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MA in translation and interpreting (MATI)

hello i am an international student thinking of applying for an MA in translation and interpreting (Arabic-English) or (Arabic-English-French) next year
So far i narrowed down my options to 5 universities (listed in order of preference) :
1-Durham
2-Leeds( AR-ENG-FR)
3-Surrey
4-Manchester
5-Heriot-Watt

Can someone please help me choose the best one ( in terms of good education , accommodation and social life )
Original post by maia94
hello i am an international student thinking of applying for an MA in translation and interpreting (Arabic-English) or (Arabic-English-French) next year
So far i narrowed down my options to 5 universities (listed in order of preference) :
1-Durham
2-Leeds( AR-ENG-FR)
3-Surrey
4-Manchester
5-Heriot-Watt

Can someone please help me choose the best one ( in terms of good education , accommodation and social life )


In terms of academics:
Durham, Leeds and Manchester are all part of the Russell Group which is usually well regarded by employers.

For a MATI course membership of the EMT (European Masters in Translation) network is also very important. To get membership unis have to go through a very stringent and rigorous process so you know the quality of those courses will be good.
Durham, Leeds and Manchester again have courses which are part of the EMT. Surrey also advertises being a member but isn't listed on the EMT website so I'm not sure about that!
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/programmes/emt/universities/index_en.htm#uk

I don't know much about accommodation but for social life/student life I know Leeds and Manchester will have more options than Durham as they are much bigger cities. Durham is very picturesque but the centre is very small and I know lots of Durham students who travel into Newcastle for nights out and things. However that's not to say there's nothing and that smaller city vibe might be more for you!

Leeds and Manchester by contrast are much bigger cities with much larger student populations: Durham Uni has around 16,000 students compared to 33,000 at Leeds and 39,000 at Manchester. Plus there are all the students from the Leeds and Manchester Metropolitan Universities. A larger student population therefore means that there's a much bigger market aimed at students.

Out of the two I would personally say Leeds is the nicer city - I grew up roughly half way between the two and so would often go to them for shopping or concerts etc. I also have friends who've studied there and said it's a great place to be a student. Leeds Uni is very centrally located which makes it very convenient.
But I've spent less time in Manchester so I can't judge as well there. I think the uni building are a little bit further out of town than in Leeds and I know when I visited a friend in student accommodation there the area wasn't very nice. The accommodation was very modern and lovely but outside felt quite run down.

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