German Transcript Translation

**German grading scale:** Runs from 1.0 (sehr gut / very good) to 5.0 (nicht bestanden / fail), which is the inverse of most U.S. systems. Grade descriptors are: 1.0–1.5 sehr gut, 1.6–2.5 gut, 2.6–3.5 befriedigend (satisfactory), 3.6–4.0 ausreichend (sufficient), 4.1–5.0 nicht bestanden (fail). Evaluators need both the numeric grade and the German descriptor to apply their conversion methodology.

We reproduce the numeric grades exactly as printed and include the German grade descriptors alongside English translations. We do not convert grades to U.S. letter grades because that is the evaluator’s responsibility — pre-converting could create conflicts with the evaluator’s own conversion tables.

**ECTS (European Credit Transfer System):** Used on post-Bologna transcripts, with 1 ECTS = ~25–30 hours of student work. **SWS (Semesterwochenstunden):** Used on pre-Bologna transcripts, measuring weekly contact hours per semester. The two systems are not directly interchangeable — 1 SWS ≠ 1 ECTS. Some transitional-era transcripts use both systems or a hybrid Leistungspunkte format.

The translation must accurately label which credit system is used and reproduce credit values exactly. Mixing up SWS and ECTS, or omitting the credit-type label, can slow down an evaluation or cause the evaluator to request supplementary documentation.

German course titles use compound words and discipline-specific vocabulary that require academic translation: Betriebswirtschaftslehre (Business Administration), Werkstoffkunde (Materials Science), Nachrichtentechnik (Telecommunications Engineering), Regelungstechnik (Control Engineering). Literal word-by-word translation produces awkward or incorrect results.

We translate course titles using standard English academic vocabulary that evaluators and admissions offices recognize, so they can match courses against U.S. catalogs. When a German compound has no single English equivalent, we provide a precise translation and keep the original German visible for reference.

Pre-Bologna German transcripts show a two-phase structure: Grundstudium (foundation phase, ~4 semesters) followed by Hauptstudium (advanced phase, ~4–6 semesters), often separated by a Vordiplom (intermediate examination). This phase structure carries evaluative meaning — the Vordiplom itself may be evaluated as a credential in some contexts.

We preserve this phase structure clearly in the translation, labeling Grundstudium, Hauptstudium, and Vordiplom with both the German terms and English descriptions. We do not flatten a two-phase transcript into a single undifferentiated course list, because the distinction between foundation and advanced coursework affects the credential evaluation.

German transcripts are often multi-page documents with dense course lists, semester headers, cumulative grade averages (Gesamtnote, Durchschnittsnote), and credit summaries. WES specifically instructs applicants to provide a word-for-word translation that preserves the original layout [Source: WES Required Documents, wes.org/required-documents].

We mirror the page breaks, semester groupings, phase labels, and summary lines from the original so the evaluator can track courses, credits, and grades across both documents without losing position. This layout-mirroring approach is what makes our translations evaluator-ready rather than just linguistically accurate.