Master of Translation and Interpreting Studies

Macquarie's translation and interpreting program is approved by NAATI, Australia's national accrediting body for translators and interpreters, at professional level, which is the credential that actually lets graduates work as certified translators or interpreters in Australia rather than simply having studied the field academically. Students choose a language pair with English from Chinese (Mandarin), French, Japanese, Korean or Spanish, and the coursework runs alongside a separate, more specialised Master of Conference Interpreting for students aiming specifically at simultaneous interpreting careers rather than the broader translation and interpreting scope covered here.

Because NAATI accreditation is assessed against specific competency standards rather than general coursework completion, the degree is built around practical translation and interpreting exercises, legal and medical interpreting scenarios, ethics and professional conduct, alongside the linguistic theory underpinning translation practice, rather than treating professional accreditation as a separate add-on qualification students pursue after finishing an academic degree.

Sydney's demographic mix, with large first-generation communities across the five language pairs on offer, means placement and practicum opportunities for students in this program are unusually concrete: court interpreting, community health interpreting and settlement services all draw on graduates of programs exactly like this one, which is a different career pipeline from the conference and diplomatic interpreting track that the separate Master of Conference Interpreting targets.