studies has a strong practical element and features units that have a high degree of professional relevance and training, enabling you to learn the basics of in-house and freelance translation work.

The course is structured on the basis of core units and optional units which combine translation practice with applied theory. Optional units allow for further exploration of current advances in translation technology, and offer opportunities for students to design their own study and choose their own areas of specialisation. The Independent Learning unit can be used to gain credit for a work placement. 

• Theory and Practice of Translation
• Specialised Translation
• Dissertation
• 2 options from:
  • Translation Technologies
  • Second Specialised Translation
  • Translation Project
  • Independent Learning

The Translation Profession (non-credit bearing seminar series)

Please note that our optional units are available subject to a number of constraints such as student demand (options cannot run with very small numbers) and staff availability (some options may only be available in certain languages). If you have a strong need to follow a specific option, seek clarification from the course leader regarding its availability.

Exit levels

The credit system creates a flexible framework in which you can graduate with one of the following awards, depending on the number of credits gained:

• MA in Translation Studies (four core units plus the research management and dissertation units): 180 credits
• Postgraduate Diploma in Translation Studies: 120 credits
• Postgraduate Certificate in Translation Studies: 60 credits

Teaching and assessment

Full time study is one full academic year, consisting of a taught programme from October to June and a research programme, in which the dissertation is written from June to September. Part time students study for a period of two years. Their dissertation is written in the summer period of the second year of study.

Assessment is undertaken through coursework assignments or dossiers, presentations and/or in-class work. There are no formal end of year examinations.

The research management unit will prepare you for your dissertation, which often takes the form of a substantial translation and commentary, but other forms of dissertation are also possible and encouraged. You will be allocated a dissertation supervisor, who will oversee your work throughout the process and you will be encouraged to start thinking about your dissertation from the start of the course and submit a series of interim documents.

Career prospects

Graduates of the MA Translation Studies work in a variety of translation-related roles. Where possible, we facilitate students in obtaining placements with translation companies. Placements and jobs may be in the UK or abroad. If you are willing to travel you will find that more options are open to you. It is quite common to begin one's in-house career as a project manager, co-ordinating translation commissions before moving on to work as a translator. Quite a few of our graduates also go into freelance translation. A number of our graduates go on to pursue further research in translation. Students with eligible language combinations are encouraged to try for internships and competitions with the European institutions.

Read our Student Profiles for information about past students' experiences of the course and where it took them.

Facilities and features

School of Languages and Area Studies staff actively contribute to the Centre for European and International Studies Research, which was rated top in the UK for research in European Studies in the Research Assessment Exercise 2008. You will have easy access to lecturers with a rich variety of experience in terms of both theory and practice, as well as to our own modern communications equipment, which includes:

• satellite receivers
• 150 computers
• three dedicated digital multimedia laboratories
• an editing suite
• a multimedia development unit

The School also has its own learning resources centre providing a variety of open access resources which range from newspapers and journals, self-access texts, reference resources such as dictionaries and grammar books, to audio booths, video viewing facilities and stand-alone computers.

Entry requirements

The entry requirements for MA Translation Studies are shown above, for more detailed information please contact:

Department: School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS)
Tel: +44 (0)23 9284 8299
Email: humanities.admissions@port.ac.uk