Why should I choose this degree?
Specialist courses focusing on the creative aspect of translation are rare in the English-speaking world, and very few have the breadth of language expertise available at Trinity College Dublin, the wealth of professional experience held by its staff, or the facilities and opportunities offered by the Trinity Centre for Literary Translation.
This intensive master’s degree focuses takes a very broad definition of literature, to include anything that involves human creativity, including subtitles, computer games, songs, drama, speeches, comics, poetry, and of course, novels. With this broad definition in mind, the course builds an extremely broad range of skills. Students are responsible for their own progress, and take charge of their own learning and developing their creativity.
Students produce portfolios of translations under the supervision of academic mentors. In these portfolios students select a set of texts they wish to translate, the audiences they wish to translate for, and the strategies they wish to apply in translating.
Students also produce a dissertation, which can either take the form of a theoretical essay, in which students examine some case study or philosophical concept, or a translation & commentary, in which students propose a translation strategy or solution, and exemplify this with the production of a translation of substantial length.
The MPhil in Literary translation combines a strong practical focus with an equally strong focus on theory. It is run in close collaboration with the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation and its partners.
Many of our students go on to publish translations, work in the publishing industry or in the media. Our MPhil programme also provides students with a strong foundation for research at the PhD level. As a student on the MPhil in Literary Translation at Trinity College Dublin, you will benefit from a busy schedule of events, lectures, talks, and conferences, and be in an ideal position to make important contacts in both industry and academia.
We support you both in your academic journey of discovery through translation theory, and your professional journey into the practicalities of literary translation. Our core modules strike a balance between translation theory and translation practice, with roughly equal time given to exploring translation thinking and actively working on producing an exciting and original portfolio of literary translations.
Course summary
- Six core modules (three per term, each meeting for two hours per week)
- Two optional modules (each meeting for two hours per week)
- A portfolio of translations (six hours’ supervision per student)
- A dissertation (six hours’ supervision)
Lecturing and teaching
This course is taught on-site by Trinity College Dublin’s academic staff, practicing translators, editors, and publishers of translation.
Faculty members have published with leading academic presses and journals, have translated a wide range of literary texts, and have close working relationships with professional translators.
The course is housed at the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation, where students work alongside literary translation professionals.