Turkish Academic Translation

Two directions, two sets of documents

Academic translation runs both ways. Into Turkish: a foreign graduate seeking recognition (denklik, equivalence) of a degree applies to the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), while school-level certificates go to the Ministry of National Education (MEB). Foreign students applying to Turkish universities, and professionals whose work permit file depends on a qualification, need much the same set; employers and HR teams hiring from abroad meet it too. Out of Turkish: a Turkish student applying to a university, a scholarship or a recognition body abroad sends a diploma, a transcript, course descriptions (ders içerikleri) and often a student certificate (öğrenci belgesi) printed from e-Devlet, with a barcode the receiving institution can check online.

In both directions the transcript and the course descriptions carry the most weight, because that is where a reviewer compares content, credits and hours rather than titles. Language certificates, letters of recommendation, enrolment certificates and thesis material complete most files.

Recognition and admission: who sets the format

Recognition applications to YÖK are document-heavy by design. The reviewer is trying to establish what you actually studied, so the translation of a transcript and of course descriptions has to be faithful at a level of detail that feels excessive until you see it questioned. A foreign diploma or transcript for use in Turkey normally needs an apostille obtained in the issuing country before it arrives, then a sworn translation by a sworn translator (yeminli tercüman), often with notary certification (noter onayı).

Abroad, the receiving university or recognition body sets the format. Some want sealed transcripts sent by the Turkish university itself, which a translation cannot replace; some want a description for every course; some accept a sworn translation alone, while others want notary certification and an apostille from the governorship (valilik), which we arrange. Ask the receiving office, in writing if possible, before ordering. We do not assess whether a qualification will be recognised or an application accepted, and notary certification does not guarantee acceptance. That determination belongs to the authority.

Grades, credits and titles: the temptation to help

The most important discipline in academic translation is refusing to improve the document. A British 2:1, a Turkish mark on a 4.00 scale and a German 1.3 are not interchangeable, and rendering one as another would misrepresent the record even with good intentions. Credit systems, contact hours, grading scales and course titles are carried across as they appear rather than converted, because the conversion is the reviewer's job and not the translator's. On Turkish transcripts the European credit (AKTS) is rendered as ECTS, and the national credit (kredi) stays in its own column; merging the two changes the record.

Degree titles follow the same rule: a translated title describes the qualification awarded, not the closest-sounding local degree. Where a source uses an institution-specific term with no equivalent, we keep the original beside the rendering so the reviewer can see both. It is better for a document to be transparently unusual than smoothly misleading.

Where academic files go wrong

• The grading key on the back. Many transcripts print the grading scale or a legend on the reverse side. A scan of the front alone leaves the reviewer with grades and no key.
• Names that do not match the passport. Your name, your institution's name, your programme title and your dates of study should read identically on every translated document and match your passport. We flag discrepancies between originals rather than silently harmonising them, since an inconsistency in the originals is something you may need to explain.
• Course descriptions from the wrong years. Syllabi change, and descriptions that do not match the years you were enrolled invite questions.
• Steps in the wrong order. A foreign diploma that arrives in Turkey without its apostille, or a Turkish one whose translation was apostilled when the receiving body wanted the original apostilled, means repeating steps.

What we need to start

A complete scan of the diploma and transcript, front and back; the course descriptions if the receiving body asks for them; your name as it appears in your passport; the receiving university or authority and its written requirements; and, for foreign documents used in Turkey, confirmation that the apostille is already on them. Cost depends on the documents, so send them for a quote; how sworn translation is priced explains what drives it.

Related reading: translating academic documents for YÖK recognition and translating academic transcripts. Foreign students can start with sworn translation for foreigners in Turkey and find residence permit papers under Turkish Immigration Translation; Turkish students applying abroad, with translating Turkish documents for use abroad.