Professional Translation of Russian Diplomas and Transcripts
Your diploma and its supplement translated into English so an admissions officer or an HR reviewer can read what the record actually says — the five-point marks, the pass entries, the course volumes and the qualification awarded. A professional translation for review and decision-making, not an official or certified document.
- Quoted per document set
- Russian originals kept alongside
- Signed PDF by email
Get Your Free Estimate
A Russian diploma translation into English is usually ordered because somebody has to read the record and act on it. An admissions officer working through an application, an HR reviewer checking qualifications, a licensing board looking at credentials — each needs to know what the diploma and its supplement actually say. We translate the full set with consistent terminology throughout, so every course name, grade, and qualification type reads the same way and makes sense to someone who did not go to school in Russia.
This is not the official route. If the receiving body asks for an apostille and a certified translation — a credential evaluation service, a regulator, a court filing — that is our apostille and certified translation of diplomas, and it is worth reading before you order anything here. Note the regional limit that applies to it: we apostille originals issued in the Krasnodar region, and for diplomas from universities in other Russian regions we apostille a notarised copy or refer a trusted partner. This page is the other thing — the readable translation, for someone who simply has to understand what the record says.
What to Send Us
- Your diploma (диплом), as a clear PDF or scan
- The diploma supplement (приложение), the detailed academic record that comes with the diploma
- The university name and location
- Context about where the translation is going — university admissions, employer, licensing body — so we match terminology to what the reader expects
- Your deadline
The Russian Grade Scale: 5, 4, 3, and Pass/Fail
Russian universities mark courses on a five-point scale: 5 (отлично, “excellent”), 4 (хорошо, “good”), 3 (удовлетворительно, “satisfactory”), and 2 (неудовлетворительно, “fail”). These are not percentages. A 3 is not “60%.” In Russia, a 3 is a passing grade meaning you have learned the material well enough to move forward. Many readers assume the five-point scale maps to percentages, which makes your 3s and 4s read as low marks when they are actually mid-to-good marks in the Russian system.
Many courses are marked зачёт (pass) or незачёт (fail) instead of a number — a binary result, not a score. A зачёт means you completed and passed the course. When we translate your supplement, we render each mark exactly as it appears, with the Russian original where the term has no direct English equivalent, so a reader never mistakes a pass for a missing or blank grade.
Academic Hours and Credit Units: No Conversion
Every course in your supplement shows a volume: either academic hours (часы), credit units (зачётные единицы), or both. These are not ECTS credits, and we do not convert them to ECTS or any other system. Conversion is an evaluative decision, not a translation decision, and it belongs with whoever is evaluating your record. We translate the unit exactly as printed and leave the conversion to the receiving institution.
Qualification Types: Bachelor, Master, and Specialist
Russia awards three higher education qualifications: бакалавр (bachelor, usually four years), магистр (master, usually two years postgraduate), and специалист (specialist, a longer single-cycle qualification that is neither a bachelor nor a master). We render the qualification exactly as awarded and never say what it “equals” abroad. Equivalence is the receiving institution’s call, not ours. A specialist diploma is a specialist diploma. We keep the Russian original alongside so a reader knows exactly what term your university used.
The specialist qualification is the one that causes trouble, because it has no obvious counterpart: it is a single long first-cycle programme rather than a bachelor followed by a master. Guessing at where it sits is exactly the mistake a translation should not make on the reader’s behalf, so we do not make it.
One Terminology Across the Whole File
A diploma and its supplement have to agree with each other. The degree programme is named on both, the same officials sign both, and if the wording drifts between them a reviewer notices and asks — which is a delay you paid nothing to acquire. We translate the pair against one glossary so the programme title, the department and the names read identically.
The same applies to anything travelling with them. If a school certificate goes into the same application, it is translated to the same glossary; so are company documents where an application also involves an employer or a business. Send the set together rather than a document at a time and the consistency comes for free.
Pricing
A diploma with its supplement is quoted after we have seen it, because the supplement is where the page count actually lives — a two-page diploma can carry a supplement several times longer. Terminology work across the set is included rather than billed separately. The price list gives the general band for this direction, and you can send the scans through the order form: you will have a fixed price and a delivery date within 2 hours during working hours, and you pay nothing until you approve.
Handling Russian Academic Records Regularly?
Universities, employers, and licensing bodies that review Russian diplomas on a recurring basis can set up a standing arrangement with agreed pricing and a dedicated contact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same as a certified or apostilled translation?
No. This is a professional translation: accurate and readable, with no official status. In a notarised translation a Russian notary certifies the translator's signature, and an apostille is a separate certification placed on the original document itself. Different institutions ask for different things. Tell us where the documents are going and we will say which of the two services fits.
Can I use this to apply to a university abroad?
That is the admissions office's decision, not ours. Some accept a professional translation for an initial review and ask for a certified or apostilled version only if they make an offer; others want the official version from the start. Ask them which, then order once rather than twice.
Do I need both the diploma and the supplement translated?
Yes. The diploma is the credential itself; the supplement is the detailed academic record with every course and grade. Together they tell the whole story. We translate both with consistent terminology throughout.
Do you evaluate my degree or say what it is equivalent to?
No, and no translator should. Recognition and equivalence are the work of an ENIC/NARIC body or an evaluation service such as WES, and each publishes its own document list — read theirs and order the service it names. We translate the record; what it is worth in another system is their determination.
Can you translate the diploma into languages other than English?
Yes. We translate Russian diplomas into most European and other major languages. Let us know which language when you send your documents.
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This is a professional translation of a Russian diploma and academic supplement. It is not certified, not notarized, and carries no official status. It is for internal review and decision-making, not for formal submission to an authority that requires a certified, notarized, or apostilled translation. We are not a credential evaluation service and do not decide what a foreign university or employer accepts — confirm their requirements before you order.
