Master of Arts in Conference Interpreting Programme

1. Introduction

This revised professional interpreter training programme culminates in the award of a Master of Arts Degree in Conference Interpreting. Since its inception in August 2012, the programme has remained an initiative that falls in line with the University’s strategic plan: “the preparation of students for active and productive citizenship”. It is clearly one of the “value-adding initiatives that can be sold to its stakeholders”. In terms of value addition, the programme will build upon and diversify the competencies acquired by graduates of the BA Translation programme being run by the Departments of French and Modern Languages, University of Ghana, and by other local and foreign institutions. Graduates of the programme in Interpretation will come out as professionals actively covering international conferences within Ghana and abroad and will therefore play a significant role as productive citizens of this country. The stakeholders will not only be candidates or students of the programme, but also prospective employers who will readily buy the skills and expertise acquired by the graduates. 

2. Rationale for Revising the Programme

Three years after launching and implementing the conference interpreter training programme at the University of Ghana, it became necessary to evaluate the programme content and outcomes in order to adapt the said content to the key training objectives while remedying the weaknesses and building on the strengths. This evaluation process looks back at the ground covered and forward to the ultimate programme objectives. It clearly establishes the need to revise the programme structure as well as the content of some courses while adding a few in order to make the training more complete and relevant to market conditions, and thus more beneficial to the stakeholders.  

3. Mission, Aims, and Objectives

The mission of the School of Languages is, among others, to “transform and professionalise human resource practices, develop consumer focus and third party linkages”, while that of the University is “to develop world-class human resource and capabilities to meet national development needs and global challenges through quality teaching, learning, research and knowledge dissemination”. In line with these missions, the revised programme seeks to train students to interpret at conferences, meetings and other forms of interaction requiring the intermediation of a bilingual or multilingual language expert to facilitate communication. The mission, aims and objectives of the revised programme, therefore, is to endow students, who upon graduation will have the requisite skills to undertake interpretation assignments in the various modes: sight translation, consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.  

This revised training programme in Interpreting essentially covers consecutive and simultaneous interpretation, focusing both on the theory and practice. Students are expected to know and value theories and principles underlying the conveyance of meaning without distortion from one language to another. They are further expected to be familiar with a broad range of literature on both the theory and practice of consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.  

By the end of the revised programme, students are expected to have acquired sufficient practical skills to allow them to do a consecutive interpretation of up to 10 minutes and a simultaneous interpretation of up to 30 minutes in real life working conditions. These practical skills include note taking of speeches to be delivered in the consecutive mode and the ability to do a simultaneous interpretation of a speaker while also reading from the prepared text in the booth. Students will have developed their ability to divide their attention between listening to the source speech and interpreting into the target language to such an extent that the practice appears effortless and their speech is delivered as naturally as the original. The source language may be language B or C to be interpreted into A or A to be interpreted into B.  
 

4. Career Paths

 Ghana is a hub for international activities and conferences. Multilingual meetings, seminars, congresses are regularly organised by sub-regional, regional and international public and private organisations, including a vast array of NGOs. The country being surrounded on all terrestrial fronts by francophone countries, and in view of the fact that most funding agencies have a preference for funding cross-border programmes, it regularly hosts such forums requiring interpretation services.  Graduates of the Interpretation programme will therefore have many work opportunities in Ghana and beyond.  

5. Admission Requirements

• A good first degree (at least Second Class Lower) or its equivalent in any subject.
• Proficiency in all working languages, especially in the A language.
• Successful completion of an aptitude test and an interview.

6. Programme Structure

6. NEW PROGRAMME STRUCTURE  
Core Course Work (Semester I)                    16 Credits  
Core Course Work (Semester 2)                    16 Credits  
Core Course Work (Semester 3)                    16 Credits  
Three of five Elective Courses in the Programme            9 Credits  
Internship Placement/Academic Exchange (Semester 4)       10 Credits  
Minimum credits for graduation: 67 Credits

Semester 1 (Year 1)

Semester 2 (Year 1)

SEMESTER 2 (Year 1)

Total Credits for Semester 2: 16-22

SEMESTER 3 (Year 2)

Total Credits for Semester 3: 16-22

SEMESTER 4 (Year 2)

Total Credits for Semester 4: 10

Click here to see Course Descriptions

7. Requirements for Progression

In order to assess if students have acquired the required skills to proceed from the first to the second year of the M.A. CINT programme, students will be required to sit and pass practical exams in the core interpretation courses that form the basis for the second year courses. Students who fail TWO of these core courses may proceed to the second year, but shall be required to re-sit the exam (before graduating). Students who fail MORE THAN TWO core courses in the first year shall have to repeat the failed courses and shall not immediately proceed to the second year.  

8. Requirements for Graduation

Students are required to:  
i.    Pass ALL core courses;  
ii.    Pass THREE out of the FIVE electives in the programme;  
iii.    Pass the experiential learning provided through internship placement or Academic Exchange.  
They shall therefore obtain a minimum of sixty-seven (67) credits to qualify for graduation.   

SUPPLEMENTARY READING LIST FOR ALL COURSES 
A.    Journals 
Across Languages and Cultures: A Multidisciplinary Journal for Translation and Interpreting Studies.  d'Interprètes et de Traducteurs de l'Université de Paris. 
Forum:     International Journal of Interpretation and Translation. Volume 2, No 1, April 2004. Interpreting 
Meta 
Parallèles:     Cahiers de l´École de Traduction et d´Interprétation  
Pharmaterm: Bulletin terminologique de l’industrie pharmaceutique 
Point Com :     Bulletin en ligne de l'Association des Anciens Élèves de l'École Supérieure 
The Interpreter’s Newsletter 
Turjuman:     Revue de traduction et d'interprétation. 

B.    Internet Sources http://www.emcinterpreting.org Site for European Master’s in Conference Interpreting http://www.emcinterpreting.org/pedagogical.php http://www.emcinterpreting.org/resources/conferences.php 
http://interpreters.free.fr     Information on the teaching of Interpretation 
http://www.aiic.net     Official website of the International Association of Conference Interpreters http://live.eti.unige.ch http://www.newspapers.com       
 

• PROGRAMME APPRAISAL AND MONITORING 

The programme will be appraised and monitored in line with the University’s Course assessment strategy and indicators. Students’ Course assessment forms will be used in addition to other recommended tools. 
 

• FINAL EXAMINATION 

At the final examination, students must pass both consecutive and simultaneous interpretation into both their A and B languages. Candidates who offer an A-B-C combination must pass both consecutive and simultaneous interpretation from both their B and C languages into A as well as consecutive interpretation from A into B.    
In order to be awarded the degree, candidates will be required to pass each section of the exams at one and the same session.  
Examinations shall comprise of speeches on a variety of subjects, delivered orally (not read) by professional interpreters or other individuals with experience in public speaking. Such speeches shall be prepared to a standard similar to what is required for international meetings with interpretation. Speeches for consecutive interpretation shall last no less than 5 minutes each and no more than 7, while speeches for simultaneous interpretation shall last no less than 8 minutes and no more than 10 minutes. 

Candidates will be assessed on the mastery of their target language(s), comprehension of their source language(s) and on their interpreting skills. They must demonstrate sufficient competence to be able to be part of a team of professional conference interpreters.  
 

• FACULTY 

There is a core faculty (full time and part time lecturers) in the employment of the University. In addition to the regular Faculty, other professional interpreters are made available to provide face-to-face and distance tuition, as and when required.

Click Here to See Full Admission Requirements & Procedures