Translation

Entry requirements

MPhil: An upper second-class degree or international equivalent. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of your readiness to pursue a research degree.

PhD: A master's qualification, or be working towards a master's qualification, or international equivalent. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree (or international equivalent). Applicants with a non-traditional background may be considered provided they can demonstrate substantial equivalent and relevant experience that has prepared them to undertake their proposed course of study.

See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

The School of Modern Languages has particular research strengths in translation studies. Fields of research interest include: audiovisual translation; translation technologies (especially machine translation); media accessibility; translation history; literary translation (including poetry, drama, fiction, practice-oriented research); adaptation studies; and the ways in which translation is used and perceived by institutions and by civil society. Languages include Catalan, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

The School's translation activities benefit from extensive collaborations with outside institutions and networks, including the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), the Chartered Institute of Linguists and the Association of Programmes in Translation and Interpreting Studies (APTIS). The Penguin Archive and the Theatre Collection, housed at the University, offer important resources for research in translation publishing and performance. The School also owns a Tobii eye tracker and a copy of iMotions software, which we use for data analysis in screen studies and translation process research.

We welcome applications from students wishing to pursue tailor-made research to master's or doctoral level in any of the above areas. Our postgraduates are fully integrated in a professionally and personally supportive departmental community. We encourage you to attend and give papers at School and University research events, as well as national and international conferences. Funding is available to support fieldwork and participation in external events. We support you in developing a full range of academic skills, including teaching.

Our research facilities foster interdisciplinary collaboration between all departments through research seminars and other events and include the Multimedia Centre: a specialist language centre comprising a language laboratory, media suite, a library of foreign films, newspapers and magazines, and an 18-seat screening room.

Information for international students

See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Fees and funding

The University of Bristol is part of the South, West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWW DTP), which will be offering studentships for September 2025. For information on other funding opportunities, including University-funded studentships, please see the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences funding pages.

Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.