Legal Translation  MA

Overview

  • City's Legal Translation MA will allow you to acquire a specialisation in an area of translation for which there is an increasing demand.
  • The course provides an overview of the legal systems and terminology in England and Wales as well as those of the country of your other language.
  • It establishes a theoretical framework for legal translation and provides practice in translating key documents in a wide range of legal fields.
  • The curriculum was developed in consultation with the legal translation industry and is tailored to its needs.

Who is the MA Legal Translation for?

The course is suitable for:

  • Practising translators wishing to specialise in legal translation
  • Those already in employment in the legal profession with competence in a second language wishing to become translators in the legal field
  • Linguists who are interested becoming legal translators
  • Graduates in modern languages, translation or law.

Course Fees:

  • Full-time EU: £7,000
  • Part-time EU: £4,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £12,000
  • Part-time Non EU: £6,500

Start Date:

19 September 2012 (provisional date)

How to Apply

Entry Requirements

You should normally have a good Bachelor degree (2:1) in a relevant subject and be able to demonstrate competence at a level equivalent to either a first degree or IELTS 7.0 in a language other than your mother tongue. You may be asked to do a short translation test sent to you electronically, or to bring sample translations to interview.
 
Please ensure you indicate the language combination you wish to apply for in the 'Statement in Support of Application' section of the application form.

Visa Requirements

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:

  • Students on courses of more than 6 months
  • Students on courses of less than 6 months
  • Students on a pre-sessional English Language course

For more information see our main Visa page.

When and Where

Start Date:
19 September 2012 (provisional date)
Duration:
You can take the course over two years (part-time) or one year (full-time), with a flexible attendance pattern designed to accommodate the working translator. You can also take individual modules for continuing professional development.

Course Content

Which language combinations are offered?

We will consider applications for the following language combinations:

  • English into one of French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian or Spanish
  • French, German, Italian or Spanish into English
You can only take one language combination at a time and must translate into your mother tongue. All language combinations are offered subject to demand.


Course Structure

Confirmed module dates for 2011 and 2012

September 2011

December 2011
January 2012
March 2012
June 2012

Confirmed module dates for 2012 and 13

Principles and practice of legal translation: Wednesday 19 September - Saturday 22 September 2012

Translation for litigation: Wednesday 24 October - Saturday 27 October 2012

Terminology and translation of contracts: Wednesday 28 November - Saturday 1 December 2012

Company/commercial - key legal principles and translation: Wednesday 23 January - Saturday 26 January 2013

Terminology and translation of property documents: Wednesday 20 February - Saturday 23rd February 2013

The EU: Legal principles and translation: Wednesday 20 March -Saturday 23 March 2013

The translation professional: Wednesday 24 April  - Saturday 27 April 2013

Financial legal translation: Wednesday 22 May - Saturday 25 May 2013

Please note that part-time students starting in September 2012 will take the following modules in their first year:

  • Principles and practice of legal translation
  • Terminology and translation of contracts
  • Terminology and translation of property documents
  • The translation professional

The remaining modules will be taken in the second year.

Full-time students take all eight modules.

Teaching and Assessment

This course is offered in a flexible format combining intensive face-to-face teaching with distance learning. You will need to attend classes on four days (Wednesday to Saturday) four times a year: mid-September, mid-December, around Easter and mid-June. On the full-time course, you are required to attend all eight modules in one year.

For each module (except the dissertation module), you  submit one or two coursework assignments for formal assessment. These include academic essays, terminology research and translations with or without an additional discursive component.

There are no examinations, with the exception of an optional examination for the module EU: Legal Principles and Translation.

Fees

  • Full-time EU: £7,000
  • Part-time EU: £4,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £12,000
  • Part-time Non EU: £6,500
Please note that, for part-time courses, the tuition fee is likely to increase by a small percentage in subsequent years.

Funding

For up-to-date information about tuition fees, living costs and financial support, visit Undergraduate Fees and Finance or Postgraduate Fees and Finance.


Career Prospects

The course aims to enable you to gain insights into legal translation at a postgraduate level which will assist you in a career as a legal translator. By linking the theoretical framework of legal translation with the practical aspects of the discipline, it encourages you to discuss translation difficulties and pitfalls, helps you to reflect on your own translation practice and provides you with the critical, analytical and research skills necessary for success in the translation industry.

While several of our graduates work as freelance translators, many of them have been able to raise their rates and expand their client bases since successfully completing the MA. Others have taken up positions as in-house translators at international companies and law firms such as Nintendo and Freshfields, and at academic institutions like the Max Planck Institute of Comparative Law, while one of our graduates now works as a Lawyer-Linguist at the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In addition to these translation positions, one of our former students is project manager in the translation division of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation in London, while two others have decided to continue their studies by embarking on PhDs in translation. 

Find out more about City University London

Application Deadline

30 June 2012

MA Legal Translation

To apply for an MA, you will need to submit:

  • An application form (either electronically or by post)
  • Two references (one of which should be from an academic referee)
  • You may also be asked to bring sample translations to interview

Please ensure you indicate the language combination you wish to apply for in the "Statement in Support of Application" section of the application form, and indicate whether you prefer the full-time or the part-time option

Application forms

Apply online for the MA in Legal Translation starting in September 2012

Download a PDF version of the application form (pdf)

Return address

Please return your application form and/or supporting documents, marked "Translation 2012", to: Admissions, Centre for Creative Writing, Translation and Publishing, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK.