The Certified Translation of Diplomas and Transcripts18 June 2019 - by Helene Walters-Steinberg
As part of our series on certified translations, this
article focuses on the translation of diplomas and transcripts for university
or job applications.
Although the translation process itself is similar to the
translation process described in the previous post
on certified translations, the translation of diplomas and transcripts has
a few specificities. Does the translation of my diploma or transcript need to
be certified? Absolutely, as the receiving entity needs to know that the
translation corresponds exactly to the original document. Only a certified
translation signed and stamped by an accredited translator can be used as proof
of obtention of a diploma or degree. Who can provide a certified translation of my diploma or
transcript? Certified translations into English can be provided by full
members of the Chartered
Institute of Linguists or the Institute
of Translation and Interpreting (you can click on the hyperlinks to go
to the list of members for each Institute, and then refine based on the
language required). If you find yourself with a long list of potential
translators, I would recommend contacting the translator closest to you so that
you can provide them with the physical documents if needed. Certified translations of transcripts and diplomas should
also be accompanied by a Certificate of translation presenting the translator’s
credentials and contact details. Each page should also be stamped and signed by
the translator. This guarantees the authenticity of the translation and allows
you to be confident that the receiving institution will accept it. What is the turnaround time for the certified translation
of a diploma or transcript? Time frames for the certified translation of educational
documents vary, but it is worth bearing in mind that transcripts can be rather
time-consuming to translate due to their complex formatting that needs to be
reproduced in the certified translation. In addition, there is often a
significant amount of research required to accurately translate course titles
and content. When it comes to diplomas and degrees, translators are not
authorised to provide equivalencies, so they will often leave the name of the
degree in the original language and include a translator’s note explaining the
number of years and type of course. Should I provide additional documents to assist the certified
translation of my diploma or transcript? If possible, I would
recommend providing the translator with any documents you have detailing the
courses (or giving them a link to the course description online, if there is
one). This can help them better understand the content of each module and
provide a more accurate translation of the title. |