Translation Studies MSc

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This programme is designed for Chinese speaking students looking to translate from English into Chinese and provides an excellent platform to become a professional interpreter or translator. It is taught at the University of Nankai, with courses offered by both Universities. 

Why this programme?

The programme trains students to be expert translators and interpreters who adhere to the highest professional standards and who are culturally and ethically aware. 

The programme further aims to:

  • Provide students with both practical skills and theoretical knowledge;
  • Improve students’ knowledge of both Chinese and Anglophone cultures and languages;
  • Develop competencies that will allow students to work for language service providers, international businesses, cross-cultural companies and governmental organisations;
  • Develop skills to translate a broad range of texts between Chinese and English, including literature, journalistic texts, technical materials, and academic articles; and develop an expertise in interpreting for audiences of international conferences and other cross-cultural and international events.
  • The programme balances Translation Studies theory with practical translation work, meaning you will develop both academic and professional skills, preparing you for the translation profession or PhD research in the field.

Programme Structure

Programme Structure:

This programme is taken over two years of full-time study and includes core courses offered by both universities. You will also be required to submit a dissertation.

Nankai University courses may include:

  • Simultaneous interpreting
  • Literary and cultural translation
  • Translation of commerce, laws and diplomacy
  • Advanced sight interpreting
  • Consecutive interpreting in theory and practice
  • Mandarin advanced translation and language study

University of Glasgow course may include:

  • Translation Studies in theory and practice
  • Research methods in Translation Studies
  • Translation technology: terminology management and subtitling
  • Approaches to translation and the professional environment 

Courses

  • Translation Studies in Theory and Practice
  • Research Methods in Translation Studies
  • Approaches to Translation and Professional Environment
  • Translation of Literature and Culture
  • Mandarin Advanced Translation and Language Study

Career prospects

This programme caters to China’s increasing demand for highly skilled and specialist translators and interpreters across a wide range of industries and on an international level.

You will acquire skills relevant to a variety of careers that may involve translation or require advanced language and communication skills. 

These include:

  • Marketing and public relations
  • Careers in writing, including publishing, journalism or technical writing
  • Language teaching
  • International commerce
  • Government work
  • The creative industries, including TV, film, theatre.

English language requirements

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training):

  • overall score 6.5 with writing 7.0
  • no other sub-score less than 6.5
  • or equivalent scores in another recognised qualification:

Common equivalent English language qualifications

All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:

  • ibTOEFL: 100; no sub-test less than:
    • Reading: 27-28
    • Listening: 27
    • Speaking: 24
    • Writing: 29
  • CAE (Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English): A(=191 overall); no sub-test less than 191
  • CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English): B(=191 overall); no sub-test less than 191
  • PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English, Academic test): 68 in all skills

How to apply

The application process for this programme is ONLY applicable for Chinese students:

  • Register online for the China National Postgraduate Entrance Examination and select desired programme
  • Following the National Entrance Exam, students are selected for an interview

Session dates

  • Autumn semester: 28/08/2023 - 14/01/2024
  • Winter break: 15/01/2024 - 18/02/2024
  • Spring semester: 19/02/2024 - 30/06/2024
  • Summer break: 01/07/2024 - 25/08/2024

Staff

Dr Enza De Francisci – Deputy Dean / UofG Programme Convenor, Senior Lecturer

‌Bio pic.Dr Enza De Francisci is a Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Glasgow, Programme Director of the Glasgow-Nankai (China) double-degree, and Deputy Dean for Transnational Education. She is also Visiting Professor at Catania, Messina, and Palermo Universities. Prior to joining Glasgow, Enza lectured at University College London. She also worked as an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London) and Linguistic Consultant at the National Theatre (London). BBC radio broadcasts include The Forum as part of the BBC World Service. Enza has published in peer-reviewed journals, including Forum Italicum, Italian Studies, The Italianist, Modern Language Review, and Pirandello Studies, for which she edits theatre reviews. Recent publications include her monograph, A “New” Woman in Verga and Pirandello: From Page to Stage (Legenda, 2018); her co-edited volume Shakespeare and Italy: Transnational Exchange from the Early Modern Period to the Present (Routledge, 2017); and co-edited special issues in Translation Studies (2022) and the PSA: The Journal of the Pirandello Society of America. Professional translations include her award-winning Stefano Pirandello’s All You Need is a Father with Susan Bassnett (2022).

 

Key publications

  • A 'New' Woman in Verga and Pirandello: From Page to stage (Oxford: Legenda, 2018)
  • Stamatakis, C., Francisci, E., (Routledge, 2017) Shakespeare, Italy, and Transnational Exchange: Early Modern to Present.

Dr Jonathan Evans – Translation Studies

Senior Lecturer - Translation Studies‌Dr. Jonathan Evans joined Glasgow as Senior Lecturer in Translation Studies in 2020, after holding positions at the universities of Exeter, Hull and Portsmouth. He is the author of The Many Voices of Lydia Davis (Edinburgh UP, 2016) and co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Translation and Politics (2018). He is Deputy Editor of Journal of Specialised Translation and Review Editor of Translation and Literature. His work has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) and the Newton Fund/British Academy. His articles appear in international journals such as Feminist Media Studies, Analog Game Studies, Translation Studies, TTR, Translation and Literature, Year’s Work in Critical and Cultural Theory, Translation and Interpreting Studies and others. His research interests lie in the circulation of non-hegemonic ideas and media.

Professor Zhang Zhizhong - Programme Convenor NKU

Prof Zhang Zhizhong

Prof. Zhang Zhizhong works at the College of Foreign Languages, Nankai University, and adjunct professor at Institute of Cross Culture and World Literature, Tianjin Normal University. He also works as the director and English secretary general of World Association for Chinese Studies.

 

He holds a PhD in Translation of Classics and Translation Theories from Nankai University (2005), an MA in English and American Literature from Tianjin Foreign Studies University (1996), and a BA in English Language and Literature from Zhengzhou University (1989).

 

Prof. Zhang’s research interest lies particularly in the translation of Chinese poetry into English. He has published over 100 books as well as 100 academic papers. Also, he has undertaken 2 projects funded by the National Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences of China and 1 key project funded by the Tianjin Office of Philosophy and Social Sciences.

 

Key Publications

Xu Yuanchong and the Art of Translation (2006 ), Hubei Education Press;

A Comparative Study of the English Translation of Mao Zedong Poems (2008), China Social Sciences Press;

An Aesthetics Study of C-E Poetry Translation (2015), The Commercial Press;

Selected Poems of Han Yu (Chinese-English) (2015), The Earth Culture Press;

300 Tang Poems (Chinese-English) (2016), The Earth Culture Press;

Gems of Chinese Poetry (Chinese-English) (2016), The Earth Culture Press;

Selected Poems of Duan Guang’an (2018), American Academic Press;

800 Tang Quatrains (Chinese-English) (2019), Wuhan University Press;

Between Mountains and Waters (2019), American Academic Press;

Poetic Yangzhou: Classical Poems and Couplets About Yangzhou (Chinese-English) (2020), Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Dr Magdalena Kampert – Translation Studies

Translation StudiesDr Magdalena Kampert works as Lecturer in Translation Studies and Tutor in Italian at the University of Glasgow. She has also worked on postgraduate degrees in Translation Studies at the Universities of Birmingham and Stirling. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies from the University of Glasgow (2019), an MA in Comparative Literature from the University of Bologna (2012) and a BA in Italian Studies from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (2010). She acted as a guest editor for the special issue ‘Rethinking (Self-)Translation in (Trans)national Contexts’ of the journal New Voices in Translation Studies (2020), and wrote papers on the Sicilian translation of Le Petit Prince (in Le Petit Prince et les amis au pays des traductions, 2013) and on self-translation in the Italian and Polish contexts. She has also worked as a translator.

Her research interests focus on (self-)translation, the concepts of (trans)nationalism and identity, and on power relations between languages and cultures.

Key publications:

  • Kampert, M. (2019) ‘Self-Translation: Between National Literature and ‘World Citizenship’ (The Case of Maria Kuncewiczowa and Janusz Głowacki)’. Przekładaniec, special issue “Translation History in the Polish Context”, pp. 120-135.
  • Kampert, M. (2019) ‘Self-translation and hybridity – the case of Pirandello’s ’A birritta cu ’i ciancianeddi’. Pirandello Studies, vol. 39, pp. 25-40.

 

Dr. Cheng Jin - Translation Studies

Dr Cheng Jin works as Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Glasgow. His PhD examined Orientalism and Representations of China by Protestant Missionaries in the early 19th century. He explores Protestant missionaries' representations of Chinese language, religions and social customs before the Opium War. He also studies Robert Morrison's Biblical translation. Prior to his appointment at the University of Glasgow, he had been working as a teaching fellow in Chinese and Translation Studies in the University of Edinburgh (School of Literature, language and culture) for 2 years.

Key publications:

 

  • 2020 ‘近代中国妇女财产继承权的确立及其制约 The establishment and constraints of property rights of Chinese women since mid-19th century.’ 中国社科基金项目，The Academy of Social Sciences, China. 

 

 

  • 2017 ‘东方主义下的中国法律形象变迁 The Changing image of the Chinese Criminal Law under Orientalism.’ 《“来华外国人与近代中国法”清华大学国际学术会议议论文集》International Conference on ‘Foreigners and Modern Chinese Law’, Qsinghua University Press.

 

Dr. Hongling Liang – Translation of Literature and Culture

Dr. Hongling Liang received her PhD in Transcultural Studies from University Lyon III in France and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) of UK. Prior to her appointment at the University of Glasgow, she worked as a lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and as a Senior Research Fellow at the City University of Hong Kong. 

Her research interests cover the anthropology and intellectual history of Modern China, Sino-French interaction in the 19th and 20th centuries, colonial education and post-colonialism. 

Dr. Liang reads and writes in Mandarin, French, and English and has a working knowledge of Cantonese.

 

Key Publications

Liang, H. (2016) Chinese anthropology and its domestication projects: Dewesternization, Bentuhua and overseas ethnography. Social Anthropology, 24(4), pp. 462-475. 

Lee, V. P., Liang, H. and Mignolo, W. D. (2015) Global coloniality and the Asian century. Cultural Dynamics, 27(2), pp. 185-190.

Liang, H. (2015) The ‘Chinese Century’ and dynamics of knowledge in a longue durée. Cultural Dynamics, 27(2), pp. 227-239.

Liang, H. (2014) La Colonialité intellectuelle et l'indemnités des Boxers: de la bourse scolaire d'Indemnité des Boxers à l’Institut Franco-Chinois de Lyon. Transtext(e)s Transcultures = Journal of Global Cultural Studies

Mignolo, W. and Liang, H. (2012) From global colonialism to global coloniality: a roundtable discussion. Localities, 2, pp. 331-336.