Department Head

Prof. Dr. Sueda ÖZBENT

 

Associate Department Head

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sevcan YILMAZ KUTLAY

 

History and Program Overview

The Department of Translation and Interpreting, which offers four-year undergraduate programs at Marmara University (MU), was originally founded as three stand-alone departments in German, French and English at the MU School of Foreign Languages in 2006. These three departments were incorporated to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 2008 and merged into one department with three Divisions under the name of DEPARTMENT OF TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETING in 2017/2018 Academic Year. Each Division follows a distinct curriculum and teaches courses in its own language of expertise. Additionally, each division expects students to take compulsory language courses throughout the entire program. For instance, the Divisions of Translation and Interpreting in German and French offer compulsory English courses and the Division of Translation and Interpreting in English compulsory Spanish courses for four years. Hence, our program constitutes one of Turkey’s very few undergraduate programs which teach a second foreign language as a compulsory elective course throughout four years. In addition to the provision of a second foreign language as a compulsory course in the curriculum, each Division offers elective courses in foreign languages such German, French, and Spanish from the 3rd term on. Our aim is to provide our students with the ideal training in the field of translation and interpreting, and equip them with foreign language skills that meet the standards of the European Union.

From the 5th term onward, students are provided with a variety of elective courses that enable them to specialize in the areas of “Translation” or “Interpreting.” These courses are intended to offer an insight into the areas in which students can gain academic knowledge and practice-based professional experience as prospective translators and interpreters.

Translation has an increasingly important role in today’s globalized world, which in turn raises the criteria and standards for the expected quality of translation. Therefore, we provide training in our computer and simultaneous interpreting labs on how to use translation and interpreting tools and software to prepare students for the current conditions of the translation market and improve their chances of getting a job after graduation. Students carry out a “Translation Project” in their fourth year of study, being a final step to prepare them for a successful professional life.

Our Mission

Our mission is to facilitate our students to be fully equipped with the academic knowledge and professional skills that are necessary for them to become successful translators and interpreters in their fields. Further, we aim to encourage them to not only pursue academic careers, but also become experts in intercultural communication who are up-to-date with the rapid changes in technological and communication tools in the globalized world, and who have the qualifications to meet the high quality standards in translation.

Our Vision

Our vision is to keep up-to-date with the developments in the field in order to enhance the cooperation between the academia and translation sector and thus make our students eligible to work in the different areas of the sector.