Ukrainian diploma and supplement: translation and recognition of education

First establish what you need the diploma for

For admission, establish the level of study and the university's requirements for foreign documents. An employer may need different material from a university conducting nostrification. The order should state the purpose, recipient and list of required documents. This makes it possible to determine whether the order also covers a supplement, course list, study record certificate or NAWA information. Requirements are checked for the current procedure rather than against a set used by someone else several years earlier.

The Law on Higher Education and Science regulates the entitlements arising from foreign diplomas and their equivalence. Art. 327(1) provides for recognition under an international agreement establishing equivalence or, in its absence, a formal recognition procedure (nostrification). Admission to further studies is a separate issue. Correspondence with a university should therefore identify the intended action: admission, credit for a period of study or diploma recognition. The appropriate basis and required set of documents are determined for each. [2]

The diploma and supplement should be read together

A diploma identifies the qualification and institution, while a supplement or appendix provides information about the programme, subjects, grades and course of study. Before translation, check that the appendix number corresponds to the diploma and that all pages have been supplied. A separately issued annex may have its own date, number and signatures. These details link the material, particularly after a university name change or when presenting documents concerning later supplementary studies.

In an extensive supplement, the order of fields is retained. Teaching hours, credits, examination results and dissertation grades represent different elements of the programme. The key or description of the grading scale should be included in the translation scope. An earlier diploma or certificate on the basis of which the person was admitted to university may be needed in the proceedings, but its translation is not automatically commissioned with every diploma. The scope follows from the particular recipient's requirements and the purpose of submission.

Names of qualifications and universities

NAWA’s guidance for translators emphasises retaining the foreign title’s name and the risk of replacing it with a Polish equivalent. [3] The translation should make the qualification appearing in the source identifiable. The document title, field of study, specialisation and qualification awarded remain separate information. Substituting a Polish degree title for the Ukrainian name would make it harder to establish which document is being assessed. Any explanation must be separated from the issuer's content so that the recipient can distinguish the two layers of the translation. Deborah Cao also describes the specialist nature of legal translation. [6]

The institution’s name is handled similarly. Provide its full name at the issue date and any later certificates of organisational changes, if required. An abbreviation in a stamp and a full name in the text require comparison, not free harmonisation. The translation can reflect the nature of the institution and elements of its name while preserving identification of the actual issuer. This is particularly important for documents from different periods of the same school’s or organisational unit’s activity.

Issue date and basis for recognition

For Ukrainian documents, the issue date and qualification type matter. The NAWA guide provides separate tables for documents predating 20 June 2006 and those issued from that date. [4] This cut-off is not applied to every document and purpose without establishing the correct basis. The qualification name, graduation date, issue date and whether the copy is a duplicate must be read. Assessment concerns a specific document and its effects in the relevant procedure.

A duplicate issued later may relate to a qualification obtained earlier. The year on the form alone is therefore insufficient to select the assessment rules. The text of a resolution, the earlier document’s number or a university certificate may help. The assignment should identify the dates of graduation, award of the title and issue of the copy. Recognition under an agreement depends on its scope, while formal recognition concerns a particular diploma. Information needed for these determinations is retained in translation. [2]

NAWA information and assessment documents

NAWA provides the KWALIFIKATOR system and an option to request individual information about a foreign diploma. Current rules describe submitting documents through SYRENA and issuing information in a signed PDF file. [5] Before commissioning, check the list of material required for the diploma or certificate and the particular procedure. It can then be established which documents require translation and which must be presented in their original language or as files received from the issuer.

Information about a qualification should be kept together with the diploma and supplement. If it is sent to another institution, provide the entire file with its signature rather than an image of the first page. Where there are doubts, compare the diploma number, institution name and holder’s details across all materials. An application for information, admissions and formal recognition each have their own requirements. The name of one procedure should not be used as a general term for all forms of qualification assessment or all documents issued in connection with a qualification.

Grades, subjects and curriculum

A transcript of grades preserves the values and descriptions of the scale used by the issuer. A numerical result is not independently converted into a Polish grade. Hours and credits remain separate measures. If the supplement specifies ECTS, course content or the type of assessment, the information is separated as in the source. A course name may require checking subject terminology, especially for vocational or clinical placements or specialist modules. An explanatory document from the issuer is useful for an illegible abbreviation.

Curriculum material helps clarify ambiguous names. An official module description may be supplied, identified as supporting material or as a separate document for translation. Where recognition involves comparing curricula, the recipient may need broader documentation than the diploma supplement. The order should state whether it covers the full curriculum, selected descriptions or a record of completed courses. Each extract remains linked to the particular academic year, qualification and document from which it comes, allowing the scope of the education being assessed to be traced.

Personal details, stamps and source

A diploma may have been issued under a pre-marriage surname. In that case, it is useful to provide the name-change document and the relevant page of the travel document. Art. 14 ust. 2 of the Act on the Profession of Sworn Translator defines the basis for transliterating or transcribing first names and surnames written in a non-Latin alphabet. Details are preserved according to each source so that the recipient can establish the link between the diploma and the person's current identity. Supporting documents establish spelling; they do not change the diploma's content. [1]

Also provide the reverse side, stamps, annotations and attached authentications. Art. 18 ust. 2 requires the original, translation or copy to be identified as the basis of translation; for an earlier translation or copy, it must also state whether it was certified and by whom. For an electronic document, retain the received file. A scan may be used for a quotation, while presentation of the source for the work is agreed separately, taking account of the recipient’s requirements and the form of the available document. [1]

Preparing the assignment and subsequent changes

The assignment lists each document and its page count, the recipient, deadline and required copies. For electronic admissions, agree the translation format and how the sources will later be presented. Paper and translations bearing a qualified signature require different delivery methods. Keep the full set in one organised version and mark supporting materials. This prevents programme descriptions or information about the institution from being confused with attachments ordered for full translation.

Before delivery, first names, surnames, diploma and supplement numbers, and the completeness of tables can be checked. If the university issues a corrected supplement, it should be presented as a new document. Using an old translation with a new source makes the scope difficult to identify. Additional copies of an earlier translation and translation of a changed document are described as separate assignments. This helps link the issued material to the appropriate repertory entry and the particular copy presented or supplied for translation. [1]

Questions and answers