Official Master's Degree in Conference Interpreting
This master's degree offers training in permanent contact with professionals in the sector.
What is the Master?
The Master's Degree in Conference Interpreting, the only official Master's Degree in Spain that is a member of the European Masters in Conference Interpreting (EMCI)consortium , offers a solid training through permanent contact with conference interpreting professionals and the use of the latest methodological and technological advances. It follows the recommendations of the International Association of Conference Interpreters AIIC Best Practices and has been re-accredited by ANECA.
Classes have a high practical content based on exercises and simulations where consecutive and simultaneous interpreting are worked on. The Master's Degree in Conference Interpreting focuses on developing the skills of analysis and synthesis of information, and on making students understand that interpreting is not simply translating words literally from one language into another, but rather an exercise in understanding ideas that are then transmitted through a transformation that adapts the substance to the natural form of the target language. As part of the process, special emphasis is placed on the student's self-assessment and knowledge of the metalanguage of the interpreting profession. Our teachers are active interpreting professionals accredited by international organisations, native speakers with recognised qualifications and/or PhDs in Translation and Interpreting or related subjects.
The Directorates-General for Interpreting of the European Commission and the European Parliament collaborate in the training, through their teaching assistance programs, virtual classes and attendance at final exams. In addition, a trip to Brussels is proposed every year, during which students can carry out work experience in a mute booth in both institutions.
- CentersCiencias Humanas y Sociales (Comillas CIHS)
- LanguagesSpanish
- CertificationOfficial master's degrees
- ModalityFace to face
- Duration1 year (60 ECTS)
- Starts On01/10/2025
- Seats20
Any questions?
What makes us different?
Internships
At least six different internship experiences
Rankings and mentions
Members of the European Masters in Conference Interpreting Consortium (EMCI).
5th place in the Ranking of The World Newspaper 2023
Faculty
Teachers who are practising interpreters (AIIC members and accredited)
With this master's degree you will be able to work as a consecutive and simultaneous interpreter in both the private and institutional markets.
Study Plan
LANGUAGE PROFILES
PROFILE 1:
- ENGLISH <> SPANISH
PROFILE 2:
- ENGLISH + FRENCH > SPANISH
- ENGLISH + GERMAN > SPANISH
PROFILE 3:
- ENGLISH <> SPANISH + FRENCH > SPANISH
- ENGLISH <> SPANISH + GERMAN > SPANISH
PROFILE 4:
- ENGLISH + FRENCH + GERMAN > SPANISH
PROFILE 5:
- ENGLISH <> SPANISH + FRENCH + GERMAN > SPANISH
Professional projection.
To be added after iteration*.
PhD
Freelance interpreter on the private market
Interpreter at the United Nations
Interpreter at the European Union Institutions
State Translators and Interpreters Corps
PhD
Everything you need to know
Work Placements
We prepare you for your future and introduce you to the real world with comprehensive work experience training.
VIDEOS
What our students say
Many people like you are already making the most of their Master's degree. Read about their experience
Comillas CIHS
Claudia Sáenz
Lo que más me gusta del máster es que no es nada fácil, hay que trabajar mucho y a diario, pero uno puede ver los frutos de su esfuerzo.
Comillas CIHS
Victoria Troyano
Me ha enseñado a superar retos diarios y a valorar la importancia de los pequeños logros.
Comillas CIHS
Cristina Riveiro
Lo que más valoro es el número reducido de alumnos, que nos permite cooperar continuamente y recibir atención individualizada.
Teaching Staff
Information for students
Professional and academic opportunities
Graduate profile:
Conference interpreter in the modalities of Consecutive Interpreting and Simultaneous Interpreting.
Private sector:
Many conference interpreters are professionals who provide their services in national or international markets on a self-employed basis. The interpreter's work in the private sector usually takes place in a business context (visits and meetings, negotiation of agreements, shareholders' meetings, boards of directors, etc.) or in the context of large international congresses and trade fairs. Language combinations that include two or more active languages are often the most interesting in this market. The most widely used in Spain is undoubtedly the bidirectional English-Spanish combination.
Public sector:
National and international institutions, such as the United Nations, the European Commission,the European Parliamentand theCourt of Justice of the EU, are major employers of conference interpreting professionals. Interpreters working in the institutional sector may have passed a competitive examination or be self-employed after having been admitted to the lists accrediting them to do so.
In Spain, entry to the corps of translators and interpreters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is by means of a competitive examination with selective tests in translation and interpreting. The list of interpreters working as freelancers for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is centralised through the Official Register of Sworn Translators and Interpreters.
Academic opportunities:
The Master's Degree in Conference Interpreting has official status and as such allows access to a PhD.
Comillas CIHS
Cantoblanco Campus
Since its foundation, the Faculties of Human and Social Sciences, Theology and Canon Law at Comillas Pontifical University have had the vocation to promote humanism and plurality.
It is defined by its desire to train people capable of taking thought and ideas to the highest levels, and to give them the necessary skills to be useful and improve life in the complex world in which we live.
Quality and regulations
Related studies
Preguntas frecuentes
Because Comillas studies are in high demand and places are limited, the best candidates have to be selected through admission tests.
Each class has its own tutor, whose function is to integrate the student into the group and to pay attention to their academic performance. Furthermore, at Comillas, the teaching system is distinguished, among other characteristics, by the personalised attention and the fluid and permanent relationship between teachers and students.
The teaching system at Comillas is especially oriented towards the relationship with the reality of companies, institutions, organisations and professional practice. The Internship and Employment Office is responsible for providing students with internships related to their studies in order to enrich their training. In the 2017-18 academic year, 6,296 student internships were managed in companies.
In addition to these internships managed by the Internship and Employment Office, all degree courses have a significant number of compulsory external internships as part of their curriculums.The Internship and Employment Office informs, guides and collaborates in the insertion in the labour market of recent graduates or in the projection of the professional career of Comillas graduates, for which it has an online tool that puts candidates in direct contact with 5,078 companies with which Comillas maintains a relationship. During the 2017-18 academic year, 1,838 job offers were managed. Of the total number of graduates from the 2018 graduating class, 93.22% are employed, either working or furthering their studies, within six months of completing their studies.
Contact
Prospective Students Office
Faculty of Human and Social Sciences
C/ Universidad Comillas, 3 - 28049 Madrid
(Cantoblanco Campus)
Tel.: 34 91 542 28 00, ext. 2825
futurosalumnos@comillas.edu
Director of the Master's Degree
Elena Aguirre Fernández-Bravo
Tel: (+34) 917 343 950 ext. 2519
eaguirre@comillas.edu
