The Russian Ministry of Education and Science has introduced new pre-printed document formats for higher education credentials. Diplomas for the Russian bachelor, master, and specialist have a new look, and the accompanying 艙diploma addendum鈹" (transcript) has been redesigned. The new documents were awarded beginning with the 2012 graduating cohort, although it appears that authentic credentials in the previous formats are still being issued, perhaps as higher education institutions use up their supplies of the older documents.
St. Petersburg State University and Moscow State University have been authorized by the Ministry of Education to design their own specialist diploma and diploma addendum formats. The formats are designed by the institutions and are unique to each institution. Both universities issue the new diplomas in both Russian and English, with a bilingual Russian-English diploma addendum in a European-modeled format. At St. Petersburg State University, the first newly-designed specialist diploma and addendum were awarded to 2010 graduates. At Moscow State University, the first newly-designed specialist diploma and addendum were awarded to 2011 graduates.
Russian Higher Education Credential Terminology
鈺'鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ攼鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ暆 鈺ㄢ枓鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ晳鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ枔鈺も暔鈻 / Diplom bakalavra / Diploma of bachelor
鈺'鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ攼鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ暆 鈺ㄢ暆鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ攤鈺ㄢ晻鈺っ尖暏茅鈺も暔鈻 / Diplom magistra / Diploma of master
鈺'鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ攼鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ暆 with 鈺ㄢ晳鈺ㄢ枔鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ晻鈺っも暔鈺曗暔鈺戔暔鈻戔暏氓鈺ㄢ晻鈺っ / Diplom with kvalifikatsiya / so-called 鈥渟pecialist鈥 diploma with qualification
鈺ㄆ掆暏鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ暍鈺ㄢ暋鈺ㄢ暅鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ暋 鈺ㄢ晳 鈺ㄢ敜鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ攼鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ暆鈺っ / Prilozhenie k diplomu / Addendum to the diploma (transcript for a bachelor, master or specialist program)
鈺夆暔鈺戔暔鈻戔暔鈹も暔鈺♀暔鈺濃暔鈺曗暏鈺ㄢ暋鈺っ尖暔鈺戔暔鈻戔暏脜 鈺っ尖暔鈹愨暏鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ枔鈺ㄢ晳鈺ㄢ枒 / akademicheskaya spravka / Academic certificate (transcript for an incomplete bachelor, master or specialist program)
鈺'鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ攼鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ暆 鈺ㄢ晳鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ暅鈺ㄢ敜鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ敜鈺ㄢ枒鈺っ┾暔鈻 鈺ㄢ暅鈺ㄢ枒鈺っ⑩暔鈺 / Diplom kandidata nauk / Diploma of Candidate of Sciences
鈺'鈺ㄢ晻鈺ㄢ攼鈺ㄢ晽鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ暆 鈺ㄢ敜鈺ㄢ暃鈺ㄢ晳鈺っ┾暔鈺涒暏鈺ㄢ枒 鈺ㄢ暅鈺ㄢ枒鈺っ⑩暔鈺 / Diplom doktora nauk / Diploma of Doctor of Sciences
Russian Sample Documents for All Levels of Education
Links to official samples of Russian credentials from the Soviet era through today can be found on the Web site of the . Credentials are listed in order of their sequence in the Russian educational system, beginning with the Certificate of Basic Education given after 9 years of schooling. Credential names are shown in Russian in Cyrillic alphabet, in transliteration, and in English. Click on the credential name to view the sample document. The Russian ENIC is an official source of information about the Russian educational system. For a treasure trove of useful information on the Russian educational system, click the 鈥淓nglish鈥 button on the top right of the Web page, and link to the topics shown in the left side bar.
How Higher Education Documents Are Issued in Russia
Original diploma and addendum:
Higher education credentials are awarded in the form of a diploma, which is encased in a small hardcover booklet. The diploma and diploma addendum are issued in Russian and awarded together at a ceremony that takes place after final state examinations and diploma thesis defense are complete. Only one original diploma and addendum will be issued. All certified copies and documents issued later are considered 艙duplicates."
Original academic certificate:
The 鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ晳鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ敜鈺ㄢ暋鈺ㄢ暆鈺ㄢ晻鈺も暔鈺♀暏眉鈺ㄢ晳鈺ㄢ枒鈺っ 鈺っ尖暔鈹愨暏鈺ㄢ枒鈺ㄢ枔鈺ㄢ晳鈺ㄢ枒 / akademicheskaya spravka / academic certificate is issued for students who have not completed a full program of study. It is prepared by the Dean of the Faculty鈥檚 office after a student officially withdraws from the institution, based on records kept by the Dean鈥檚 office and in the student鈥檚 credit booklet. Only one original is issued. All certified copies and documents issued later are considered 鈥渄uplicates."
Official copies: Students can have copies of the original documents certified or attested by the department of their institution, or by an official notary office in Russia. Copies should be marked 鈥溾暔鈺戔暔鈺涒暔鈹愨暔鈺曗暏脜鈥 / kopiya (copy). Notaries in Russia are legal functionaries who certify true copies of official documents. Copies certified by the institution or by a notary in Russia can be accepted as official copies.
Documents in US 艙transcript鈹" format: There is no official Russian documentation that is issued in a format similar to a US transcript. If a US institution requires such a document generally the student must prepare it and have it attested by the academic department. Such a document is not official and should be not accepted without the appropriate official documentation.
Documents mailed to US institutions: Students can ask their institutions to seal certified documents in an envelope sealed with the institution's stamp. The student must then mail this envelope to the US institution. Russian institutions do not have the means to send documents abroad unless the student pre-pays for this type of service (i.e. courier).
Resources
National Information Centre on Academic Recognition and Mobility (NIC ARM),
Russian National Accreditation Agency: English version
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