You will train to become a professional interpreter specialised in conference interpreting, capable of working in national and international multilingual environments in both the private and public sector
General information
UAB University Master's Degree
Credits: 120 ECTS
Course begins on 12/09/2024
Beginning of the pre-enrolment period 05/02/2024
See the calendar
Pre-registration period: Open
Places: 20 places
Price: €27,67 per credit (EU citizens and non-EU holding an EUresidence permit). 2023/24 Academic year. €75 per credit (non-EU citizens who do not hold an EU residence permit). 2023/24 Academic year.
Language: Spanish (40%), English (40%), French (10%) and German (10%)
This master is biennial and will open pre-registration for the 2024-2025 academic year.
This is the first two-year official master's degree in Conference Interpreting to be offered in the country. It allows students to acquire practical professional skills gradually within an academic setting, and also offers regular and direct contact with the reality of the profession.
The programme offers the possibility of taking the course in two or three foreign languages (English, French, German or Spanish as the language from which you will be interpreting).
With the support from the European Commission's Common Conference Interpreting Services and the Office of Language Interpretation (OIL) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, students are offered teaching assistance, periodic online classes and a study visit to Brussels including an interpreting internship.
Exceptional equipment unique in Europe: three fully digitalised interpreting halls with 53 simultaneous interpreting cabin which will allow you to practise in real-life situations, with audiovisual material and different support forms.
Lecturers are active conference interpreters, most of them members of the International Association of Conference Interpreters, accredited by the main European institutions.
Career options
Upon completing the MUIC programme, graduates will be prepared to work as liberal professionals in the private sector (international conferences and congresses, international trade relations between companies) and as freelance interpreters for international organisms. They can also work as civil servants once they have passed all official exams in public institutions such as: the UN, the European Parliament, the European Commission and Council, Court of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Parliament of Catalonia, etc. As well as in other international organisations such as the WTO, the OECD, ILO, WIPO, EUIPO, etc., which are present in several regions around the work and hire the services of interpreters on a daily basis.
Testimonials
Two words: professionalism and demand. The master offers a specific curriculum that opens the doors to the world of interpretation, oriented both to the private market and to the institutional sphere.
Olga Sanmiquel
Being a former student of the faculty, I knew that teachers were closely linked to both institutions and the private market in Barcelona, so I did not hesitate to return to my alma mater. In addition, we have mentors who accompany us during learning.
Laia Llinàs
Work placements
The Supervised Work Experience module on the MUIC provides students with three types of work experience opportunities:
Supervised consecutive and/or simultaneous interpreting work experience:
The UAB Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (FTI) Interpreting Service organises these work experience assignments. In addition to offering a service to the university community and external customers, the main purpose of the Interpreting Service is to provide real work experience for FTI trainee interpreters. The Service Coordinator decides on the type of interpreting that MUIC students can provide under the Service Coordinator's supervision, depending on the type of interpreting requested, the subject matter, and the language combination. If the service cannot be provided with students (due to the difficulty of the assignment or the language combination requested), the Coordinator will offer a professional interpreting service and organise dummy booths (without a microphone) so that students can practice in real-life situations.
Supervised consecutive and/or simultaneous interpreting practice at the European institutions:
This is organised under the pedagogical assistance agreements we have with the European Parliament and the European Commission. In the second semester of year two, students can do dummy booth practice at real meetings of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Council. The students are supervised by staff members of the institutions and their course trainers who go with them on the study trip.
Supervised consecutive and/or simultaneous interpreting work experience on the private market in Barcelona:
These assignments are organised as part of the mentoring agreement with AIB SL. In the last stage of the course, students can attend professional assignments with their mentors where they have the opportunity to listen to working professionals (provided that the type of meeting and level of confidentiality allow this). They may also be able to do dummy booth practice if the technical characteristics of the event are suitable and the meeting organiser authorises it.
Mentoring Programme with private company AIB SL.
The MUIC has an agreement with the Associated Interpreters of Barcelona (AIB) under which students receive mentoring from professional interpreters who are members of this association from day one of their course. The mentoring programme is directly linked to the Professional Seminars and Mentoring modules.
AIB Associated Interpreters of Barcelona (a non-profit association) and AIB SL. Founded in 2000, Associated Interpreters of Barcelona is a non-profit association of 16 freelance professional conference interpreters. All AIB's members belong to the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) and are also accredited by international institutions and organisations such as the European Union and the UN.
AIB is a benchmark for conference interpreting professionals and organises interpreting teams worldwide.
AIB comprises two core dimensions: the association represents the values of professional solidarity, quality, and rigorous work in decent working conditions, while AIB SL covers the more business-related side, meeting customers' needs with exhaustive knowledge of the local and international market.
Through the mentoring programme with AIB, students on the UAB Master's in Conference Interpreting benefit from all aspects related to joining the profession (due to the business structure of AIB SL), and to the professional role of the interpreter (due to the non-profit and independent nature of the association).
The main areas covered on the AIB mentoring programme are: standard practices in the profession (availability, options and professional contracts); professional ethics (which assignments are acceptable and which are not); the duty of confidentiality and the professional interpreter's code of conduct; required conditions for proper interpreting; technical requirements according to the mode of interpreting; starting a career in interpreting; the composition of interpreting teams; legal and tax obligations in Spain (Hacienda and Seguridad Social); Spanish legislation on occupational hazards risks and compulsory certification; Spanish data protection legislation, and relations with customers (quotes, sales visits, invoicing) and providers (other interpreters and technical sound companies).
AIB's involvement in the course is twofold:
- Lectures, talks and masterclasses at the UAB on required topics and according to teaching needs.
- Professional mentoring: students are assigned an AIB mentor who gives them guidance on the areas mentioned above. Mentors give students ongoing support throughout their training and help them with any queries they may have during the course and at the start of their professional career.
In addition, in the last stage of the course, students can go with their mentors on professional assignments where they have the opportunity to listen to working professionals (provided that the type of meeting and level of confidentiality allow this).
Students enrolled in the Master’s degree can apply for the bursary awarded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Interpretation (SCIC). You can obtain more information and check whether you are eligible by sending an email to scic-bursaries@ec.europa.eu or by visiting the webpage Bursaries for conference interpreting students.
