Diploma and Transcript Translation for WES, ECE and Universities

If you are applying to a US university, a licensing board or an employer with a degree from Russia or Ukraine, someone will ask for a credential evaluation, and the evaluator will ask for a certified translation. WES, ECE and university admissions offices all want the same thing from it: a complete, literal rendering of the diploma and its supplement, so they can compare it with the original and decide what the degree equals in the US system. Here is what that looks like for Russian and Ukrainian documents.

What an evaluator actually reads

An evaluator works with two documents: the diploma itself, which names the institution, the degree, the qualification and the date, and the supplement or transcript, which lists every course, its hours and the grade. The diploma is usually one page. The supplement runs from two to eight pages and is where most of the evaluator's time goes.

The translation is not the place for interpretation. Evaluators compare the English text against the original line by line, and any rewording, regrouping or added explanation can raise a question. Your translator keeps the same order, the same columns and the same terms as the original, and puts anything that needs clarifying in a marked translator's note rather than in the body of the text.

• Institution name as printed, with the current name in a note if it has been renamed
• Degree and qualification lines word for word, with the specialty code when one is printed
• Diploma series, number and registration number
• Every seal, stamp and signature block, translated or described
• The supplement table in its original order and columns

Degree titles stay literal

Russian and Ukrainian higher education uses titles that do not map one to one onto US degrees, and the translation is not supposed to solve that. Specialist is a five or six year degree that predates the split into Bachelor and Master and still exists in some programs. Bachelor and Master are used in both countries today. Ukraine also has Junior Specialist, a degree from a college or technical school, and its newer successor, Junior Bachelor. Candidate of Sciences and Doctor of Sciences are research degrees.

Each of these is translated with its literal title. Specialist stays Specialist and is not turned into a Master's equivalent. Junior Specialist stays Junior Specialist and is not written as an Associate degree. The evaluator decides the equivalence, and a translation that pre-decides it can be sent back for correction. The same rule applies to the qualification line and to the specialty or program name, which are translated word for word.

Grades and scales are explained, not converted

A Russian supplement typically uses a five-point scale where 5 is excellent, 4 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and some courses are simply graded as passed. A Ukrainian supplement issued in recent years often shows three columns for the same course: a national grade, a score out of 100, and an ECTS letter. Older Ukrainian documents use the same five-point scale as Russian ones.

The translation keeps every grade exactly as printed and states the scale once, at the top of the table or in a note. It does not calculate a GPA, does not convert a 5 into an A, and does not average anything. Evaluators have their own conversion tables, and a translated document that already contains a US grade looks like an altered record. Hours and credits are copied as printed, and totals are copied rather than recalculated, even when the printed total looks off.

• Excellent, good, satisfactory, passed: translated literally, with the scale noted once
• 100-point scores and ECTS letters: kept as printed in their own columns
• Thesis title, state examination results, internships: translated in full
• Academic hours and credits: transcribed exactly, with no rounding

The diploma supplement and the transcript

The supplement is attached to the diploma and lists the courses. It is issued once, at graduation. If you left before graduating, you have an academic certificate instead, which lists the courses completed and is translated in the same table format. Some evaluations also ask for a transcript issued by the registrar, which for most Russian and Ukrainian universities is the same supplement or a certified extract from your student record.

Newer Ukrainian diplomas and supplements are often printed in Ukrainian and English side by side. That English text is part of the original, not a certified translation, and the seals, stamps, handwritten entries and any apostille are still in Ukrainian only. Ask the evaluator whether they want a certified translation of the full document. Many do, because the certificate of accuracy covers the parts the printed English does not.

Send every page of the supplement, including the back of the last page if it carries a seal, and the cover if it carries the number. The price is based on word count and is shown with your quote right after upload, before you pay; seals and stamps are not charged extra, and each page is translated in full.

Apostille on education documents

An apostille certifies the signature and seal on a public document for use abroad. Evaluators do not generally require it for a credential evaluation, but some universities, licensing boards and employers do. Check with the office that will receive the document before you spend time and money on it.

In Ukraine, apostilles on diplomas, supplements and other education documents are issued by the Ministry of Education and Science. In Russia, education apostilles are issued by regional education authorities, and the diploma is usually verified with the institution first, which can take weeks. The apostille itself is in the language of the issuing country, so when it is attached, it is translated on the same page as the document it certifies.

Getting the translation to the evaluator

Evaluators publish their own document requirements by country, and those lists change. In general, the translation is something you can provide yourself as long as it is complete, literal and certified, while some original records must be sent by the institution directly to the evaluator. Read the current requirement for your country and your evaluation type before you order, and keep in mind that the translation requirement and the direct-from-institution requirement are separate things.

You receive one PDF: the translation, the signed certificate of accuracy, and a copy of the original. Most evaluators accept an upload of this file through their application portal. If an evaluator or a university asks for a hard copy of the translation by mail, tell us when you order, and it can be mailed to the address you give us. Notarization is quoted separately when an office asks for it, but for WES and ECE a certified translation is the standard.

1. 1Check the evaluator's document list for your country and your evaluation type.
2. 2Photograph or scan the diploma, every page of the supplement, and any apostille; a supplement missing its last page loses the thesis and the state examinations.
3. 3Tell us the Latin spelling of your name as it appears in your passport.
4. 4Confirm the page count and the delivery date shown with your quote.
5. 5Upload the certified PDF to the evaluator, or mail it if they require paper.