PhD in Languages and translation

Research environment The School of English and Languages hosts the Centre for Translation Studies. Founded in 1982, the Centre enjoys an international reputation and is staffed by scholars who are actively involved in the national and international translation and interpreting studies scene. The School is also home to world-leading research centres such as the Surrey Morphology Group and TRANS: Transnational Literary and Cultural Studies.

Key research areas include:

• Audiovisual translation, including intermodal translation (eg, audio description)
• Interpreting with a special focus on business and public service interpreting and new technologies in interpreting (remote/videoconference interpreting)
• Text corpora - including spoken corpora - as a basis for studies of translation, terminology and interpreting; corpus-linguistic methods in translation, terminology and interpreting
• Terminology studies, computerised terminology and terminography
• Cultural policymaking/questioning
• Humour theory and (audiovisual) translation
• Linguistic/text-linguistic/pragmatic aspects of translation
• Modelling the discourse process of (audiovisual) translation and interpreting
• Paratextual framing of translated texts; ideology and/of translation
• Sociological approaches: social movements and translation, translation and agency
• Literary and cultural approaches: literary translation, transnational studies
• Strategic and pragmatic dimensions of (audiovisual) translation and interpreting
• Translator and interpreter education and training

Research programmes:

• PhD Language and Translation Studies

Research degrees overview We particularly welcome topics that cross discipline boundaries.

At the core of our PhD programmes are the regular meetings that you will have with your supervisors. For us, writing is key to understanding and developing new perspectives: you will be submitting written work from the very start. In the first year, you will – with the guidance and support of your supervisors – lay the foundations of your research by refining your research proposal, engaging with the literature and planning the structure of your work, based on an agreed timetable. Throughout your studies we are committed to thinking about your long-term career as well as your time at the University.

Key to the planning of your work is training in generic skills (for example, giving presentations and managing your time) as well as participation in a module in research methods. You will gradually learn to work more independently as you progress into your second and third years, or the equivalent for part-time students. Your supervisors will guide you on how to present at conferences and the process of getting published.

Entry Requirements For Translation Studies, a good Bachelors degree and/or Masters degree in translation studies (translation, audiovisual translation, interpreting), in languages (with a literary or linguistic background), or in related subject areas is required. For other topics, a good Bachelors degree in linguistics, applied linguistics, education, languages (including literature) or in related subject areas is required. Applicants wishing to pursue doctoral studies in audio description or intralingual subtitling (SDH) only require a high level of proficiency in English. Non-fluent speakers of English are required to have IELTS 6.5 or above, with a minimum of 7.0 in the Writing component.

Studentship opportunities  The School of English and Languages is committed to the continuous development of our doctoral programmes. An important feature of this commitment is the Faculty Studentship Programme, which each year fully funds a number of three-year studentships covering tuition fees at the Home/EU rate and maintenance at current research-council rates, in order to support excellent research projects.

Further information 
For full programme information and information on how to apply, please visit the 'Apply' button below.