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Postgraduate Studies in Translation and Interpreting

Program Objectives and Structure

The course seeks to develop students' skills in translation/interpreting in English and another language, and their awareness of practical and theoretical approaches to translation/interpreting and translation/interpreting studies. Students gain a foundation in theories of translation/interpreting and receive training in research on translation/interpreting studies.  Upon completion of this course, students are able to conceptualise translation/interpreting studies as an academic discipline in its historical, cross-disciplinary and intercultural context. All the units cover basic topics related to the theory and practice of both translation and interpreting. The higher level theoretical units focus on more recent research issues in the emerging field of interpreting studies and in familiarising students with current research models and methodologies in translation studies.

The overall Masters structure accommodates three separate streams:

  1. a combined interpreting and translation stream which enables candidates to gain NAATI accreditation in both Interpreting and Translation at the Professional level, or in either Interpreting or Translation at the Professional level

  2. a translation-only stream which enables candidates to gain NAATI accreditation in Translation at the Professional level, and with exit points at:
    • Graduate Certificate in Arts (after successful completion of 24 points)
    • Graduate Diploma in Translation Studies (after successful completion of 48 points).

  3. A research stream which provides candidates with advanced theoretical and professional studies in translating and interpreting and offers the possibility of articulating into a PhD.

The course is structured to enable students to gain NAATI professional accreditations in the final examinations (see pathways diagrams below).

For students studying to be eligible for NAATI accreditation there are three options:

Option 1: Graduate Diploma in Translation Studies

Semester One (Feb)

Semester Two (July)

OR for midyear entry:

Semester One (July)

Semester Two (Feb)

To be recommended for NAATI accreditation as Translator, students must meet the required pass level (70%) in the examination component of the designated unit, i.e. TRN4050 for those commencing in February and TRN4040 for those commencing in July. Students must also complete 80 hours of practicum.

Option 2: Master of Interpreting and Translation Studies (Combined Interpreting and Translation Stream)

Note: For all streams, students are required to obtain an average of 60% in all core units in order to be eligible for the award of the Master degree.

Semester One

Semester Two

Semester Three

To be recommended for NAATI accreditation as Interpreter, students must meet the required pass level (70%) in the examination component of the designated unit in the third semester of study (TRN5400).

If students wish to be recommended for NAATI accreditation in translation (in addition to interpreting), students must also meet the required pass level (70%) in the designated unit in their second semester of study (TRN4040).

The total number of hours required for the Combined Interpreting and Translation Stream practicum is 160.

Translation Practicum Content (incorporated as part of TRN 4040/4050)

The practicum will be divided into several components that will typically include translation of a range of text types, such as:

  1. Translation of Monash Oakleigh Legal Services (MOLS) materials, which will include, a range of text types, for example:
    • general promotional materials
    • information on specific legal issues currently supplied by MOLS to clients in English only
    • procedural information
    • legal documents that require translation during the process of advice provision to MOLS/MSLS clients

  2. Translation of Monash University materials including website related information that forms part of the overall localisation (internationalisation) of the Monash University website

  3. Participation in large translation projects in collaboration with translation agencies/language service providers

Interpreting Practicum Content (incorporated as part of TRN 4300/5400)

The practicum is divided into several components that will typically include a range of activities, such as:

  1. Attendance at court sessions where interpreting services are required to observe:
    • court procedures and etiquette
    • professional interpreters operating in the court environment

  2. Weekly attendance at the Monash Oakleigh Legal Service (MOLS) and Monash Springvale Legal Service (MSLS) over the period of two semesters to:
    • provide low level interpreting assistance to Monash University law students who provide low level civil and family law legal advice to clients as part of a supervised law practicum
    • in more complex cases, observe professional TIS interpreters at work

Weekly attendance at (or block placement with) language service provider/translation and interpreting agency.

Option 3: Master of Interpreting and Translation Studies (translation stream only)

Semester One

Semester Two

Semester Three

To be recommended for NAATI accreditation as Translator, students must meet the required pass level (70%) in the examination component of the designated unit in their second semester of study, namely TRN4050 for those commencing in February and TRN4040 for those commencing in July. Students must also complete 80 hours of practicum.

Alternative Pathways: Research Stream

For students who wish to undertake the course with a more specific focus on research, there are a number of different pathways available after the first semester of study. Students who enrol in the research stream may still be eligible to be recommended for NAATI accreditation in translation (not interpreting) if they meet the required pass level (70%) in the examination component of the designated unit (as per Option 3 above).

Guidelines for Translation Projects

See the translation projects and dissertations information page here.

Information for Students Writing a Dissertation

See the translation projects and dissertations information page here.

Completed Student Projects

A sample of recently completed translation projects (by TRN students).

Angel's Venom: a translation of Susanne Ayoub's Engelsgift

The piece for translation was from an Austrian crime thriller (Engelsgift , or Angel's Venom in English) by Susanne Ayoub. It is the story of Marie Horvath, an author in present-day Vienna , who plans to write a screenplay about the sixty year old case of Karoline Streicher, who was sentenced to death in 1938 for the poisoning of her new-born daughter, aunt and a lodger. The section for translation deals with Karoline and her son contriving a coincidental meeting with her aunt, Sissy Gollner. They eventually move into her apartment and Sissy succumbs to a mysterious illness, leaving Karoline to do what she likes with the apartment and furniture. It is based on the real-life case of Martha Marek, who was guillotined for her crimes in 1938.

Dr Ksenija Atanasijevic. "Aspects and Analysis of a Philosophy of Humanism"(1969): A Translation.

A critical analysis and translation from Serbian into English of the essay "Aspects and Analysis of a Philosophy of Humanism" (1969 ), by Dr Ksenija Atanasijevic, who was a distinguished Serbian philosopher, well known for her original interpretation of Giordano Bruno's work. She was also one of the leading feminists in former Yugoslavia in the first half of 20th century.

In "Aspects and Analysis of a Philosophy of Humanism" Dr Ksenija Atanasijevic produced strong aphorisms and made striking pronouncements of the evil and meaninglessness of the human world and human existence. She states that the greatest evil of inhuman relations between people are hatred and human discrimination.

Eugene Nida's model of 'Dynamic equivalence' was used and modified to Serbian language for this translation.

Torii Ryz (1870-1953): A Pioneer in East Asian Anthropology

A translation of an article by Torii Ryz. The article consists of a brief biography of the life and work of Torii Ryz, one of Japan's pioneering anthropologists. Torii lived from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century and his research was mainly conducted on the Chinese Mainland, although he also carried out extensive field-trips along the expanding borders of imperial Japan . Torii's multi-lingual competence and his prolific academic contributions are highly impressive. Despite being a competent anthropologist, Torii's personality was, in certain cases, beyond social expectations.

Death and the Devil: a translation of Frank Schtzing's Tod und Teufel : German Crime Fiction in Translation

A translation of an excerpt of Frank Schtzing's first novel, Tod und Teufel . A bestseller in Germany , the novel is set in medieval Cologne during the construction of the Cologne Cathedral. The excerpt follows the exploits of Jacob the Fox, a petty thief who witnesses the death of the Cathedral's master builder while raiding the Archbishop's apples, and is consequently hunted through the streets of Cologne by the Wolf, a ruthless assassin.

The Death Flower

An annotated translation of Luigi Pirandello's short story La morte addosso, first published in 1918, and later adapted for the stage as Lomo dal fiore in bocca. The translation brief was to translate a literary work for an educated, middle class audience likely to be familiar with Pirandello's writings, conveying the message, rather than striving to achieve 'equivalence'.

Fabio Volo: Esco a Fare Due Passi Honours Dissertation

An annotated translation of excerpts from the recent Italian bestseller,Esco a Fare Due Passi , by the famous Italian radio and television personality, Fabio Volo. The novel is in the form of a long letter written by the author's alter-ego, Nico, who is searching for meaning and direction in his life. The text's youth-oriented themes and colloquial style are typical of current trends in contemporary Italian literature. The translation strategy adopted for the project was influenced by Venuti's concept of the translator's invisibility.

Training For Interpreters And Translators In Australia

Summary of Research Report prepared by Judith del Rio, Monash University
(November 2005) Dowload in Acrobat (pdf) format.

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