Additional information

The master's programme in interpreting will train highly qualified interpreters that will be experts in establishing communication primarily between members of different cultures and languages. Successful completion of the programme will enable interpreters to professionally meet current demands and enable them to adapt to the future needs of the market. Interpreters will thus be able to prepare written or multimedia texts from a written, verbal, or multimedia template that satisfies the defined goal in the target language (Slovene and two foreign languages) or culture. Through the use of corresponding techniques they will be capable of consecutive and simultaneous translation of business, technical, and political texts. They will be trained for independent work and working in groups, which they will operate with moral rectitude and in line with professional practice at the national and international level.

At the same time, the programme will ensure a high level of competence in translation and interpreting theory so that those holding a master’s degree in interpreting will be able to form their own understanding of theoretical principles and assess them, apply them to their work, and identify and solve the problems that they will encounter in their work as professional translators. An academic programme designed in this way will educate highly trained holders of master’s degrees and prepare them for further study at the doctoral level.

General competences:

• High-level spoken and written communication skills;
• Teamwork skills;
• Skills for the independent acquisition of knowledge;
• Capacity for lifelong learning in an information-based society;
• High-level ability to analyse, synthesise and anticipate solutions and their consequences;
• Ability to develop their own research techniques and problem-solving approach;
• Ability to  use information and communication technology;
• Mastery of research methods, procedures, and processes;
• Ability to make critical and self-critical judgments;
• Capacity for ethical reflection and commitment to professional ethics;
• Ability to operate independently in the profession;
• Ability to think critically.

Subject-specific competences:

• Ability to describe and theoretically analyse interpreting processes;
• Recognition and mastery of interpreting strategies and techniques;
• Ability to analyse, understanding, and summarise texts;
• Encyclopaedic knowledge and intercultural awareness;
• Abilities in aural comprehension and oral expression;
• Ability to memorise;
• Communication skills;
• Ability to form an independent perspective on the status of interpreting and the interpreter;
• Ability to use specific information technology for interpreting work;
• Lexical competence in Slovene and two foreign languages with regard to specific lexical and communication conventions;
• High-level ability to recognise and analyse lexical comprehension processes in society;
• Ability to appreciate the interdependent ways texts operate in socio-cultural contexts.

Additional subject-specific competences are given in the syllabus for each subject separately.

The admission requirements conform to the Statute of the University of Ljubljana, Article 117 of which states that persons that have completed the following may apply for a master's programme:

• A first-level (undergraduate) programme in a suitable subject area, as defined by the master's programme;
• A first-level (undergraduate) programme in another subject area with the completion of 10 to 60 credits of academic requirements essential for further study and as defined by the academic programme.

Applicants can also meet the requirements under the second indent of the preceding paragraph during first-level (undergraduate) study in remedial programmes or by taking placement tests before admission to the master's programme.

The following may apply for the master's programme in interpreting:

• Any holder of an undergraduate degree in a programme in interlingual communication in a suitable area with regard to selected options in the master's programme (the language selected for the master's programme must agree with the language of undergraduate study); one entry requirement is passing the test in interpreting skills;
• The holder of an undergraduate degree in any field, including undergraduate programmes designed in line with the Bologna guidelines or those that were designed before higher educational reforms; applicants must take a test to verify their language ability in Slovene and two foreign languages and a test in interpreting skills; based on abilities acquired during undergraduate study and test results, applicants may be awarded or have recognised up to 60 CR.

Admission creiteria for applicants that have taken the test in interpreting skills (it is not possible to enroll in the interpreting programme without passing the test in interpreting skills):

• Average grade on the undergraduate programme (20%)
• Grade on undergraduate comprehensive exam or degree dissertation (20%)
• Average grade on the undergraduate programme in Slovene or score for Slovene on the test cited in the second indent (20%)
• Average grade on the undergraduate programme in English or score for English on the test cited in the second indent (20%)
• Average grade on the undergraduate programme in the second foreign language or score for second foreign language on the test cited in the second indent (20%)

The precise admission requirements are published in the application information prepared by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.

The second-level (master's) university programme in interpreting shall also take into account knowledge and skills acquired prior to admission through various forms of formal and informal education.

Students shall provide certificates or other documents attesting to knowledge acquired through various types of formal education that clearly show the content and amount of work the student has invested so that credits can be awarded for knowledge and skills. Students may receive up to 6 credits that may substitute for external electives in the programme. The head of the Department of Translation shall make a decision on the recognition and crediting of such knowledge and skills on the basis of students’ individual applications.

For knowledge received on the basis of attested documents for informal education or portfolios (projects, competition entries, inventions, patents, publications, etc.) students may be granted up to 6 credits that may substitute for external electives in the programme. The head of the Department of Translation shall make a decision on the recognition and crediting of such knowledge on the basis of students’ individual applications.

Students that have published articles in scholarly journals recognised as relevant to the profession (see list) may request the recognition of an article in place of a master's dissertation (15 CR). The head committee of the Department of Translation at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts shall make a decision on recognising and crediting such material on the basis of students’ individual applications.

Students may also request the recognition of the content of translation practice (6 CR) on the basis of proof of having done applied translation or interpreting work. The head of the Department of Translation at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts shall make a decision on recognising and crediting such material on the basis of students’ individual applications.

Students may thus receive credit for a total of 27 CR or 22.5% of the academic programme.

The academic requirements of students in the second-level (master's) university programme in interpreting may be recognised within all parts of the academic programme in part or in whole on the basis of work experience and professional references attested through a portfolio. The recognition of academic requirements is at the discretion of course coordinators. The head of the Department of Translation at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts shall make a decision on recognising and crediting such material on the basis of students’ individual applications and the written opinions of coordinators of individual courses.

The provisions for the recognition of knowledge and skills acquired prior to enrollment in the academic programme shall also be taken into account, mutatis mutandis, for the recognition of knowledge and skills acquired during study if this is agreed upon in advance in the form of a learning agreement.

To advance to the second year of master's study in interpreting, the student must satisfy all of the obligations given in the programme requirements and syllabuses for the first year, totalling 60 CR.

To complete the master's programme in interpreting, students must complete all obligations defined by the programme requirements and the syllabuses for subjects required for their chosen language combination totalling 120 CR. Students must prepare and defend a master’s dissertation as part of a master’s seminar and take a master’s-level exam as defined by the programme requirements.

Transfer between programmes is defined in line with Articles 181–189 of the Statute of the University of Ljubljana.

Transfer to the master's programme in translation at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Arts

a) from universities is defined by Article 189 of the Statute of the University of Ljubljana:

• To transfer to the translation programme at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Arts, applicants must fulfill the admission requirements for enrollment in the advanced year of the academic programme at the university where they are enrolled;
• The Senate of the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Arts decides on the fulfillment of conditions for transfer and determines the applicants' placement test and other requirements, as well as the year in which they may enroll, at the proposal of the Department of Translation.

b) from academic programmes at the University of Ljubljana, it is possible to transfer to the translation programme at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Arts only from second-level (master's) programmes; transfer is defined in line with Article 183 of the Statute of the University of Ljubljana:

• Transfer to the translation programme is possible if, upon enrollment in the academic programme, at least half the applicant's requirements from the first academic programme are recognised;
• The applicant must fulfill the admission requirements for the first year of the translation programme;
• The Senate of the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Arts decides on the fulfillment of conditions for transfer and determines the applicants' placement test and other requirements, as well as the year in which they may enroll, at the proposal of the Department of Translation.

The master's programme in translation does not provide for the possibility for transfer between language combinations within the programme, but after the first year there is the possibility of transfer between the translation and interpreting programmes at the Department of Translation at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts as follows:

• Transfer from the interpreting programme to the translation programme under the following conditions:
  • Completion of all obligations stipulated in the programme requirements and syllabuses for the first year, totalling 60 CR
  • Transfer is only possible within the same language combination from one programme to the other
  • Transfer from the translation programme to the interpreting programme under the following conditions:
    • Completion of all obligations stipulated in the programme requirements and syllabuses for the first year, totalling 60 CR
    • Passing the test in interpreting skills
    • Transfer is only possible within the same language combination from one programme to the other

There is a considerable need for translators trained to high professional standards in Slovenia and elsewhere in Europe. Slovenia is currently far from able to satisfy the translation needs of European Union institutions. The need for such professionals is also very great in Slovenia itself, where translators can work as public or private sector employees or as freelancers. Employment opportunities include companies, public and private institutions, national and international organisations, media organisations, and translation agencies.