Translation and Terminology [Only in Latvian]

Every spoken and written word has a meaning and a function, but even one inaccuracy can spoil texts used in business or legal activities. Combining studies of business- and law-related texts and their translation, our students enhance their knowledge and skills which are necessary for engagement in local and international institutions both in Latvia and abroad.

About the programme:

DEGREE TO BE OBTAINED – Professional master's degree in translation and terminology

QUALIFICATION – Translator and terminologist

DURATION OF STUDIES:

2 years – for students with an academic bachelor's degree

1 year – for students with a professional bachelor's degree

STUDY FORM – Full-time

LANGUAGE OF STUDIES – Latvian

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS – Bachelor's degree and entrance exam*

NUMBER OF STATE FUNDED AND FEE PAYING PLACES: HERE

TUITION FEE – 3000 EUR per year


* Graduates of the VUAS study program "Translation and Language Technology" are not required to take an entrance exam.


HOW TO APPLY? LOOK HERE!

Job opportunities

The programme is part of the prestigious European Master in Translation network run by the European Commission. This approves European-level quality of the study programme and allows graduates to gain employment with the EU institutions, other international organisations and law offices.


Graduates can work as:

  • Translator
  • Terminologist
  • Translation and terminology project manager
  • Editor
  • Proofreader
  • Copywriter
  • Website content creator
  • Employee of the European Union institutions and other international organisations
  • High-level employee of embassies and ministries

Form and type of studies


Studies take place in person on Fridays and Saturdays. Lecture materials are also available digitally, providing an opportunity to easily adapt to the rhythm of studies. The focus of studies is not only on strengthening theoretical knowledge, but also on improving skills, testing the knowledge base acquired in lectures and applying it in practice.

Study program plan

1 year program

1st semester

  • Study courses that provide the latest advances in industry theory and practice

    • Translation and Terminology of Medical Texts (EN-LV)
    • Language for Special Purposes, Terminology, and Terminography (EN, DE, RU, LV)
    • Editing of LSP Texts I (LV)
    • Translation of European Union Legal Acts I (EN-LV)

  • Research, creative work, project management, and managerial studies courses

    • Principles and Methods of Research Work and Course Paper (LV)
    • Translation and Terminology Management (LV)

  • Optional courses

    • Course chosen by the student

  • Internship

    • Internship

2nd semester

  • Preparation and defense of a master's thesis

    • One semester is devoted to the development of a master's thesis on a topic chosen by the student.

2 year program

1st semester

  • Study courses that provide the latest advances in industry theory and practice

    • Translation and Terminology of Medical Texts (EN-LV)
    • Language for Special Purposes, Terminology, and Terminography (EN, DE, RU, LV)
    • Translation Theory and Text Linguistics, LV
    • Editing of LSP Texts I, LV
    • Translation of European Union Legal Acts  (EN-LV)
    • Translation and terminology of Texts in Criminal Law, EN-LV

  • Research, creative work, project management, and managerial studies courses

    • Adaptation of Texts in Plain/Easy-to-Read Language, LV
    • Translation and Terminology Management (LV)
    • Principles and Methods of Research Work and Course Paper (LV)

  • Optional courses

    • Course chosen by the student

2nd semester

  • Study courses that provide the latest advances in industry theory and practice

    • Computer-Aided Translation, LV
    • Editing of LSP Texts II (LV)
    • Introduction into Digital Humanities, LV
    • Translation of Legal Texts and Legal Terminology, EN-LV
    • Translation of Texts Related to Commercial Law, EN-LV
    • Post-editing, LV

  • Research, creative work, project management, and managerial studies courses

    • Text in a Multilingual Environment: Translation Aspects, EN, DE-LV 
    • Text in a Multilingual Environment: Translation Aspects, EN, FR-LV 
    • Text in a Multilingual Environment: Translation Aspects, EN, ES-LV 
    • Text in a Multilingual Environment: Translation Aspects, EN, RU-LV 

  • Internship

    • Internship

3rd semester

  • Professional Internship

    • Professional Internship

4th semester

  • Preparation and defense of a master's thesis

    • One semester is devoted to the development of a master's thesis on a topic chosen by the student.

The Master's study programme Translation of Language for Special Purposes Texts of the Translation Studies Faculty (TSF) of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences has been re-accredited for participation in the European Master in Translation (EMT) network organised by the European Commission for the period of 2024-2029. The Master's study programme in Translation at VUAS has been admitted to the EMT network since 2011.

The link to the EMT blog is here, where students of this program also post their entries.

The master's program "Translation of Language for Special Purposes " at the Faculty of Translation Studies of Ventspils University of Applied Siences (VUAS FTS) has been accepted into the International Network of Simulated Translation Bureaus (INSTB), which brings together several European universities.

Read more about the INSTB network HERE.

Certificate for participation in the EMT network from 2024 to 2029.




Find out more about the study program on Facebook – HERE

What to study next?

NEWS

Winter graduation of the Master's study programme "Translation of LSP"

By Kitija Pāvulīte • March 13, 2023
On 11 March this year, the winter graduation was celebrated in the library of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences in the honor of three graduates of the Master's study programme "Translation of LSP" - Baiba Grīnvaldis-Bricīte, Anna Rudzīte and Anna Šēfere. During these three semesters, the students proved themselves to be capable representatives of the field of translation, which is also evidenced by the topicality of the Master's thesis topics and the students' individual study achievements. Baiba Grīnvalde-Bricīte's Master's thesis focused on a very topical and so far unexplored topic - the study of the influence of ergonomic factors on the work of Latvian translators. Anna Rudzīte's research focused on the translation of music textbooks. On 22 April 2022 she presented a paper at the International Student Conference "Journey through cultures and languages", demonstrating excellent analytical skills and moderating abilities, chairing a section and representing the university. Anna Šēfere took a research-oriented look at tourism, an area that is a leisure activity for a large part of society. Anna coped well with the challenges of terminology work and the result has already been reviewed by the Terminology Committee of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. At the event, the Rector of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences, Professor Kārlis Krēsliņš, reminded the graduates that this particular programme is accredited for participation in the EMT network organised by the European Commission, which gives the diploma an added value.

Students of the Faculty of Translation Studies of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences participate in the project "Terminology without Borders"

By Kitija Pāvulīte • January 19, 2023
In the spring and autumn semesters of 2022, students of the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Translation Studies bachelor study programme "Translation and Language Technology" and master study programme "Translation of LSP Texts" in the course "Terminology and Lexicography" participated in the project "Terminology without Borders". This work is a project led by the Terminology Coordination Unit (TermCoord) of the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Parliament, which aims to improve communication in a number of fields by providing terminology in the relevant fields for everyone. The workflow of the project consists of several stages, such as the extraction of terms from corpora, student research - working with terms (selection of equivalents), revision of terms by experts in the field. The main objective of the project was to learn how to work with terminology in the field: searching for and collecting equivalents, definitions, examples, selecting and organizing information in a glossary. The selected topic for the project was "Nature and biodiversity" in the field of biology and in the first version a glossary was developed, which has already been published on the project website ( https://yourterm.eu/envi-university-projects/ ). Dr. biol. Edgars Vimba and Mg. biol. Dace Sāmīte, Director of the Kurzeme Regional Administration of the Nature Conservation Agency, participated in the project as sector experts and provided advice. Once the terminologists from the EU institutions will have also checked the students' work and approved the selected equivalents, the information gathered will be used to update the Interactive Terminology of Europe (IATE) database. It is planned to continue this project this year as well and to select some of the terminologies proposed.