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Chinese interpreting and translating courses at Bath

Explore our interpreting and translating master's courses that focus on working between Chinese (Mandarin) and English.

Scholarships worth between £3,000 and £10,000 for high-achieving students — find out more

If you want to work as a professional translator or interpreter working in English and Chinese (Mandarin), our courses will prepare you for a range of careers. They are highly practical and will equip you with the written and verbal skills to engage with varied and challenging texts and speeches to a professional standard.

Discover why Bath is internationally renowned for training interpreters and translators.

Which course is right for me?

We offer two courses to suit your interests and career goals. You will need to be fluent in both Chinese (Mandarin) and English to study with us, as these courses require you to translate and interpret in both directions between the languages.

MA Interpreting and Translating

This course will prepare you to work as a conference interpreter and professional translator. It has a strong focus on consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, with a liaison and public service interpreting and translation element.

In addition to this, you will enhance your interpreting skills in mini conferences in Semester 2.

MA Translation with Business Interpreting

You’ll focus on written translation, as well as business interpreting between the two languages. In addition to this, you can enhance your skills in specialisms like translation technology, proofreading, editing and translation/interpreting management skills that will equip you to work in a rapidly-changing translation and business interpreting market.

Peiang Li, MAIT graduate.
‘We had access to tutors with a wealth of experience who worked for organisations such as the UN and EU.’
— Peiang Li MA Interpreting and Translating (Chinese) (2017)

Scholarships for postgraduate taught students

You might be eligible for one of our brand new scholarships for 2026/27.

A group of people walking outside while talking.

We are offering a number of scholarships ranging from £3,000 to £10,000 to high-achieving students joining a full-time taught master’s course in September 2026.

If you are a new fee-paying student, and have an offer to study a postgraduate taught degree at the University of Bath, you might be eligible.

50 years of teaching excellence

Our courses are highly respected internationally for the quality of the training they provide, including access to our professional-grade interpreting labs 1. You’ll learn from highly experienced tutors who work or have previously worked as professional translators and interpreters.

Bath has a Memorandum of Understanding with the UN for training interpreters and translators. Trainers from the UN visit us regularly, giving our students an excellent insight into the skills needed to work there.

We make use of these links to keep our course up to date with the professional world and to set up external training opportunities where possible. This means you may have opportunities to gain hands-on, practical experience with translation and/or business interpreting through a variety of activities or study visits.2

Gain important career skills

By studying with us, you’ll be prepared to enter the language market and apply your skills to a wide range of professional settings. Recent graduates from these courses have gone on to roles such as:

  • Interpreter and Translator, Universal Studios Beijing Theme Park and Resort
  • Freelance/In-House Conference Interpreter, United Nations
  • Relationship Manager, Citi Bank
  • Simultaneous Interpreter, Ping An Insurance
  • Chinese Linguist, Morningside
  • Product Editor, Net-a-Porter, London
  • Chinese-English-Japanese Trilingual Coordinator, Menicon

Study with us

Explore our courses

  1. Access to our professional-grade interpreting labs is limited to selected optional units. ↩

  2. External training opportunities are not compulsory or guaranteed. Your language combination and your progress on the course will be considered, along with any other relevant information, when matching you with potential training opportunities. ↩