Degree vs Graduation Certificate: China Grad Apps

Degree vs Graduation Certificate: China Grad Apps

A Chinese bachelor's graduate holds two certificates: the graduation certificate (毕业证书), which records that you completed the program, and the degree certificate (学位证书), which records that the bachelor's degree was awarded. UCLA asks for both, plus transcripts, in Chinese with an official English translation.

It is easy to upload only one of them, since either can look like "the diploma". Our view: upload both every time a school asks for degree records, and order CHSI verification reports only when a school or evaluator asks for them, which at the schools below is after admission. The rest of your effort belongs in the statement of purpose.

Every university and CHSI page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026. Unless noted, the pages state no entry year. Recheck your program's instructions before you upload.

Two certificates, two facts

China's official higher-education information site, CHSI (学信网), explains the difference on its 学历相关常识介绍 page, posted in 2004:

"学位不等同于学历，获得学位证书而未取得学历证书者仍为原学历。取得硕士学位或博士学位证书的，却不一定能够获得硕士研究生或博士研究生毕业证书；而取得大学本科毕业证书的，却不一定能够获得学士学位证书。"

Our translation: a degree is not the same as an education qualification. Holding a bachelor's graduation certificate does not necessarily mean you also hold a bachelor's degree certificate. The same page lists three kinds of higher-education qualification certificate: "毕业证书、结业证书、肄业证书" (graduation, completion and attendance certificates).

So the two documents prove different facts, and a US school that asks for degree evidence may need both. UCLA's China requirement on its required academic records page is explicit:

"Applicants should hold a bachelor's degree with a minimum overall scholastic achievement of 80 on a 100 point scale. Records should include the official transcripts, university graduation certificate and the Ministry of Education degree certificate/diploma. All records should be submitted in the original language with official English translation."

UCLA also says, for all international applicants: "Certificates of completion of required courses, or of degree examinations, cannot be accepted as evidence that the degree was granted." A 结业证书 is not a substitute for a degree.

Upload checklist for the application stage

At the schools below, the application is reviewed on uploaded copies. Official records come later.

Berkeley adds one rule that matters for Chinese percentage marks: "Degree names and grades should be transcribed, not converted, into English words or the U.S. grades of A-F." Do not turn an 86 into a "B+" or a GPA on the translation. Our page on whether you can translate grad transcripts yourself covers who may translate at other schools.

Your checklist:

1. Chinese transcript (成绩单) with the English version your university issues, if it issues one.
2. Graduation certificate (毕业证书) with an English translation.
3. Degree certificate (学位证书) with an English translation.
4. The grading scale. UCLA requires records to "include a complete description of the institution's grading scale".
5. The same name everywhere. See the name section below.

CHSI and degree verification reports

CHSI's English verification service page says students "can apply for online verification report for their student record, qualification and degree." It adds: "The reports have a one-year default valid period (which can be extended)" and the report "is available in English, which makes it easy for overseas users."

The Chinese how-to-apply page names the three reports:

English versions are requested through the "出国（境）报告发送" section of 学信档案. CHSI warns that an English translation may need manual checking: "则需3-4个工作日完成" (3 to 4 working days).

When to order: when a school or credential evaluator asks. Stanford "considers unofficial transcripts to be sufficient for the review process" and that after you accept an offer you will submit official documents; it "retains the right to verify the authenticity of the documents you provide." UCLA says "Applicants who are notified of their official admission are required to submit to the major department official records". Neither page asks for a CHSI report at application. Our view is that ordering one early wastes part of its one-year default validity, though CHSI says the period can be extended.

The countercase: some programs or evaluators may ask for CHSI reports at application. If your program's instructions name them, order them then. Our page on whether you need WES before applying for an MS separates the review stage from the verification stage.

Final-year applicants and missing certificates

If you apply in your final year, you do not have either certificate yet. Upload your transcript to date. At UIUC, final-year applicants who meet requirements "will be admitted conditionally pending receipt of final academic credentials showing the undergraduate degree as conferred" (UIUC Graduate College).

Plan for the deadline after admission. UCLA says evidence of conferral "must include the exact, original title of the degree and the date of its formal conferral (month and year)", and "Degree diplomas showing month and year of award should be issued prior to the beginning of the term applied for." Confirm when your university issues both certificates, and ask your program what to send if the degree certificate will arrive after the deadline.

Name and date mismatches across Chinese documents

If your certificates show your name in Chinese characters, your translation and application will show pinyin, and the order (family name first or last) must match your passport. Use the passport spelling in every legal-name field and on every translation. Our guide to name mismatches between passport and transcript covers English names and order problems.

Keep the SOP out of it

None of this belongs in your statement of purpose. Certificates, CHSI reports and grading scales have their own places in the application. Your statement should argue your direction and preparation. Our guide to the SOP for MS in USA from China covers the writing habits that matter more.

Questions about Chinese degree documents

Do I need both the 毕业证 and the 学位证 for a US grad application?

At UCLA, yes: its China rule lists "university graduation certificate and the Ministry of Education degree certificate/diploma". Berkeley asks for "transcript and degree certificate". Upload both wherever a school asks for degree records.

Can I translate my Chinese transcript myself?

Not for Berkeley or Stanford as they describe it: Berkeley names ATA or Ministry of Education translators or WES ICAP, and Stanford names the institution or a professional service.

Should I convert my percentage grades in the translation?

No, for Berkeley: grades "should be transcribed, not converted". Translate the marks as they appear.

When should I get a CHSI verification report?

When a school or evaluator asks for it. At Stanford and UCLA, official records are requested after admission. Graduate applicants from mainland China should also check Proclamation 10043 before paying application fees.

Get a free review of your statement of purpose

Get a free Quick Review of your statement of purpose against GradPilot's general MS statement of purpose rubric. It reads your academic goals, program fit and evidence of preparation, so the statement does the work your certificates cannot. More guides are in graduate school essays.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• UCLA Graduate Division, Required Academic Records (no year stated): China records rule and 80/100 minimum; translation and conferral rules; completion certificates.
• UC Berkeley Graduate Division, Requirements (Fall 2027 page): uploads, translators, transcribe-not-convert rule.
• Stanford Graduate Admissions, Transcripts (no year stated): unofficial transcripts for review; translations; right to verify.
• University of Illinois Graduate College, Before You Begin (no year stated): conditional admission for final-year applicants.
• CHSI (学信网), Verification Service (no year stated): report types, English versions, one-year default validity.
• CHSI (学信网), 如何申请在线验证报告 (no year stated): report names; English translations; 3 to 4 working days for manual checks.
• CHSI (学信网), 学历相关常识介绍 (posted December 27, 2004): graduation certificate versus degree certificate; three certificate types.