Overview

The Master of Arts in the field of Translation or Interpreting aims to broaden students' theoretical interests in translation and interpreting and to encourage further research. Independent study forms a large part of the workload for these programmes, although there is also a strong emphasis on continued professional translation training. Applicants should have already obtained an Honours degree in Translation or Interpreting or equivalent qualification.

The programme (either in the field of translation or interpreting) is a one-year full-time, or two-year part-time programme.

Curriculum

The Master of Arts in the field of Translation consists of the following modules:

• TRAN7006A: MA Translation Research Report
• TRAN7071A: Research Topics in Translation Studies
• TRAN7072A: Critical Approaches to Literary Translation
• TRAN7073A: Advanced Practical Translation
• TRAN7079A: Selected Topic in Translation Studies
• TRAN7085A: Professional Translation Practice

The Master of Arts in the field of Interpreting consists of the following modules:

• TRAN7006A: Translation Research Report (in the field of Interpreting)
• TRAN7080A: Specialised Conference Interpreting Skills
• TRAN7081A: Advanced Interpreting Practice
• TRAN7082A: Professional Language Enhancement
• TRAN7083A: Professional Interpreting Practice
• TRAN7084A: Research Topics in Interpreting Studies

Entry Requirements

Master of Arts by Coursework and Research Report:

A Bachelor’s degree with Honours (Translation and Interpreting Studies or equivalent) from Wits or another university, with a 65% aggregate pass mark.

Master of Arts by Dissertation:

• A Bachelor’s degree with Honours (Translation and Interpreting Studies or equivalent) from Wits or another university, with a 65% aggregate pass mark;
• A pre-arrangement for supervision within the Faculty of Humanities.

Graduates from our department are not required to submit an entrance portfolio. 

New applicants (from different universities) for the translation track are required to compile an entrance portfolio consisting of:

• A translation test in the relevant language combination provided by the department;
• A letter of motivation of 750 to 1000 words in English on the reasons for applying to the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies;
• Area(s) of research prospective students might like to pursue if accepted to the programme.

There may be a further language assessment and interview for applicants who perform satisfactorily in the entrance portfolio.

New applicants (from different universities) for the interpreting track are required to compile an entrance portfolio consisting of:

• Pre-assessment form, Section A: Personal Details, Section B: Motivation for the application, Section C: Rating of language skills, Section D: Glossing Exercise and Section E: Practice Test which is a  simultaneous interpreted text from source to target language (3 min) in both language directions.

There may be an interview for applicants for interpreting programmes based on the submission of the practice test.

University Application Process

University Fees and Funding

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.