Diploma Translation in Georgia

Diploma, supplement, transcript: what a complete education package contains

Foreign universities and credential evaluators almost never accept a diploma on its own. The diploma proves that a degree was awarded; the diploma supplement or transcript shows what was studied, how many credits were earned, what grades were achieved and how the grading scale works. Georgian universities issue the diploma in Georgian and, since the Bologna reforms, a diploma supplement that is often bilingual Georgian-English; older graduates have a Soviet-style "vkladysh" transcript in Russian or Georgian, and vocational graduates have a professional diploma with a separate list of subjects.

A complete translated package therefore usually includes the diploma, the supplement or transcript, and any annexes listing thesis titles, internships or state examination results. Where the supplement is already bilingual, we check the English text rather than retranslating it, because university-issued English often contains inconsistencies that an evaluator will notice, and we translate only the Georgian-only parts, stamps and signatures. This keeps the cost down without leaving gaps.

For admission to master's and doctoral programs, universities also ask for course descriptions or syllabi in some fields (medicine, engineering, law). These are longer texts and are translated as academic documents rather than as certificates, with the same terminology as the transcript so that course names match across the file.

Recognition bodies and what they look for

Each destination has its own gatekeeper. In Germany the anabin database and the ZAB issue statements of comparability; in the Netherlands it is Nuffic; in the United Kingdom UK ENIC; in the United States WES, ECE and similar evaluators; in Canada WES, ICAS or IQAS depending on the province; in Italy the Dichiarazione di Valore issued through the consulate; in the Czech Republic and Slovakia a nostrification procedure at a university or ministry; in Poland recognition by a university or NAWA; in Turkey YÖK denklik. Regulated professions (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, engineering, teaching, law) add a licensing body on top.

These bodies compare the translated degree title with the original and with their own classification. A Georgian "bakalavri" is a bachelor's degree, a "magistri" a master's degree, a "diplomirebuli specialisti" from the pre-Bologna era is a five-year specialist degree that many evaluators treat as comparable to a master's, and a "doktori" a PhD. Translating "specialist" as "bachelor" or inventing a title such as "Master of Science" where the diploma says "Master of Engineering" can cost the applicant a year. We render the title literally, keep the Georgian term in brackets on first use, and add the standard English equivalent in a translator's note when the evaluator will need it.

Institution names are given in their official English form as published by the university, with the historical name preserved when the diploma predates a renaming, since evaluators check the institution against accreditation lists by name and year.

Grading scales, credits and honours

Georgian higher education uses a 100-point scale grouped into letter bands (A to E, with FX and F as fail), and ECTS credits; older transcripts use the Soviet five-point scale where 5 is "excellent" and 3 is "satisfactory", and some vocational documents use "passed" only. A transcript translation must reproduce the numbers exactly and describe the scale in a note, because evaluators convert grades to their own system (a German 1.0 to 4.0 scale using the modified Bavarian formula, a US GPA, a UK classification) and they need to know what the maximum and minimum passing grades were.

We do not convert grades ourselves, which would be outside a translator's role, but we include the scale description printed on the supplement and, where none is printed, a neutral translator's note describing the scale used by Georgian universities. Honours designations such as "with distinction" (the red diploma of the Soviet and early Georgian period) are translated as such, with the original term in brackets.

Apostille for Georgian education documents

Georgian diplomas, supplements and school certificates are apostilled not through the general Public Service Development Agency route but through the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (EQE), which first confirms that the document was issued by an accredited institution and appears in the education records. This verification takes longer than a civil-document apostille, and the timeline should be built into any application plan. Documents from institutions that lost accreditation or closed may require additional archival confirmation.

The usual sequence for EU and most other destinations is: apostille on the original diploma and supplement, then translation of the documents together with the apostilles, then notarization of the translation. Some evaluators (WES, for example) want documents sent directly by the university and do not require apostille or notarization at all, only a certified translation. We ask where the file is going and prepare only what that body requires. Details of the apostille procedure are on our apostille page.

Foreign diplomas for use in Georgia

Foreign graduates who want their qualification recognized in Georgia submit it to EQE for recognition, which requires an apostilled or legalized diploma with a notarized Georgian translation. The same package is needed by the Ministry of Health for licensing foreign doctors and nurses, by Georgian universities admitting foreign students to graduate programs, by employers in regulated sectors, and by the Public Service Development Agency in some residence permit categories. We translate diplomas from the countries most represented in this flow: Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Iran, India, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, the EU states, the United Kingdom and the United States, and from Arabic, Persian, Hindi and Chinese originals as well as English and European languages.

Because Georgian recognition compares the foreign qualification with Georgian levels, the translation keeps the original degree title with a Georgian rendering and does not "upgrade" or "downgrade" it. Transcripts are translated in full, including credit hours and grading scale notes, since EQE evaluates the content of the program, not just the title.

How to order and what to expect

Send scans of every page of the diploma and supplement, including reverse sides with stamps, and tell us the country and the body that will receive them. We confirm whether an EQE apostille is needed first, quote a price based on the number of pages and the notarial fee, and give you a date. A diploma with a bilingual supplement is usually ready within one to two working days after the originals are available; a multi-page Russian-language transcript from the 1990s takes longer. Translated documents are bound to notarized copies so that your original diploma stays intact.

If you are applying to several universities or evaluators, tell us at the start; additional notarized sets of the same translation are considerably cheaper than the first, and we can prepare an English set and a German or Italian set from one review.

What to send for a diploma translation

Scan every page of the diploma and the supplement, including reverse sides and any inserts, at readable resolution. Tell us which university, evaluator, ministry or employer will receive the translation and in which country, and forward their document requirements if you have them. Send your passport data page so that your name is spelled the same way on the diploma translation as in your visa file.

If your supplement is already bilingual, say so; we will check and translate only what is missing.