Established in late 2007, the Department of Translation and Interpretation has developed in a very robust way, now with programs for both undergraduates and postgraduates. In this way, Beihang University is one of the 15 leading universities in China offering BTI (Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpretation), MA (Master of Arts in Translation Studies), MTI (Master of Translation and Interpretation) and DTI (Doctor of Translation and Interpretation Studies) programs. A salient and distinctive feature of the 4 degree programs is the application of computer technology in both practice and theoretical research in this field.
Faculty
The Department of Translation and Interpretation is composed of 8 staff members, with 2 full professors, 4 associate professors and 2 instructors. Among them, 4 are PhD degree holders.
Professors: Yanglong LI, Wenzhong WU (Deputy Head of Department)
Associate Professors: Min DONG, Duoxiu QIAN (Head of Department), Xiaojie WANG, Li XING
Instructors: Sha HE, Pei WANG
Labs
2 Simultaneous Interpreting Labs (50 seats and 4 booths); 1 Translation Technology Lab (10 computers, 1 server)
Bachelor of Arts Program in Translation and Interpretation
This program aims at providing students with a wide range of basic training in English, Chinese, translation and interpretation. Upon graduation, students are supposed to be able to deal with translation and interpretation of different text types of medium difficulty level. They are also expected to pass TEM 4 (Band 4, Test for English Majors) and CATTI 3 (Band 3, China Accreditation Test of Translators and Interpreters) before graduation.
Required course module
English
Intensive Reading (level 1— level 4)
Extensive Reading (level 1— level 3)
Listening Comprehension (level 1— level 3)
Oral English (level 1—level 3)
Pronunciation and Intonation
Introduction to English-speaking Countries
Translation
Introduction to Translation
Translation (English-Chinese)
Translation (Chinese-English)
Computer-aided Translation
Translation of Science and Technical Texts
Interpretation
Introduction to Interpretation (level 1—level 2)
Alternating Interpreting (General)
Alternating Interpretation (Science and Technical)
Chinese
Classic Chinese
Contemporary Chinese Reading and Writing
Elective course module
Advanced English Reading
Aeronautical and Astronautical Translation
American Literature
British Literature
Business Translation
Comparative Studies of Chinese and Other Languages
Cross-cultural Communication
Interpreting English Grammar
Introduction to Simultaneous Interpretation
Literary Translation
Science and Technical Translation
Master of Arts Program in Translation Studies
This is a traditional 2-year MA program in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics. The focus is on the integration of theory of practice and the study of translation process and product. The students are required to read extensively in theory, think critically, come up with new ideas and finish a research paper of around 20,000 English words before graduation.
Required course module
General Linguistics
Introduction to Translation Studies
Introduction to Literary Studies
Translation Theory and Practice
Second Foreign Language
Elective course module
Cross Cultural Communication: Theory and Practice
Comparative Studies of Languages
Computer-aided Translation
History of Translation
Translation Criticism
Literary Translation Theories
Selected Readings in Translation Theory
Master of Translation and Interpretation Program
This is a socially tailored, industry-oriented, and practice-intensive 2-year program. It aims at providing students with professional training in science and technology translation. A student is supervised by two professors (one for translation and the other for science and technology). Graduation requirements include 38 course credits, a translation workload of around 150,000 Chinese characters, and a research report on the translation process (or a thesis on specific translation problem). They are also expected to pass CATTI 2 (Band 2, China Accreditation Test of Translators and Interpreters) before graduation.
Upon graduation, students are supposed to be able to do translation in highly specialized areas in science and technology, which accounts for more than 50 percent of today’s translation service industry.
Required course module
Alternating Interpretation
Chinese Language and Culture
Introduction to Translation
Practicum
Reading and Translating Science and Civilization in China
Translation Theory and Practice
Workshop in Science and Technology Translation (English-Chinese)
Workshop in Science and Technology Translation (Chinese-English)
Elective course module
Brief History of Translation
Comparative Studies of Chinese and Other Languages
Computer-aided Translation
English Writing for Scientific Purposes
Introduction to Aeronautics and Astronautics
Introduction to Simultaneous Interpretation
Literary Translation
Translation and Editing of Texts
Seminars on Specific Topics
Translation Criticism
Translation of Political and Business Texts
Translation of Science and Technical Texts (English-Chinese)
Translation of Science and Technical Texts (Chinese-English)
PhD Program in Translation and Interpretation Studies
The orientation of this program stresses the application of cross-disciplinary research methods to conduct systematic theoretical analysis of translation phenomena. Research fields include translation theories, translation criticism, corpus-based translation studies, translation history, translation teaching, etc. The emphasis is on the analysis of the final translated texts and the factors involved in the production and transmission of them.
This program aims to explore frontier issues in translation studies and pays special attention to developing students' ability in studying varied translation data with proper research methods.
Major courses include Translation Theories and Corpus-based Translation Studies
Contact: qianduoxiu@buaa.edu.cn
Authored by Duoxiu QIAN