MA in Professional Translation

The MA in Professional Translation (MAPT) will develop you from an excellent foreign language speaker into a successful professional linguist.

MAPT (previously Translation with Language Technology) is part of the European Master in Translation Network, which currently has 64 members throughout Europe. Swansea University is the only member of Wales.

You will undertake advanced translation work on general, administrative and technical text, and training in industry-standard Computer-Assisted Translation tools.

The first part of the degree includes opportunities to develop specialised skills in public service interpreting, audiovisual translation, machine translation and software localisation, terminology management, video making or digital publishing.

In the translation work experience module, you simulate translation companies by working with local translation businesses and delivering on real commissions to professional standards.

In the second part of the degree, you are presenting with a choice of two extended translations, or an academic dissertation, or a 13-week internship at a translation company in the UK or overseas.

Language pairs (subject to demand):

• German > English
• English > German
• French > English
• English > French
• Italian > English
• English > Italian
• Spanish > English
• English > Spanish
• Welsh > English
• English > Welsh
• English > Arabic
• English > Mandarin

Why Professional Translation at Swansea?

As the only member of the European Master’s in Translation Network based in Wales, Swansea University has an established profile in professional translation. We have industry-standard, state-of-the-art facilities and a robust global network of external organisations to help shape your studies.

The College of Arts and Humanities is based on our energising Singleton Park campus, in parkland overlooking Swansea Bay.

Designed to promote individual and collaborative research activity of international standard, the Graduate Centre provides a supportive environment for postgraduate research and taught masters study.

It offers postgraduate training to enhance academic and professional development and facilitates seminar programmes, workshops and international conferences.

Your Professional Translation Experience

You will study a set number of compulsory and optional 20-credit modules on advanced translating and interpreting, before undertaking a 60-credit module on two extended translations, or an academic dissertation, or a 13-week internship at a translation company.

Modules cover advanced translating and interpreting of numerous different languages in different contexts and industries. There are specialist modules for interpreting business, health and law.

In the second part, the extended translations option offers you the chance to develop an area of specialisation. One translation must be technical and performed using a major CAT tool.

The dissertation option can concentrate on a translation studies topic, such as a comparison of two or more published translations, or terminology research in a specialist area, or an investigation into translation technology.

The internship option can be undertaken either in the UK or abroad. Our extensive list of professional contacts is available to you but you must make your own applications and pass admissions tests.

Swansea University was named University of the Year in the 2019 Whatuni Student Choice Awards for the second time in five years. As well as being crowned University of the Year, Swansea University took the top spot in the International category and placed top three in the Postgraduate, and Course and Lecturers categories. The Whatuni Student Choice Awards are voted for entirely by students, with more than 41,000 reviews and comments submitted from more than 160 UK institutions.

In the prestigious Guardian University Guide 2021, we are placed 24th in the UK and have won the Welsh University of the Year title for the second time in three years, cementing our position as Wales’ leading higher education institution.

We place our students at the heart of everything. As a result, we achieved a gold rating, the highest rating possible, in the national Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) and are ranked 6th in the UK for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey for 2020.

Our stunning waterfront campuses make us a desirable location for students and staff from around the world, and our multicultural community provides a global perspective, enabling those who join us to develop skills and knowledge that set them on successful and enriching careers.