Study programmes

The primary aim of the study programme in Intercultural Communication: Czech and German for Translation and Interpreting / Interkulturelle Kommunikation: Übersetzen und Dolmetschen Tschechisch-Deutsch is to train qualified and competitive translators and interpreters for Czech and German. During the programme, the students spend four semesters at their home university and two semesters at the partner university. The schedule is as follows: students based at Charles University move to the German partner university for their 3rd and 4th semesters whereas students based at Leipzig University are hosted by the Czech partner university in the 5th and 6th semesters of their study. This arrangement enables students from both universities to spend a total of four semesters together and enhance their skills in Czech and German languages through, among other things, joint activities involving Czech and German students.
The programme at Leipzig University is open to students with or without prior knowledge of Czech. Those with no prior knowledge of Czech receive more intensive instruction in practical Czech language skills; the level of competence in Czech attained upon graduation is sufficient for the translation and interpreting professions.
The study programme is grounded in a number of disciplines, namely Translation Studies (including translation and interpreting), philology (linguistics and literary studies), information science (theory of communication, various software tools, terminology), as well as the fundamentals of other fields or disciplines, including cultural studies and history.
Graduates can seek employment as in-house translators and/or interpreters in any type of company or institution and are prepared for rapid development of specialized knowledge according to the requirements of the client/employer. Further career options may include company representative, assistant to senior management, translation project manager in translation companies, international relations officer in the domains of trade, culture, international relations and science.
Graduates from the programme will have acquired the abilities and skills at bachelor’s level that are required for professional translation and interpreting. They are prepared to enter the employment market as independent professionals in intercultural communication.