Undergraduate Certificate in Translation Studies
The Yale Translation Initiative promotes the interdisciplinary study of translation at Yale and beyond, encompassing its literary, social, political, economic, legal, technological and medical dimensions. As human migration and globalization alter the manner and speed of language change, translation has become increasingly central to the workings of the contemporary world. We believe now is the time to capture the new energies and map out the new fields this expanded horizon offers to us. We are working to foster ties with community projects in health care and legal translation and are keen to explore the possibilities offered by machine translation. Harnessing our faculty’s expertise, as well as growing student interest, for several years the Initiative has been supporting lectures (The Translation Forum) and working groups; summer internships for undergraduate students; the undergraduate Journal of Literary Translation (JoLT); and as of 2022, a Graduate Certificate in Translation Studies. Given the infrastructure already in place and wealth of courses available to undergraduate students as part of this initiative, we have initiated an Undergraduate Certificate in Translation Studies.
The goal of the Undergraduate Certificate in Translation Studies is to promote the interdisciplinary study of translation, at the same time as we facilitate existing and burgeoning translation practices. The Undergraduate Translation Studies Certificate will be available to students from the class of 2023 onwards. The certificate will offer Yale students a coursework-focused track to develop expertise in translation research and practice and have this expertise reflected on their transcript. The certificate is uncapped, making it available to all interested Yale students. We are committed to fostering a diverse body of Translation Studies students at Yale, combining active recruitment and extra-curricular lectures that examine diversity in Translation Studies.
Structure of the Certificate
A Certificate in Translation Studies will be awarded to Yale College students who have successfully completed five course credits on translation-themed topics, drawn from the list of approved courses posted each semester on the Translation Studies site. (Other course credits may be approved by permission of the Certificate Director and the course instructor.)
Of the five credits:
no more than three may originate in the same department or unit;
no more than two may overlap with requirements for the major;
graduate and professional school courses may count toward the certificate.
Additionally, each student must attend three lectures listed through the Translation Initiative in order to be awarded the certificate. (In March 2021, for example, that list includes “The Translation Initiative Presents Rosanna Warren” on March 2; “The World in One Word: A Confluence of Global Scholarly Networks in a Mughal Translation from Sanskrit” on March 15; “Reading Like a Translator: A Philosophical Approach” on March 16.) After each lecture, students will submit a one-page account of the lecture to the Certificate Director to be credited for attendance. Other translation activity will be counted toward this requirement at the discretion of the Coordinator.
Students must apply for the Certificate at latest one week before final schedules are due in their final semester of study. Final approval of the certificate rests with the Certificate Committee and Director.
Governance
Certificate Director: The certificate is directed by the Translation Studies Coordinator, who also administers the Graduate Certificate and leads the Graduate Proseminar in Translation. Marijeta Bozovic will serve as the Certificate Director in the first year of the program (2021–2022).
Certificate Advisory Committee:
The certificate advisory committee consists of faculty who teach in Yale College, representing several departments and programs. All interested affiliated faculty are eligible to serve on the advisory committee. Students are encouraged to consult the advisers closest to their own interests: usually, those who have taught them in a recent course. The advisory committee must approve any exceptions to the certificate requirements.
Alice Kaplan (Chair), Sterling Professor of French; Ned Blackhawk, Professor of History and of American Studies; Marijeta Bozovic (Translation Studies Coordinator), Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures; Film and Media Studies; WGSS; Peter Cole,Senior Lecturer, Judaic Studies and Comparative Literature; Robyn Creswell, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature; Shawkat M. Toorawa, Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations; Jane Tylus, Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Italian; Alyson Waters, Senior Lecturer, Department of French
For current courses eligible for the Certificate, click here.
The Yale Literary Translators Collective
The Collective is an ongoing workshop for literary translators at Yale working from any language into English. For more information click here.
Procedure for completing the Translation Studies certificate
Students interested in completing a Translation Studies certificate should fill out an initial interest form (below); they may do so as early as their first year. Once students register their interest, they will keep track of their courses on a TS Certificate course worksheet. The final Yale transcript will indicate successful completion of a Certificate.