Course summary

Our Translation Studies BA Honours will give you the skills, knowledge and competencies to build a career as a professional translator. You'll develop knowledge of language structure, register, textuality and discourse, by applying linguistic concepts to practical translation tasks. You'll also gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development. Depending on your entry point, you can combine the main language, French, with another language (Arabic, Chinese, or Spanish) or the Global Communication route. You'll study an integrated curriculum, with a focus on professional context and communication skills, bilingual translation skills and theory. Your studies may include developing your skills in a new foreign language or modules in cultural studies. Teaching and learning take place through a combination of formal lectures, seminars, practical workshops, guided self-study, and exposure to professionally relevant simulations and real-work environments. Alongside core modules in translation, the course offers a wide range of option modules, covering topics including global communications, world cultures, current affairs, politics and gender issues. You'll also have the option to spend a year abroad in a French-speaking country, studying or, depending on your language level, working or volunteering. As well as careers in professional translation, our graduates have found employment as interpreters, teachers (both in foreign languages and English as a foreign language), and in various other sectors including law, marketing, journalism, and the Civil Service. We accept intermediate (post-A Level) and proficient speakers in French. This is a linguistically challenging course and we may need to assess you in order to determine your entry point and suitability.