Translation Studies University of Aberdeen

Overview

At a Glance

Demand for professional translation and interpreting skills is at an all-time high. Equip yourself with the expert practical knowledge and advanced linguistic and cross-cultural communication skills to enter professional life as a translator or an interpreter and benefit from a rewarding and varied career choice.

The Translation Studies programme of the University of Aberdeen gives greater flexibility and greater choice to tailor things around your own individual linguistic skills and, just as importantly, around your career aspirations too.

Languages on offer include Arabic, French, Gaelic, German, Irish, Mandarin, Spanish and Welsh. Other languages may be offered based on demand. One of the distinguishing features is that you will have the opportunity to specialise in more than one language pairing, should you want to. This is something that could make you a more attractive candidate to a wider range of future employers. In honing your language knowledge, you will enhance your analytical skills which underpin all language work.

The year is structured around two core courses and seven option courses, together with a dissertation/translation project completed in the summer term.

Core courses are designed to help you to familiarise yourself with the techniques and strategies involved in translating different types of texts (expository, narrative, argumentative, vocative) and with different degrees of specialisation, in a range of subject matters (business, legal, medical) at a professional level, as well as an awareness of the key theories and approaches that have been developed in Translation Studies. You will also develop the ability to critique and engage with foundational theoretical texts.

Our option courses bring you the opportunity to perfect your skills in more specialized areas such as translation technologies, liaison interpreting, inter-cultural skills and professional skills for translators; proof-reading, editing, reviewing and issues in literary translation are covered too.

Careers

Given the increasing internationalisation of government, business and other employment sectors, high-level skills in different languages will be vital to have in the future.

Whether you aim to work in an international organisation or company, in publishing, as a freelance translator, or in academic research, you will find this MSc is as practical as it is academically rigorous. And with a programme like this, you will leave with a significant skills advantage across a number of potential job roles.

The Fields of science, law, industry, finance, government, education and media are all now more globally connected and interactive. We live in a digital age where communications travel at the speed of light. It’s a world where institutions, companies and individuals need to translate their communications accurately and appropriately from one language and culture to another.

It’s a world where the focused skills that we help you acquire can become highly prized. This MSc can help open up a fast-moving, highly rewarding world for you.

Career Opportunities

• Editor

• Lecturer

• Professional Translator (Freelance, In-House)

• Project Manager

• Proofreader

• Researcher

• Teacher