The television subtitling market suffers from a shortage of professionals, as has been attested by twelve years of personal experience in the industry. The purpose of this research was to investigate the reasons behind this shortage and suggest the basis for implementing a course program on subtitling for TV from a descriptive and polysystemic perspective on translation and a poststructuralist view on education. The proposal presented was based on a list of competencies and abilities every subtitle translator must develop, elaborated from interviews with important actors in the translation for subtitles polysystem, and on the analysis of the norms, constraints and control mechanisms with which the subtitler must deal in his or her professional capacity. The considerations brought forth contemplate methodological and content issues and tackle the peculiarities of subtitling, aiming to offer an alternative to the emphasis on training rather than on education which is usually associated with most courses currently available. Thus, this dissertation intends to guarantee a greater interchange between university and industry, which should bring about benefits for both.