Press release

FACULTY OF ARTS TO OFFER A POST-GRADUATE DIPLOMA COURSE IN TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING

The Faculty of Arts will in October 2003 launch a 2 year part-time Post-Graduate Diploma in Translation and Interpreting. The Faculty is responding to the need for such training at a high level in skills that are increasingly in demand in Malta, the EU countries and elsewhere.

Within the framework of the European Union's drive towards the promotion of knowledge through wider access to specialist education and of the objective of improved employability through the acquisition of specialist competence, this course is designed to equip young graduates with the professional skills and knowledge required for translation and interpreting. It seeks to meet the demand for highly qualified translators and conference interpreters in view of Maltaís impending accession in the EU, the EUís own expansion and its increasing dialogue with its non-European partners. The aim is to introduce a distinctive and intellectually challenging post-graduate course that is a specific response to the needs of the market.  It will link the development of expertise in practical advanced translation skills with the critical discussion of theoretical aspects of translation and interpreting, enabling participants to bring a critical awareness and reflection to their work.  The course will provide an academic qualification for those intending to become professional translators/interpreters, whether in a freelance capacity or in employment.

The learning outcomes of the Course are to train language specialists (new graduates as well as mature/experienced students) to a professional level in translation and interpreting; familiarise graduates with up-to-date information and terminology both in FL and the mother tongue in relation to the various specialised fields covered by the course; give insights at the practical level into the various aspects of a career in professional translation and, at the academic level, into the actual process of translation/interpreting.

The content of the Course will comprise the following areas:

* The theory of interpretation
* The practice of interpretation
* Consecutive interpretation
* Simultaneous interpretation
* Contemporary Theories in Translation Studies
* Professional Translation (Theory and Practice)
* Translation for Specific Purposes (research module with both theoretical and applied components)
* The EU and International Organisations

This intensive course is designed to correspond to 60 Credits (i.e. the equivalent of two years of part time study) under the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The course will normally offer no fewer than 400 class contact hours.  In addition, students will be expected to devote time to group practice of simultaneous and consecutive interpreting and other self-directed learning (i.e. background reading; use of information sources e.g. radio, TV, Internet; preparation of glossaries etc). Practising/experienced conference interpreters from foreign Universities/Institutions will conduct interpreting sessions.

In order to be eligible for admission to the programme candidates must hold a recognised University degree (in any subject); have an excellent command of their mother tongue (Target language) over a wide range of topics and registers; have an in-depth knowledge of their working languages; have a good overall knowledge of international affairs and be well-informed of the economic, social and cultural background of the countries in which their working languages are used. In addition, candidates will be expected to have good powers of concentration, analysis and synthesis, good communication skills, a high degree of motivation, the ability to work under pressure, a readiness to accept advice. The studentís Target language will be either Maltese or English, while the working languages offered are Arabic, English,  French, German, Italian and Spanish.

In order to foster exchange of information and experience and also the dissemination of good practice the Faculty will organize joint intensive programmes bringing together students and staff of different partner institutions.

A call for applications with further details will be issued in due course.
 

27 June 2003