Translation with Business Interpreting (Chinese)

Entry requirements

You should have a bachelor’s honours degree or international equivalent, typically 2:1 or above.

To apply for this course, you should normally have mother tongue competence in Chinese or English. Applicants whose mother tongue is not any of these languages may be eligible on a case by case basis.

Please note you must meet the English language requirements before applying to this programme.

We may make an offer based on a lower grade if you can provide evidence of your suitability for the degree.

If your first language is not English but within the last 2 years you completed your degree in an English speaking country, you may be exempt from our English language requirements.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Equip yourself to become a professional translator and business interpreter working in both directions between Chinese and English.

Our MA Translation with Business Interpreting (Chinese) course is designed to prepare you for a range of business roles in mainland China, Taiwan, the UK, and other regions. You’ll enhance your translation and interpreting abilities, with a focus on the needs of markets that use Chinese (Mandarin).

If you aspire to work as a translator or interpreter in these regions or already have strong skills in translation and business interpreting, this course is suited to you. However, you must be fluent in both English and Chinese (Mandarin).

Throughout the course, you’ll focus on written translation from English to Chinese and Chinese to English, as well as business interpreting between the two languages. You’ll also complement these fundamental skills with units in specialisms such as the use of translation technology, proofreading and editing.

Learn from experts in the field

You’ll learn from experts in interpreting, translation, and business studies. Their passion, knowledge and industry expertise shape their teaching to enhance your learning experience.

Use specialist facilities

You will have access to our professional-grade interpreting labs. These are equipped with interpreter consoles and microphones, interpreter booths, and online conference facilities. Access to these labs is exclusive to students studying interpreting courses. As well as the labs, you may also use the on-campus TV studio for some units and tasks.

Gain important career skills

The course is highly practical, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to develop your skills. You will:

• gain extensive experience in translating a wide range of texts, from general business communications to specialist and technical materials. This will provide you with a strong foundation for working at an international level
• have the opportunity to audit simultaneous and consecutive interpreting classes as an observer
• take part in weekly simulated 'real life' business liaison scenarios to enhance your interpreting and negotiation capabilities
• acquire practical experience of translation management software
• develop sought-after and important business skills such as editing and proofreading
• gain useful insights into marketing yourself as a freelance translator and interpreter
• experience working to deadlines and using style guides
• increase your level of intercultural awareness, which is important for working in an international role

You'll also have the opportunity to attend talks or extracurricular units to enhance your core learning. These will cover a range of topics such as law, economics and current affairs.

In addition to this, we regularly invite speakers and trainers from the course’s professional network to deliver career-focused talks and additional training sessions.

Training Opportunities

Where possible, we use our extensive network of contacts to organise external training opportunities. These are often with the language services of international organisations, government departments or translation companies.

These opportunities can provide you with invaluable insights into the work of professional linguists and are highly valued by employers. However, they are not compulsory or guaranteed. Your progress on the course will be considered, along with any other relevant information, when matching you with potential training opportunities.

If you do undertake additional training, you will be able to hone your skills as a linguist by carrying out authentic tasks and receiving direct feedback from experts in the field.

Our students have previously completed one-week to two-month-long translation and interpreting internships at the UN in London, New York and Geneva.

Graduate prospects

Our MA Translation with Business Interpreting (Chinese) course is vocational and has a strong international reputation.

Many of our graduates have gone on to a range of international business roles. Others have used the transferable skills gained to pursue further study, or careers in interpreting, translation, editing, teaching, and accounting.

Recent graduates have gone on to work for the following organisations:

• Net-a-Porter (Product Editorial Team), London
• SPD Silicon Valley Bank, Shanghai
• Ernst & Young
• Kudo (simultaneous interpreter)
• Menicon (Chinese-English-Japanese Trilingual Coordinator)
• DS Avocats, Beijing
• Rifa Global Entertainment, China

Fees and funding

View available funding opportunities.