Postgraduate programmes

Taught

MA Translation and Intercultural Studies

In a fractious world, human changemakers are needed to bridge expectations. Technologies can help, but understanding, articulating and respecting someone’s real needs requires intercultural sensitivity, linguistic expertise and interpersonal professionalism. Our MA Translation and Intercultural Studies provides a new venue to study a world that is polarised, and in which many people struggle to be understood. Across our programme, we survey strategies that help people express themselves and be heard. This is a bold, new approach to translation – human and holistic – and we invite speakers of all the world’s verbal languages to apply and to join us.

MSc Interpreting

Mastering the Languages of Global Influence

In an era where diplomacy, trade, and cultural exchange shape the world stage, skilled interpreters bridge more than language. They connect nations, ideas, and people. This programme prepares you to operate with precision, confidence, and cultural intelligence at the highest levels of international engagement, and to facilitate cross-lingual communication in fields ranging from business negotiations, to court or medical scenarios.

Building on your linguistic competence, you’ll refine your ability to perform under pressure, delivering seamless real-time communication where clarity and accuracy are critical. From political negotiations to cross-border partnerships, you’ll learn to think fast, act ethically, and interpret with authority in settings where every word matters. In addition to mastering your language at the highest level, you will gain proficiency in transferable skills such as strategic listening, emotional composure under pressure, and rapid analytical thinking. These abilities equip you not only for interpreting careers but also for leadership roles in international organisations, NGOs, and global enterprises. Taught by expert linguists and practitioners, the programme combines rigorous academic study with live simulation exercises reflecting real-world challenges. You’ll emerge with professional accreditation readiness and a deep understanding of the interpreter’s pivotal role in shaping trust, cooperation, and mutual understanding between cultures. 

Research programmes (MPhil, PhD)

We offer a research-based Masters (MPhil) in translation as well as a PhD programme. See Translation MPhil, PhD for more information. See also our Research page for details of our projects and areas of expertise. 

We offer a practice-oriented research pathway in translation. For more information, contact artf-pgadmissions@bristol.ac.uk. Enquiries from prospective postdoctoral researchers should be addressed to Dr. Carol O'Sulivan. Enquiries about research in drama translation should be addressed to Dr Katja Krebs.

Please contact the subject lead Dr Carol O’Sullivan to discuss projects in advance of application. For projects starting in 2022-2023, we particularly welcome proposals on lay use of machine translation and on the history of any sector of the translation industry. 

Our PhD projects, past and present, include several practice-based projects (fiction, non-fiction, short fiction); projects on legal translation briefing; Penguin Russian classics; comparative literature; technologies for literary translators; conceptualisations of literacy; audiovisual and literary translation in China.

Industry Links and Networks

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