Translation Studies - Ph.D. Download to print

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Translation Studies is research-based program that provides advanced training in translation studies and language informatics.

Official transcript(s); an M.A. in Translation, and an M.A. in a Foreign Language, or a master's degree in any other discipline with prior experience or training in translation; all applicants must possess proficiency in a foreign language; senior scholastic average of 3.0, and/or a 3.5 GPA in master’s studies; TOEFL; goal statement; three letters of recommendation; and a 7-10 page essay or a writing sample from a research paper on any aspect of translation or language (or a prospectus for a language informatics or translation studies project). Please refer to the University policy for graduate admissions.

The Ph.D. in Translation Studies requires a minimum of 60 semester hours (including research and dissertation) beyond the master’s degree. Of these, at least 30 hours must be for graduate credit other than research and dissertation. 24 hours of core courses are required of all doctoral students (regardless of area of specialization). The core courses are: Required Courses

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Critically examine translations based on objective and subjective criteria.

2. Translate text types of moderate difficulty in various domains from the source language into English.

3. Copyedit their own work and that of others.

4. Articulate and defend translation choices based on a basic understanding of translation studies.

5. Identify distinguishing features of different text types that are meaningful for the translation act.

6. Research the subject matter of a text in appropriate resources.

7. Perform tasks at Intermediate High and Advanced Low levels of proficiency using the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. Proficiency in ACTFL terms is understood to describe a range of qualities rather than an absolute norm and will vary according to task type, language function, topic, skill (listening, speaking, reading, writing), and so forth.

8. Contribute to most informal and some formal conversations with sufficient accuracy, clarity, and precision to convey their intended message without misrepresentation or confusion. They will for the most part be understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-native speakers

9. Demonstrate knowledge of how to vary the register (formality level) of their speech.

10. Talk about personal interests, topics of general interest, literature and culture, and so forth in the target language

11. Listen to connected discourse on a variety of topics and understand main ideas and most details. This requires processing of different tenses, knowledge of discourse structure, cohesive devices, pronoun systems, and more.

12. Read somewhat longer and more complex prose that have been written for native speakers and not edited or adapted for students. They will be able to read a wide variety of text types such as poems, plays, novels, magazine articles, newspaper articles, brochures, pamphlets, menus, letters, and so forth, Some texts they will understand completely; for others they will be able to grasp the main idea and some or most details.

13. Compose routine social correspondence, take notes, write cohesive summaries and resumes, as well as narratives and descriptions of a factual nature in the target language. Additionally, they will be able to complete course-related writing tasks such as essays and term papers in the target language. They will be able to defend a thesis statement and make stylistic decisions based on the needs of specific audiences and on specific writing purposes.

After passing the written examination, the student must present a detailed written proposal of his/her dissertation research.The dissertation focuses on  original research. The dissertation topic must be on one or more of the sub-topics within translation studies. The written dissertation is reviewed and approved by the research adviser and the dissertation advisory committee prior to scheduling a final defense before the committee.