At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.

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Ghent University's Education Objectives

Quality Assurance at Ghent University

1. Thought and action: the Master of Interpreting (in its various language combinations) combines an academic with a practice-oriented and job-oriented profile. The programme offers current overviews of interpreting theory and the practice of interpreting in a social context. The programme combines these insights with a professional language proficiency and interpreting technique in Dutch and in two foreign languages.
2. A strong team of lecturers: our programme boasts a dedicated team of lecturers, who combine their research expertise with a passion for teaching. Our lecturers and teaching assistants have specialised in their teaching assignment and combine that expertise with their professional experience. Each language department employs native speakers.
3. We aim for a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods. Theoretic course units take the form of lectures. In our practice-oriented seminars you will set to work diligently in small groups of fellow-students and lecturers. We combine end-of-term assessment (exams) with interim assignments and assessment. By means of the latter, you can take control of your own learning process.
4. Keeping abreast of developments in the professional field and current trends such as rapid digitalisation and the rise of generative AI: our programme prepares you for the specific requirements of the professional field by incorporating a variety of interpreting work placements. During those work placements you work together with other professionals in their usual professional context.
5. The wide world: we employ native speakers in the various languages we offer. International students join our programme for an Erasmus stay with us and some work placements use role-players as cultural representatives of the languages you study.

1. Organisation and student satisfaction. Surveys show that student satisfaction is high when it comes to the organisation of our study programme. Other aspects appreciated by students are study programme quality, internationalisation opportunities, knowledge application and the focus on soft skills and language acquisition. Students also find our study programme to be coherent and relevant. Our classes run smoothly. We adjust our the way we organise our study programme continuously as needed, in close consultation with the student representatives.
2. Interculturality. You will not study Dutch and the foreign languages of your choice as separate entities. Instead, you will learn how linguistic and cultural regions differ from each other, and how to adjust communication accordingly.
3. Work placement: our most recent curricular revision has created ample opportunity for practical experience in the form of a work placement in the Master's curriculum. We organise the work placement together with a number of partners, all of whom are education providers to professionals who come into contact with, and need to learn how to work with interpreters.
4. Job application seminar. Our job application seminar has become a highly successful and specific initiative. During this three-day event students come into contact with recruitment and HR management specialists to learn the ins and outs of applying for jobs. They also have the opportunity to network with alumni who work in various sectors.
5. Internationalisation: thanks to our various exchange opportunities we welcome many international Erasmus students, which ensures a daily contact with native speakers.

1. Research competencies: students indicate regularly that they feel unprepared for a research career upon graduation. Moreover, some of our students also declare that academic research is not a priority for them. Students with an interest in/inclination towards academic research deserve our maximum support. We are developing in-depth and tailored initiatives for them. We also want to contribute actively to initiatives leading to a research master.
2. High standards and a heavy workload: our students indicate that we set high standards in terms of language proficiency. Moreover, deadlines for independent work come in quick succession. Staggered deadlines are a point of improvement.
3. The study programme feedback has revealed that student satisfaction is low in terms of social involvement, sustainability, entrepreneurship, ecology. We are convinced that our programme focus on multilingual and intercultural mediation contributes to a society based on sustainable structures, but at the same time we acknowledge that there is room for improvement.

This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review (peer-learning visit) in 2018. A screening of the Education Monitor by Ghent University’s Education Quality Board is planned in the years 2021-2024.

This information was last updated on 20/02/2024.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.