Admission requirements
This course is open only to students registered for the Translation specialization.
Students cab start work on their thesis once they have earned at least 20 EC for MA courses
Description
At the start of the academic year, writing an MA thesis may seem like a daunting prospect. The thesis seminar aims to provide you with support in formulating a research question; finding, processing and critically discussing relevant secondary literature; choosing the right methodology; conducting proper analyses; reflecting on your findings as well as limitations and future research; and structuring your chapters – in short, everything you need to know about writing a thesis.
The thesis seminar is offered in both the first and second semester. Participation is mandatory.
The thesis seminar starts with a general information meeting. During this meeting, the different themes offered per semester will be discussed; these themes will be linked directly to the expertise of the available staff. Themes will be broad enough to allow students to explore their own interests within the predefined themes. In principle, students write a thesis on a topic related to their chosen specialization (Literary translation; Legal translation; Multimodal translation & Subtitling), or one of the obligatory courses (Translation Studies; The Translator’s Tools; Advanced Translation).
Course objectives
Knowledge of different areas of translation research
Knowledge of theoretical models of translation
Ability to independently formulate research questions, claims and hypotheses
Ability to independently find, process and critically discuss relevant secondary literature
Ability to independently select, collect and analyze data
Ability to integrate and synthesize findings and relate these to the relevant literature
Ability to reflect on findings, limitations and future research
Ability to independently write a thesis that meets the requirements and standards with regard to language use, formality, structuring & formatting, and use of sources.
Timetable
Visit MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Self-study
Course Load
Total course load (20 EC) = 560 hours (please note that the distribution of ECs is 5 – 15)
Attending seminars: 16
Preparation for seminars (including study of compulsory readings): 34
Peer review sessions (including reading fellow students’ work): 40
Research and writing: 470
Assessment method
An MA thesis of approx. 17,000 words
The thesis will be assessed by the first reader (supervisor) and second reader. Both the first and second reader will independently complete an online assessment form, including a suggested grade. If the first and second reader cannot agree on the final grade, an independent third reader will be appointed by the board of examination.
If the thesis receives a fail grade (5 or lower), or if the thesis is not submitted on time (see below), the student has one (1) month to rewrite and resubmit the thesis (without supervision). Should the thesis still be insufficient, the student will need to take the thesis seminar again, possibly with a new topic and supervisor.
Deadline for submission in semester 1: 1 December 2019.
Deadline for submission in semester 2: 1 June 2020.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for:
Scheduling of sessions
Providing topics and reading lists
Assignments and practice materials
In addition to Blackboard, Trello (www.trello.com) will be used for individual supervision and feedback.
Reading list
Reading lists will be made avaiable via Blackboard.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website.
Students other than MA Linguistics need permission from the coordinator of studies before enrolling.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Contact
Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats
E-mail address Education Administration Office Reuvensplaats: osz-oa-reuvensplaats@hum.leidenuniv.nl