Programme description
Our PhD Interpreting Studies programme will enable you to undertake a significant piece of original research under the supervision of our academics.
The Centre for Translation and Intercultural Studies (CTIS) at Manchester has the largest concentration of translation and interpreting studies specialists in the country and attracts visiting scholars and postgraduate students from a wide range of countries and backgrounds.
CTIS provides an excellent environment for research and organises regular scholarly events for the benefit of postgraduate students. These include a series of weekly seminars which attract a large national audience of researchers, students and practitioners. The seminars, delivered by invited speakers, form an important part of students' initiation into scholarly research, while also offering valuable opportunities for informal contact with leading academics.
In recent years, our staff have engaged in research projects examining interpreting provision in multilingual cities from historical and contemporary perspectives, the use of interpreters in services for survivors of domestic abuse and violence, in police interviews, and in NHS services.
Major research initiatives include:
Translating Asylum (2018-2020), an AHRC-funded project, which explored the role of translation and interpreting provisions in supporting refugee arrivals in Britain between the 1940s and the 1980s.
Interpreter-mediated Mental Health Act Assessments (2021-2024), a multi-institutional study funded by NIHR SSCR, which explored interprofessional working between Approved Mental Health Professionals and signed and spoken language interpreters in Mental Health Act Assessments.
Find out more about our research , our staff and what our current postgraduate research students are working on.
Additional programme information
Humanities Doctoral Academy
Our Humanities Doctoral Academy combines the strengths of our four schools to bring expertise, knowledge, support and high-quality services for postgraduate researchers.
We are a community of academic leaders and postgraduate researchers across all levels in the Faculty of Humanities. The Doctoral Academy Hub houses our specialist professional service teams who support postgraduate researchers throughout the programme journey. This includes admissions, registration, student experience, progression, examination, and graduation.
We collaborate closely with other University directorates including Manchester Doctoral College, Researcher Development team, and the corresponding Doctoral Academies in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Together we provide the best experience and support for your studies and research.
EDI
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.
We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
All appointments are made on merit.
The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
The PhD is the major postgraduate research degree. It involves three years of full-time study or six years of part-time study and the preparation of a thesis of not more than 80,000 words that makes a significant contribution to knowledge.
A satisfactory PhD topic is one that a suitably qualified and properly supervised student can bring to completion within the permitted timeframe.
Previous theses on interpreting include:
- Interpreters' Institutional Alignment and (Re)Construction of China's Political Discourse and Image: A Corpus-based CDA of the Premier-Meets-the-Press Conferences
- Investigating Note-Taking in Consecutive Interpreting, Using the Concept of Visual Grammar
- Healthcare Interpreters' Perception of their Position in the Field of Public Service Interpreting in Spain: A Bourdieusian Perspective
- Dialogue Interpreting as Intercultural Mediation: Integrating Talk and Gaze in the Analysis of Mediated Parent-Teacher Meetings
- Modelling Competence in Community Interpreting: Expectancies, Impressions and Implications for Accreditation
- Interpreting and Translation Policy in UK Asylum Applications
Please note that all PhD students are required to undertake research training as part of their PhD programme.
Related research
REF 2021
In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) ‘Interpreting Studies’ was assessed as part of The University of Manchester's 'Modern Languages and Linguistics' submission.
The University of Manchester was ranked in the top 10 in the UK in terms (by grade point average) among the 47 departments assessed under Unit of Assessment 26. 92% of our research was judged to be in the highest two categories (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.
Our research environment was also judged to be strong, with 100% judged to be (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.
Find out more about our Modern Languages research at Manchester.
What our students say
Facilities
Manchester is home to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries - one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries.
Find out more about libraries and study spaces for postgraduate research students at Manchester.
We also have one of the largest academic IT services in Europe - supporting world-class teaching and research. There are extensive computing facilities across campus, with access to standard office software as well as specialist programmes.
Find out more about facilities for Translation and Intercultural Studies students.