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Course Overview
This programme trains students in the professional skills of conference interpreting, enabling them to avail of the employment opportunities for qualified interpreting professionals. It is the only course of its kind in Ireland—a programme developed in conjunction with the institutions of the EU. Training is provided by practicing professionals in both modes of conference interpreting—consecutive and simultaneous interpreting—and employs recommended techniques: concentration exercises, interpretation from memory, sight interpreting, note-taking techniques and monitored use of the institutional speech repository. Students study the theory and practice of interpreting, and also examine professional ethics and conference preparation/ procedures, along with working practices and conditions. Students will study the institutions of the EU, and the university organises a study visit to the European Parliament and Commission. Irish, English, French, Spanish, Italian and German are offered on the programme to date.
Other languages may be considered based on student numbers.
Applications and Selections
Applications are made online via the University of Galway Postgraduate Applications System. Admission to the programme is subject to success in both a suitability test and an interview.
To access the course, you will need one of the following language profiles* Based on the official AIIC definition of same:
AA or AB (biactive/polyvalent or ABC or ACC or ACCC
A Language(s is “The interpreter's native language (or another language strictly equivalent to a native language, into which the interpreter works from all her or his other languages, and as a general rule, in both modes of interpretation, simultaneous and consecutive.”
B Language(s is “A language other than the interpreter's native language, of which she or he has a perfect command and into which she or he works from one or more of her or his other languages. Some interpreters work into a 'B' language in only one of the two modes of interpretation.”
C Language(s is a language of which the interpreter has a complete understanding and from which she or he works.”
*one of the working languages must be English or Irish.
Who Teaches this Course
- Susan Folan, MA, EMCI
- Karl Apsel MA
- Claudia Corriero MA
- Mahé Vandenbosch MA
- Azucena Bermudez MA
Requirements and Assessment
Continuous assessment, essays, and practical examinations.
The entrance assessment involves:
- A short interview to assess your motivation and attitude towards the course
- Translation of a short article from each of your working languages, without the use of translation tools or dictionaries (This is done electronically and does not require a presence in Galway
- A concentration exercise in your proposed language combination, i.e. you will listen to a 2-3 minutes speech in each of your C or B languages and will have to reformulate it in your A language/mother tongue. The oral reproduction of these short and structured speeches from the candidate’s C and B languages* into A* and, where appropriate, A into B, is to test applicants’ ability to listen to, understand, process and reproduce a short speech on a general topic. They must show that they have understood the message and are able to communicate it. (This is done electronically and does not require a presence in Galway