MA Literary Translation
Course options
Key Details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 1 year
- Course Start Date
- September 2025
Course Overview
At UEA we believe Literary Translation is an art. In this MA in Literary Translation course, you’ll use your passion for books and language/s to learn how to write translations that’ll spark your readers’ imagination.
On this course, you’ll focus exclusively on literary translation, combining translation practice with translation theory. You’ll gain the academic qualification needed for a career as a professional translator, while laying the foundation for further academic research. By combining the practice of translation with reflections on stylistic, cultural, and theoretical issues, you’ll be able to realise your professional ambitions, whether this is to become a literary translator, editor or publisher, or to pursue further studies. In the three main modules that make up the course – and in special workshops with professional translators as well as in the British Centre for Literary Translation Summer School – you’ll have plenty of opportunities to network and learn more about what being a translator involves.
You’ll get a taste of the industry with our year-long programme of literary translation workshops by leading translators. You’ll learn how to pitch a book, write a reader’s report, network, and write translations across different genres. Across our modules, you’ll learn what makes a literary translation successful. You’ll learn to craft the right voice for the characters and narrators in your translation, identify what stylistic choices you need to make, and experiment with language and form.
You’ll be based in Norwich, a beautiful historic city and England’s first UNESCO City of Literature. You’ll also be part of Norwich’s vibrant literary culture, from regular readings and events to the well-established programme at the National Centre for Writing. You’ll also have the chance to join the Editorial Team at Egg Box Publishing, and contribute to the publishing and launch of the MA in Literary Translation Anthology.
The course is supported by the British Centre for Literary Translation at UEA and based in the renowned School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (you can follow our activities on Instagram!). At UEA you’ll have access to a series of lively events, including translation clinics with the Translators-in-Residence at the BCLT, research seminars, and one-to-one tutorials with professional translators working with your languages.
We have been training literary translators from across the world for over 30 years. Our alumni include award-winning translator Don Bartlett (who has translated Karl Ove Knausgård and Jo Nesbø among others), Stefan Tobler (who has translated Clarice Lispector and founded the publishing house And Other Stories), Chantal Wright (translator of Yoko Tawada’s Portrait of a Tongue) and Rosalind Harvey (who is a founding member of the Emerging Translators Network and whose translation of Guadalupe Nettel’s Still Born was shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize). On completion of the course, you may follow in their footsteps by becoming a literary translator, or pursue a wide range of other professions in the creative and cultural industries or beyond.
Study and Modules
Structure
Your course will be framed by three core modules, which will give you a firm grounding in the history and theory of literary translation. You'll also examine translation across various genres and consider the ways texts are disseminated across different cultures. Some modules have a creative-critical format, allowing you to analyse translations closely and practise your own translation skills alongside this. On the course, you’ll also have the opportunity to approach translation from a more experimental angle. Considering writing, rewriting and textual intervention, you'll explore process not only as it relates to doing a translation, but as something that may be incorporated into the text itself. And you’ll be able to tailor your studies to your interests by choosing an optional module from the exciting list of modules offered across the MA programmes of the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing.
From the second semester onward, you’ll also assemble a dossier of your translations for submission to a tutor who will be an expert in the source or target language of your choice. Your practical translation workshops will help you prepare for your dissertation, which can be either a critical project or a translation with commentary.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Teaching
You’ll benefit from a distinguished and experienced team of lecturers on this course. Staff members who have taught on this course include:
Duncan Large, who specialises in translation and translation studies (especially historical translation theory), comparative literature (especially Anglo-German literary relations), and history of thought in the German-speaking world (especially Friedrich Nietzsche and French Nietzsche interpretation).
Cecilia Rossi, whose expertise lies in literary translation (especially poetry translation), Latin American literature (especially poetry), literary translation and creativity (theoretical, pedagogical and practical applications), the writer’s archive and the literary translator, and literary translation and cultural memory.
Thomas Boll, a specialist in the theory and practice of translation, the Latin American, European and Anglo-American avant-garde, twentieth-century Spanish American fiction, contemporary poetry in Spanish and English, Mexican history and culture, and archives.
Independent study
Your dissertation will be supervised by one of the tutors above, who will guide you through a project that combines translation and commentary or a sustained critical project on some aspect of Literary Translation.
Assessment
Each of your modules will be assessed by an essay or project work. The projects may involve working on a translation with commentary. You’ll also write a 15,000–20,000 word dissertation, which will be either a translation with commentary or a critical essay. You’ll begin work on your dissertation, with the guidance of a supervisor, in the spring, and you’ll hand it in at the beginning of September.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree - 2.2
Degree Subject
Literary or related subject
- Additional Entry Requirements
Candidates will be required to submit a translation of a short story, poem or literary text with the source text of no more than 5 pages with their application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
Degree classification
UK Bachelors degree - 2.2 or equivalent
Degree Subject
Literary or related subject
- Additional Entry Requirements
Candidates will be required to submit a translation of a short story, poem or literary text with the source text of no more than 5 pages with their application.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
IELTS: 7 overall (minimum 7 in Writing, 6 in Speaking, Reading and Listening)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the required English skills.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2025/26 are:
-
UK Students: £10,675
-
International Students: £22,700
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
We estimate living expenses at £1,136 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships; please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
How to apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form.
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying, please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.
Employability
After the Course
Our MA Literary Translation will be a hugely valuable qualification when it comes to starting your career in literary translation and beyond. There is evidence that even firms specialising in technical or commercial translation value an MA in Literary Translation.
As well as going on to careers in literary, technical and commercial translation, many of our graduates choose to combine freelance translation teaching, lecturing, librarianship, work in the media, or publishing. In these fields, too, this MA will give you an advantage, both through the transferable skills you’ll gain, and the technical and creative expertise you’ll build.
Careers
Example of careers that you could enter include:
- Professional freelance translator
- Editor
- Publisher
- Academic
Discover more on our Careers webpages.