Facultad de Traducción e Interpretación de Granada (Spain)

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Front facade of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Granada.

The Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (Spanish Facultad de Traducción e Interpretación) of the University of Granada is in the Spanish city of Granada, specifically in the Palace of the Counts of Luque, better known as Palace of the Columns, of architect unknown (although some attribute it to Juan de Villanueva). It was restored in 1946 by architects Luis Álvarez de Cienfuegos and Juan de Dios de Wilhelmi so it could host the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (Facultad de Filosofía y Letras), later the Institute of Languages (Instituto de Idiomas) and, since 1979, the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.

The name Palacio de las Columnas was probably inspired by the Doric and Ionic columns that decorate its facade. The building, one of the most notable examples of secular Neoclassical architecture in Granada, has a U-shaped plant surrounding an ample garden, with a main body and two wings that rise over the downhill-sloped streets on either side. It contains the library, a multimedia classroom, computer and language labs, and administrative and faculty offices.

These premises are supplemented by another building in calle Buensuceso, holding mostly offices plus the Salón de Grados, Sala de Tutorías, student union, Servicio de Traducción Universitario (STU), a small company created by the students themselves, the offices of the Sendebar magazine, and a study room.

The Faculty of Translation and Interpreting is young but has a respectable tradition - it offers the widest language range in Spain (4 B languages, 8 C languages and 4 other optional languages). According to the yearly report for 2006 of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, it is the best center of its kind in Spain [1].

The center hosts 16 research groups, carries out European R+D projects, elaborates award-winning programs for fresh approaches to teaching, has two inter-university doctorate programs and two magazines (Sendebar and Puentes). It also orientates its curriculum to the current demands of the profession, which usually guarantees work opportunities to its graduates.

[edit] Faculty Programs

The center's students participate in national exchange activities like the Spanish Séneca program, and the European ERASMUS (covering around 70 European universities) and ALE (Applied Languages Europe) programs, as well as additional programs with USA and Canada. It has also a well-stocked library, with 17,000 monographies and 100 publications.