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University of Surrey: Interpreting, Technology and AI (Chinese pathway)
| Institution | University of Surrey View institution profile |
|---|---|
| Department | FABSS - Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences |
| Web | www.surrey.ac.uk |
| admissions@surrey.ac.uk | |
| Telephone | +44(0)1483 682222 |
| Study type | Taught |
MA
Summary
Why choose this course - Taught in collaboration with KL Communications Ltd, whose Managing Director, Dr Kevin Lin OBE, is the Lead Interpreter (Chinese) for the UK government’s Foreign Office, a successful business leader and experienced trainer.
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Based around a strong practical component that responds to the evolving needs of the Chinese interpreting market.
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Encompasses technological innovation reshaping the industry, especially in audio/video-mediated remote interpreting and AI-driven technologies that support interpreting and interpreter preparation (speech technologies and generative AI such as ChaGPT), with the Centre for Translation Studies (CTS) recognised as a leading centre of excellence in interpreting and technology research.
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Provides exceptional opportunities for gaining industry-relevant interpreting experience, training you to be ready for your first conference interpreter job upon graduation.
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Supports internships and career development activities, enabling you to collaborate with language service providers and build a professional engagement portfolio that you can present to future employers.
What you will study Our course covers the main principles, techniques and professional requirements of interpreting between Chinese and English, preparing you to work as an interpreter in conference, business and political settings.
You will develop skills in all interpreting modes (consecutive, dialogue and simultaneous interpreting, and sight translation) and practice both on-site interpreting and remote/distance interpreting via audio/video link as well as note-taking and public speaking. Guided by Dr Kevin Lin and his team of professional interpreters, alongside experienced academics at Surrey’s Centre for Translation Studies (CTS), you will cover a variety of specialisms (e.g., business, legal, scientific, technical and medical domains), as you develop a solid grounding in the linguistic, cognitive, quality-related, social and ethical dimensions of interpreting.
Uniquely, our course emphasises the integration of cutting-edge technologies into the interpreting workflow, for example, to support the interpreter’s preparation and real-time performance (such as electronic glossaries, digital note-taking, automatic speech recognition, machine translation and generative AI) and the delivery of interpreting services (audio/video-mediated distance/remote interpreting). This provides you with the necessary digital skills to develop a successful interpreting career in a fast-changing world and work environment. The Centre for Translation Studies (CTS)’ leading expertise in interpreting technologies will enable you to integrate different tools effectively and responsibly in your interpreting practice.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | A minimum of a 2:2 UK honours degree in English or a related subject. You must be a native Chinese speaker to apply. We may be able to take relevant work experience into consideration if you don't meet these requirements. If you have at least one year of relevant experience in a full-time graduate-level role (or a minimum of two years’ experience in a relevant graduate-level part-time role) please provide full details of your role and responsibilities in your personal statement and CV when you submit your application. English language requirements Alternatively, if you have successfully been awarded the Certificate of Excellence offered by our partner, KL Communications, and had an IELTS of 6.0 overall with 6.0 in each category before you took this course, and this IELTS will still be valid for the start of the MA, then you will not need to take another IELTS. |
| Location | Stag Hill Stag Hill Guildford GU2 7XH |
Summary
Why choose this course Our Interpreting, Technology and AI (Chinese pathway) MA course is taught in collaboration with KL Communications Ltd, whose Managing Director, Dr Kevin Lin OBE, is the Lead Interpreter (Chinese) for the UK government’s Foreign Office.
The programme has a strong practical component that responds to the evolving needs of the Chinese interpreting market, encompassing new technological innovation which is reshaping the industry and its associated research opportunities.
The course provides exceptional global opportunities for simulated and industry-relevant interpreting experience, training you to be ready for your first conference interpreter job upon graduation.
We support ‘virtual internships’ which enable you to collaborate with language service providers and build a professional engagement portfolio whilst still studying, that you can present to future employers.
The Centre for Translation Studies has developed an ambitious new research programme which will place us and our students at the very heart of future developments. The programme informs our teaching with a strong focus on the responsible integration of human and machine translation.
What you will study Our course covers the main principles, techniques and professional requirements of interpreting between Chinese and English, preparing you to work as an interpreter in conference, business and political settings.
You'll develop skills in all interpreting modes (consecutive, dialogue and simultaneous interpreting, and sight translation), through on-site and remote interpreting via audio/video link, note-taking and public speaking. The Interpreting and Technology module focuses on practical knowledge and professional requirements for integrating different technologies in interpreting, for example, to support the interpreter’s preparation and performance (such as accessing electronic glossaries, digital note-taking) and delivery of interpreting services (audio/video-mediated distance/remote interpreting). This provides you with the necessary digital skills to develop a successful interpreting career in a fast-changing world and work environment.
The Professional Translation Practice module engages students in practical workshops for translating specialised texts, whilst our optional modules allow you to customise your learning experience.
Your dissertation will enable you to consolidate the knowledge and skills acquired during the taught components of the course and guide you along the identification and selection of an appropriate research topic or an extended interpreting project and analytical commentary. It’s also one of the many ways of getting involved in ongoing research in the Centre for Translation Studies. We regularly have students who decide to stay on for a PhD and pursue an academic career in translation and interpreting studies. For further information, see our PhD course.
During your studies, you will have an opportunity to demonstrate academic and professional excellence by winning prizes. These include the following:
RWS Campus Top Student Award (two Trados licenses) Project management training (one free-of-charge place in the Pro PM Training and Certification Programme) Professional Engagement Portfolio Prize Best Performance in Interpreting Prize.
| Level | RQF Level 7 |
|---|---|
| Entry requirements | A minimum of a 2:2 UK honours degree in English or a related subject. You must be a native Chinese speaker to apply. We may be able to take relevant work experience into consideration if you don't meet these requirements. If you have at least one year of relevant experience in a full-time graduate-level role (or a minimum of two years’ experience in a relevant graduate-level part-time role) please provide full details of your role and responsibilities in your personal statement and CV when you submit your application. English language requirements Alternatively, if you have successfully been awarded the Certificate of Excellence offered by our partner, KL Communications, and had an IELTS of 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each category before you took this course, and this IELTS will still be valid for the start of the MA, then you will not need to take another IELTS. |
| Location | Stag Hill Stag Hill Guildford GU2 7XH |
Welcome to the University of Surrey, a global community with over 153,000 alumni in 185 countries across the globe.
We’re based in the popular town of Guildford, recently voted the safest student town in England (CUG 2025), just 35 minutes from central London by train. Our beautiful, green campus is home to outstanding learning facilities in every faculty, plus a comprehensive range of student services, a wide choice of accommodation and dedicated support for international students, to help you make the most of university life.
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