MA- Translation, Iasi, Modern Languages

MA IN TRANSLATION


General information and objectives


The MA in Translation was set up in the 2000-2001 academic year as a (logical) follow-up to the undergraduate translation programme that was implemented at the same faculty in 1997.


This MA programme is designed to equip language graduates with the comprehensive range of practical and theoretical skills they will need to work as professional translators in Romanian or European institutions as well as on a freelance basis. So far the MA in translation has gathered highly motivated university graduates, with high standards in foreign languages. Some of them have been subsequently recruited to work for the European Commission and Parliament. The programme is also recommended by the Utrecht Network.


The development of the MA in translation and terminology at the "Al. I. Cuza" University of Iasi takes place in an European, national and local context which requires the training of highly qualified experts in international communication as well as the training of the trainers themselves, i. e. people who could teach in optimal conditions (undergraduate and graduate) students enrolled on such courses.


Programme outline


Duration: 2 year full-time study programme, corresponding to 60 credits per year; the dissertation is (separately) awarded 5credits.


Academic calendar:

1st semester: 1st October-21st January (with a winter holiday between 23rd December-7th January)

Examination period

Holiday:

2nd semester:

Examination period:


Languages: English, French, Romanian

Admission:

- Requirements: 1. a joint honours BA in English and French with specialization in translation and terminology;

Or

2. honours graduates in other subject fields with a very good command of English and French

Procedure: Foreign students are admitted on request, if they fulfill the previous conditions. Romanian applicants will have to pass an exam consisting of translations from and into English, French and Romanian newspaper articles. Applicants are selected according to the average mark in the exam and the number of available places.



Curriculum


The curriculum has been designed in order to enable trainees to take up the professions of translators-terminologists at the European Institutions, in Romanian offices, firms, companies, publishing houses, etc., there being also a possibility for (the best) trainees to become trainers for the respective fields.

The fundamental premise that underlies the curriculum structure and, more concretely, the activities carried out by the trainers working in the programme, is that translation is a complex activity that does not involve mere transcoding but also competent inter-cultural communication. Thus, in a world characterized by multilingualism and multiculturalism, with diversity being one of its key values, the translator becomes a mediator between different cultures and civilizations as well as an expert in translating in one or several specific fields.


Structure:

In keeping with the DGT guidelines and the courses already attended by some of the students at undergraduate level, the following courses/activities are offered. Each course/activity is awarded 6 ECTS:


§ Translation Studies (English and French)

§ Terminology (English and French)

§ Practical translation (e. g. legal, economic, EU texts: English and French)

§ Information technology for translation (English and French)

§ Translation assignment analysis

§ European institutions

§ Internship


Practice:

The compulsory period of internship carried out in translation offices, companies, agencies and publishing houses is part of the curriculum and gives trainees first-hand experience of the working environment of professional translators. Besides, the Faculty of Letters of the "Al. I. Cuza" University has its own translation bureau, for which some of the MA graduate students work.


Dissertation:

The final dissertation is the result of the research undertaken by the students, in close consultation with their supervisors, in the fields of translation and terminology.


The successful completion of the course is concretized in an MA diploma in translation and terminology, which enables graduates to work as professionals in all the institutions, firms, companies requiring this kind of services or as trainers for such programmes.


Facilities


Students attending the MA programme in translation and terminology work in two special multimedia laboratories having access to translation software (TRADOS, PASSOLO, ATTRIL), Internet, the local area network, on-line dictionaries, etc.

There is also a (small) library of the translation programme containing some recent (national and international) publications in the fields under study as well as a rich collection of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries.


Cooperation with other Romanian institutions


Besides cooperating with other Romanian universities that have their own translation programmes (e. g. Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara, Galati, etc.) as well as with local and national translation agencies and bureaus, there are close links between the MA students and Institutul European publishing house in Iasi, which has started a series of "Translation Topics".



Cooperation with the European Institutions and with other European universities


The MA in Translation of the "Al. I. Cuza" University of Iasi has been constantly in touch with the European Commission (DGT), Bruxelles. It has also been part of "The Invited Translator" project. Not only do many of its graduates now work for the DGT and other European Institutions, but some of its students have also spent periods of internship at the DGT. In March 2007 the MA in Translation in Iasi was visited by Angeliki Petrits, Coordinator of relations with universities at DGT and Urve Laas, Representative of the European Commission in Bulgaria and Romania.



Intensive exchanges also take place, at both student and teaching staff level, with European universities that offer MA's in translation, e. g. the Universities of Leeds, Middlesex, ISTI - Bruxelles, Copenhagen, Salamanca, Vigo, Alicante, Tarragona (Rovira Y Virgili), Lisbon, Saarbruecken, Paris III, Rennes2, Poitiers, Erasmus Hogeschool-Bruxelles, Université d'Angers, Université Catholique de Louvain, Université de Poitiers, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Université Catholique de l'Ouest-Angers, Universitŕ degli Studi di Bari, etc. The MA in Translation in Iasi has also been included among the finest Master's Programmes by the Utrecht network.

http://www.utrechtnetwork.org/documents/Masters_Programmes_0608/Masters_Brochure_finestMPs_web.pdf.


The MA Programme in Translation has been recently involved in several European projects. The most recent ones are the eCoLoTrain LEONARDO project (developing innovative e-content localisation training opportunities for trainers and teachers in professional translation)- 2005-2007 and the eCoLoMedia LEONARDO project (Développement de ressources pédagogiques partagées et adaptables pour l'enseignement professionnalisant de la localisation de contenus électroniques multimédias) - 2008-2010. Such projects have been instrumental in updating the curriculum and enhancing the quality of the courses according to the on-going European standards and the latest developments in the profession.

Source: website- Faculty of Letters, University of Iasi, Romania