The Department started out in 1990 as the “Translation Programme”, and gained full independent status from September 2019, realizing a long-cherished dream. Over our nearly 30-year history, we’ve grown from that single programme into a significant presence in the field, both locally and internationally, with 12 full-time academic staff and three Emeritus Professors. The Department offers several programmes: the BA (Hons.) in Translation, the MA in Translation and Bilingual Communication (with streams in Practical Translation, Interpreting, and Technology), and research postgraduate degrees – MPhil and PhD – in Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies. We also have a close and longstanding relationship with the Centre for Translation, with whom we regularly jointly host conferences and other activities that help foster a vibrant research environment.

The Department has long been recognized for its “big family” ethos, its friendliness and its intellectual energy, as well as its commitment to student experiential learning, for example in the form of industry placements with our extensive list of employer contacts. In research, we have strengths in a number of areas including interpreting studies, literary translation, translation in intersemiotic contexts, and minority studies (including Tibetan translation and Uighur film), as well as a strong record of grant capture. We are also building capacity in translation technology and translation in the digital world.