Master of Arts in Translation and Bilingual Communication

Programme Director: Dr PAN, Jun

The MA in Translation and Bilingual Communication (hereafter abbreviated as “the Programme”) is a two-year part-time/one-year full-time programme offered by the Translation Programme of the Faculty of Arts. Comprised of an Interpreting Stream, a Practical Stream and a Research Stream, the Programme caters for the needs of practitioners, potential interpreters and those aspiring to pursue research in translation studies.

This Programme aims to provide, at the postgraduate level and with the needs of three main target groups in mind, focused and vigorous training in translation and bilingual communication.

Specifically, the Programme hopes to achieve the following objectives:

1. To cater the needs of students with different talents and abilities;
2. To offer more vigorous and concentrated training and enabling future trainees to acquire more insightful and professional skills in interpreting;
3. To provide intellectual stimulation to mid-career translators and those whose work requires bilingual/trilingual competence by encouraging them to reflect on their profession, develop conceptual, analytical, and linguistic skills that can further inform their work, and refine their organizational and presentational skills; 
4. To help takers of the Programme exercise their critical mind and appreciate better the relation between theory and practice, so that they can be more aware of and more articulate about the intricacies of bilingual communication and how they negotiate the challenges of translation;
5. To provide a scholarly introduction to the discipline of translation studies for those contemplating the pursuit of a career in academia; and
6. To offer those whose training was in a different or related field an opportunity to expand their intellectual horizon and to get acquainted with the lines of inquiry, the research methods and the general landscape of the discipline of translation studies so that they can join the community of translation scholars and strengthen the interdisciplinary dimension of this fast growing discipline.

The structure of the curriculum is as follows:

Interpreting Stream

Practical Stream

Research Stream

Requirements

To be awarded the degree of MA in Translation and Bilingual Communication, students of the Interpreting Stream are required to take 6 required courses (a total of 18 units) and 3 elective courses (9 units); and to achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 (i.e. gain grades of C- or above).

Students of the Practical Stream are required to take 5 required courses (a total of 15 units) and 4 elective courses (12 units); and to achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 (i.e. gain grades of C- or above).

Students of the Research Stream are required to take 7 required courses (a total of 21 units) and 2 elective courses (6 units); and to achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 (i.e. gain grades of C- or above).

1. Students receiving an F grade in any course must either repeat that course, or replace it with another if it is not a required course.
2. Students whose GPA stands at 2.20 or below in the first or second semester will be given a warning that their low mark may result in failure to qualify for the degree.
3. Students with no course grade below B- and no repeated courses and who achieve a GPA of 3.67 or above will graduate with “Distinction”. Students attaining a cumulative GPA between 3.40 and 3.66 will graduate with “Merit”.
4. An oral examination for the Programme as a whole may be required for borderline cases.

Interpreting Stream

* Usually offered in alternate years.

Practical Stream

# Practical/Research Stream students are expected to receive category B grade or above in TRA 7170 and the approval of course instructor to take this course.

* Usually offered in alternate years.

Research Stream

# Practical/Research Stream students are expected to receive category B grade or above in TRA 7170 and the approval of course instructor to take this course.

* Usually offered in alternate years.