MA in Literary Translation Studies at the University of Rochester
Work with Open Letter on a full-length, publishable translation while receiving your MA in literary translation studies.
It’s that time of year again when promising students are asking for letters of recommendation, and prepping their grad school applications, so I thought I would take a moment to shine a light on the University of Rochester’s MA in Literary Translation Studies (MALTS) program and Open Letter’s role in it.
And not to bury the lead, the first application deadline is December 15, 2025. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but students applying this December will get the first crack at joining the 2026-27 class. With a limited number of slots available, I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in MALTS to apply sooner rather than later.
Started back in 2009, MALTS was designed to give passionate emerging translators a place to hone their craft through both academic study and working closely with the press in hopes of launching a successful career as a literary translator. A significant number of MALTS students have gone on to translate both for Open Letter and elsewhere (with Will Vanderhyden probably having the most overall translations published), or have gone on to work in publishing or the literary field in one way or another.1
The program is designed to be a year of course work and then a summer/semester of thesis research (aka, time to just translate), and to combine a few key elements: study of translation theory and international literature, work with Open Letter Books, workshop your translations with high-profile authors, and produce a book-length, publishable translation.
I’ll leave aside the academic stuff for today—although stay tuned, since I love to write a goofy “listicle” about the books I select for my “World Literature & Translation” class, in which we read contemporary translations and talk to translators, authors, and editors—and just talk a bit more about the Open Letter element of this.
We’ve always been closely tied to the MALTS program (and the CLTS one for undergrads), but going forward, I think this connection will be both richer and more explicit. Some of the changes to the MALTS program are internal and too in the weeds to discuss, but from a bird’s-eye view, the goal is to assist students in finding a thesis project as early in their studies as possible—preferably one that Open Letter would be interested in publishing. (Although I obviously can’t guarantee that, it is going to be a goal going forward.) This coincides with working on a portfolio of various samples—a great way to test your skills on different types of writing and learn what’s possible and what voices you excel at—workshopping these alongside thesis excerpts in a creative writing workshop (all of which are run by amazing artists, including Jen Grotz, Joanna Scott, and Stephen Schottenfeld), taking advantage of our local translation workshop/salon (Plüb for the initiated), and then working closely with an advisor over the course of the program.
Personally, I’m always happy to help in whatever ways I can. By teaching the “Intro to Literary Publishing” course—to give students insight into the industry as a whole and help them understand how to pitch their projects and what to expect if/when they get a contract—in addition to the “World Literature & Translation” course mentioned above; but also to serve as a second reader for anyone’s thesis or portfolio, provide information about agents and international publishers, and generally help encourage a student’s interest in a particular region’s literature, or overarching literary style.
Personally, I wish I could do this degree just to have time to work on a specific book and then read all around it—titles in the original that influenced the author, translations by translators I respect and can learn from, philosophical texts that hone one’s understanding of the art and craft as a whole, etc. With such a great community of award-winning translators supporting one’s work, there is a great opportunity for MALTS students to refine their studies and get what they want out of this program.
More on the deadline and application process referenced above: We accept applications on a rolling basis, but for the 2026-27 academic year, we have a priority deadline of 12/15/25, a standard deadline of 2/1/26, and a final deadline of 3/15/26. Again, there are a limited number of slots, so if you’re interested, I strongly encourage you to apply now.
For more information, or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the director of MALTS, Donatella Stocchi-Perucchio, or you can get in touch with me directly at my Rochester.edu email address.
Also: Please pass this along to anyone you know who might be interested. There’s a downloadable version of the flyer below, which can be printed or emailed. And I hope to meet some of you soon to talk about the program, international literature in general, and the book you want to translate (hopefully for Open Letter)!
This also goes for the U of R undergrads who get a Certificate in Literary Translation Studies (CLTS). Students in this program have gone on to be agents, scouts, editors, translators, etc. The value of having such a practically-minded program is success in helping students get jobs.