Chinese - English Translating (2 Years) at Heriot Watt University Edinburgh

Heriot-Watt University’s Two-Year MSc in Chinese – English Translating provides students with 2 years of professional training in the skills and techniques used by professional translators and sufficient time to develop language abilities and intercultural understanding.

Studying this 2-year masters degree in translation will allow you to immerse yourself in a new culture and lift your language and IT literacy to a high standard, helping you become a professional translator.

The first year (Stage 1) of the degree will equip you with a solid, theoretical and practical foundation in translating. Stage 1 includes 2 courses in Research Preparation (English Study Skills), which means you will improve your English language abilities whilst gaining introductory translation skills. The second year (Stage 2) is the same as our one-year MSc degree in Translating which equips students with the professional standard translating abilities.

As part of the most established suite of Interpreting and Translating masters degrees in Scotland, graduates from this 2-Year Chinese – English programme will be recognised by industry has having achieved a high level of expertise and knowledge. 

It is taught through a variety of traditional and innovative approaches, making use of Heriot-Watt University’s state-of-the-art translation technology, sector-leading intercultural research, links to industry and authentic materials.

With an entry requirement of 6.0 IELTS overall, this two-year degree allows you to begin from a less advanced position than the one-year degree but the benefits of an extra year of learning on our translating programme are huge.

The extra year of high-quality learning will improve your language ability and introduce key professional skills. Over two years you will bring your language skills up to an advanced level and immerse yourself in two fascinating cultures whilst becoming familiar with the demands and delights of British university life.

You will also have an extra year to prepare for professional life as a translator and develop deep-rooted academic and professional expertise.

In Year 1 you will have the chance to gain introductory experience to professional standard technology by selecting an optional course in Computer Aided Translation (CAT) software and in Year 2 you will master these professional tools and techniques as your training in our state-of-the-art translation labs progresses to a weekly basis.

Over the course of two years, your learning will focus on developing expertise in key areas of translation such as:

• Technical and scientific translation
• Subtitling and audio-visual translation
• Use of Computer Aided Translation tools
• Sight translation

You will learn about how to implement different approaches to translating when working in different professional contexts, and you will become increasingly confident in your interactions with clients and fellow professionals. We will bring your transferable communication skills such as public speaking, note-taking, revising and editing, and summarising to a high standard.