Courses

The program’s two core courses:

• TRA 200 Thinking Translation: Language Transfer and Cultural Communication
• TRA 400 Translation, Migration, Culture

Four courses at the 200 level or above from at least two of the following three categories:

• Upper-level courses focusing on translation into and/or from a foreign language (examples include: SPA 380, FRE 407, ARA 308, and CWR 306)
• Courses that contribute to an understanding of some aspect of translation (may be found in disciplines such as linguistics, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, history, comparative literature, etc.)
• Any course listed or cross-listed by the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication (with the exception of TRA 200 and TRA 400)

Courses outside these categories that contribute to an understanding of intercultural and interlingual communication may be substituted at the discretion of the program director.

International Experience

[Note: due to the change in global circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, this requirement will be waived for the Class of 2023.]

Students wishing to achieve a certificate in the program will spend a year, a semester, or six weeks of the summer in a Princeton-approved course of study or internship program in an area where the chosen non-English language of proficiency is spoken.

Independent Work 

Students in the program will write a senior thesis that incorporates issues of translation in one or more of its several senses. In departments where this option presents a difficulty, a student may petition to have another piece of independent work meet the requirement. Such projects may be completed, for instance, during a summer stay abroad.

Language Requirement 

In order to enter the program, a student should normally have completed at least two courses at the 200 level or above in a language other than English.