Translation - M.A. Download to print

The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Translation consists of six concentrations: Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish, and a Dual Degree with a Master of Business Administration.

Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Russian and Spanish concentrations prepare students for careers in translation, language engineering, international business and government.

The Dual Degree with a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) is for students with a sufficient level of proficiency in  foreign language skills who wish to integrate a graduate business education with advanced translation training. This program is suitable for those whose career goals include assuming middle or executive management positions in international business or language industry enterprises; or those interested in starting their own businesses in the language services industry.
 

Official transcript(s); goal statement; three letters of recommendation; a CD or MP3/wav file with a 5 minute oral sample in the applicant's first and second languages (conversational, not read from a script); and writing sample(s) in applicant's second language, which should be accompanied by a signed declaration that the sample is original work and that the applicant received no help in its preparation. International applicants should also submit a writing sample in English.

Admission into the Dual Degree with the MBA concentration requires the GMAT.
  
Please refer to the University policy for graduate admissions.

Students must successfully complete 36 semester hours of coursework, including a case study project.

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.