Conference Interpreting and Translation Studies MA

Develop high-level interpreting and translation skills on this challenging course, where you’ll use state-of-the-art technology to gain the knowledge base and practical skills to succeed in the language services industry. Benefit from Leeds' unique breadth of languages available, including all the United Nations official languages, including Arabic and Russian.

You’ll gain essential skills in interpreting, analysis, active listening and note-taking, then build on this foundation by practising specialised consecutive and simultaneous interpreting in our conference interpreting facilities. At the same time, you’ll deepen your theoretical and practical understanding of translation, exploring how interpreting and translation interconnect in professional practice. Additionally, you can tailor your learning experience by selecting from a range of optional modules, such as Genres across Media Cultures in the Digital Age; Introduction to Screen Translation; Corpora, Data Science and AI; or Machine Translation and AI. You can choose to study a beginner's language from an extensive list of options, including Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

As a programme included in the AIIC Interpreting Schools & Programmes Directory, the Leeds interpreting programme follows best practices that are recommended by AIIC (the International Association of Conference Interpreters). The University of Leeds is also a partner university of the Directorate-General for Interpretation of the European Parliament, with whom we have an MOU, which serves as a basis for pedagogical support from experienced professional interpreters. We also benefit from support and guidance from the interpreting service of the European Commission. We enjoy close ties with international organisations, including the UN, and have an MOU with UNESCO.

Our focus is on the skill-acquisition that will equip you to work as a professional interpreter, either for an internation organisation or in the private sector. Whilst we do incorporate AI and new technologies into this acquisition (see “additional highlights”, below), in key areas such as task preparation, research based here in Leeds and at other institutions has clearly shown that digital tools such as live captioning can only be successfully incorporated once basic skills are mastered. Otherwise, they are simply a distraction. Our policy is to introduce the technology that will be part of your future as an interpreter, and not to compromise skill acquisition.

### Centre for Translation, Interpreting and Localisation Studies

As a proud member of CIUTI (Conférence internationale permanente d'instituts universitaires de traducteurs et interprètes), the most presitigious international association for universities with established translation and interpreting programmes, CITLS benefits from excellent facilities and resources to support your studies. Our conference interpreting facilities are equipped with single and double interpreter booths, and a video link to practise remote interpreting. The Electronic Resources and Information Centre (ERIC) will be the centre of your translation work, complete with 59 high-spec PCs and a wide range of specialist software for translation and subtitling.

As a member of the prestigious University Contact Group (UCG) for International Organisations, we enjoy close ties with the UN and other global institutions.

This programme is regulated by a Memorandum of Understanding between the University and The European Parliament – a testament to our success in training conference interpreters.

It’s a great opportunity to prepare for a career in the language services industry in a city that’s full of cultural and linguistic diversity.