Languages and Culture Studies: Translating, Graduate Certificate

The Department of Languages and Culture Studies offers a Graduate Certificate in Languages and Culture Studies: Translating with options in the following language pairs: English-French, English-German, English-Japanese, English-Russian, and English-Spanish. It is designed for Early Entry, post-baccalaureate, graduate, and post-graduate students. Students typically complete the required 12 graduate credit hours in 2-3 semesters, and may begin the program in either the Fall or Spring semester.

Students in the certificate program study the history, theory, methodology, and profession of translation; work intensively in the analysis and translation of different types of discourse, including non-literary and literary texts; become familiar with computer-assisted translation; and develop advanced post-editing skills. Graduate level coursework may also include special topics courses in translation and up to 3 credit hours of professional internship credit in translating. Translating is done in both directions of a given language pair:

English ↔ French
English ↔ German
English ↔ Japanese
English ↔ Russian
English ↔ Spanish

Admission Requirements

Students must apply for admission to the Graduate School and must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75. Applicants will generally have a baccalaureate degree in one of the certificate languages: French, German, Japanese, Russian, or Spanish, or in a closely related area that requires sufficient upper-division coursework in that language (e.g., for Spanish, Latin American Studies, International Studies, International Business), or an undergraduate degree, certificate, or minor in translation.

Applicants are required to submit:

A well-developed essay in English that addresses the applicant’s motivation for enrolling in the Graduate Certificate
Three letters of reference (from professors, specialists in translation, and/or employers, preferably in the field)
An oral interview with the Graduate Program Director
A sample of translations into or from the language pair selected (with original text to accompany each translation submitted)
Official scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (International Students only)

Note: Students interested in adding this Graduate Certificate to the M.A. in Spanish must apply separately for the certificate program. One application does not cover both programs.

Early Entry Program

Exceptional undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte may apply for the Early Entry Program and begin work toward the graduate degree before completion of the baccalaureate degree. See the Undergraduate Catalog for details and requirements. Also see the Degree Requirements and Academic Policies section of the Graduate Catalog for more information about Early Entry Programs.