Fall semester of this year marks the launch of a degree-seeking translation and interpretation program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. What makes this program particularly unique among a small but stellar group of U.S. universities that offer similar courses of study is a welcome fact for many potential students: the university offers online courses that lead to a Masters in Translation and Interpreting.
Housed within the university’s School of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics, the program offers students the choice of attending classes on campus or online. Online students take two 4-credit courses per semester while those attending the campus-based program may take up to 12 credits, or three courses. After students select a specialization – Translation for the Professions, Literary and Applied Literary Translation, or Conference and Community Interpreting – they begin coursework that may include the study of translation theory, history, religious texts, commercial and technical translation, practical interpreting, and other subjects designed to bolster their craft. Students specializing in translation work from their B or C languages into English and interpretation students work between languages. The university currently offers courses in 37 world languages and provides specialized coursework in Spanish, French, German, Arabic, and Russian.
In addition to the MA in Translation and Interpreting, the university’s Center for Translation Studies offers an 18-credit Certificate in Translation Studies for both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as an online Certificate in Applied Literary Translation. The latter is a joint undertaking with the Dalkey Archive Press, an international publishing house that prints a wide variety of content, from poetry and prose to literary criticism and memoirs.
For more information, admissions requirements, and deadlines, visit the program page at http://www.translation.illinois.edu/programs/masters.html or contact program director Elizabeth Lowe at elowe@illinois.edu.
—
Photograph courtesy of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign