Licenciatura or Laurea on a CV: Writing the Degree

Licenciatura or Laurea on a CV: Writing the Degree

Write the degree's original title first, then a short factual English gloss: length, field and thesis. Do not replace it with a US title. UCLA's records rule says the degree statement "must include the exact, original title of the degree", and Berkeley says degree names "should be transcribed, not converted".

The mistake to avoid is a CV that says "Master of Engineering" above a transcript that says "Ingeniero Civil". The reader sees two different degrees and has to decide which one is true. Our position is blunt: the CV, the statement of purpose and the application form should name the same degree in the same words, and only the form's classification field should say what it is "equivalent" to. This page gives the line for nine long degrees. For the CV's overall layout, see the grad school CV guide.

The university and Fulbright pages quoted below were checked on October 31, 2026. The patterns in the table are constructed formats, written by us.

The rule: original title, then a gloss

Three published rules point the same way:

• UCLA: records not issued in English "must be submitted with an authorized, complete, and exact English translation", and proof of a degree "must include the exact, original title of the degree and the date of its formal conferral (month and year)".
• UC Berkeley: "Degree names and grades should be transcribed, not converted, into English words or the U.S. grades of A-F."
• The Fulbright Foreign Student form, in the IIE instructions for Italian applicants (A.A. 2027/28), has two separate fields: "Select the U.S. equivalent of the degree or diploma earned" and "provide the actual name of the degree or diploma", where the Italian note says "Specificare in italiano il titolo conseguito".

The form keeps the two apart, and your CV should too. The classification belongs in the one field that asks for it. The actual name goes everywhere else. Translations of your records have their own rules, covered in translating your own transcripts.

Our view: the gloss should contain only facts a reader can confirm on the transcript or diploma: the number of years, the field, and whether there was a thesis. Never add "equivalent to" in your own words.

The countercase: if your university prints an official English title on the diploma or the Diploma Supplement, use that title as the gloss, in quotation marks if you like. That is not your translation; it is the university's. The IIE instructions describe the Diploma Supplement as issued "in doppia lingua", in the original language and in English.

Worked patterns by degree

Every line in this table is a constructed format, written by us, using invented fields. The degree names come from the University of Bristol's country pages for Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Greece and Romania; the Chilean row uses the professional-title rule in Chile's Fulbright bases, and the three Italian cycles are the ones the Fulbright Italy call names.

Two notes on the table. The years in each gloss must match your own transcript; ours are invented. And Chile's Fulbright master's bases describe a professional title that "incluya en la malla curricular la obtención del grado académico de licenciado", so a Chilean engineering title can carry both. Say so in the gloss if your certificate does.

The tesis or titulación in the SOP

A long degree's thesis can be the best research evidence you have. The CV gives it one line; the statement of purpose gives it one paragraph with four parts:

1. The question you asked.
2. The method you used, with the data or materials.
3. The result, including what did not work.
4. What you would do next, which should point at the program you are applying to.

Some forms ask for more. Fulbright Italy's writing sample can be a "Sintesi della tesi di laurea relativa all'ultimo titolo conseguito" of "massimo dieci (10) pagine", with a cover page giving the thesis title, academic year, date and "voto di laurea". And Fulbright Chile's grade average for eligibility excludes "práctica profesional, examen de grado y tesis". Our reading: when a form's average leaves the thesis out, the SOP is where the thesis earns credit.

Constructed example: two education entries and their SOP clauses

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's CV or statement.

Context (invented): Andrés Molina holds a Mexican engineering licenciatura; Chiara Bassi holds an Italian laurea magistrale.

The weak versions:

CV: M.Eng. in Mechatronics, Instituto Tecnológico del Valle Norte, 2023. SOP: My master's-level engineering degree gave me strong research skills.

CV: MSc in Biotechnology, Università di Pianura, 2024, 110/110 cum laude. SOP: I graduated with the highest honors from my master's program.

The revised versions:

CV: Ingeniería en Mecatrónica (Licenciatura, five years, with thesis), Instituto Tecnológico del Valle Norte, 2023. SOP: My five-year licenciatura in mechatronics ended with a thesis on low-cost gait sensors, which I tested with 12 volunteers at a rehabilitation clinic.

CV: Laurea magistrale in Biotecnologie (two-year second-cycle degree, with thesis), Università di Pianura, 2024. Final mark: 110/110 e lode. SOP: In my laurea magistrale thesis I compared two protein-purification protocols and found that the cheaper one failed above 37°C.

Why the revisions work: each CV line uses the diploma's own title and adds only checkable facts. Each SOP clause names the degree once and spends the rest on the thesis. The weak versions invent US titles ("M.Eng.", "MSc") and an honor claim the reader cannot place. Both universities, both applicants and both theses are invented.

Grades on the CV line

Write the grade on the scale your transcript prints, with its maximum: "8.6/10", "6.1/7", "108/110". Do not convert it. The full rule, school by school, is in converting foreign grades for US grad school. Italian applicants carry two numbers, the exam average and the final mark, and the Italian grades guide shows which goes where.

What not to do

• No self-made "equivalent to". Not on the CV, not in the SOP. The form's classification field is the only place for it.
• Do not drop the professional title. If the diploma says "Ingeniero" or "Diplom", so does your CV.
• Do not change the name between documents. The CV, the SOP, the form's "actual name" field and the uploaded diploma should match. If your passport name and diploma name also differ, see the name mismatch guide.
• Do not translate the institution's name into a different institution. Keep the official name, and add the English form in brackets only if the university uses one.
• Do not hide a three-year first cycle. If you hold a laurea triennale and a laurea magistrale, list both. The licenciatura eligibility guide explains how universities classify the degrees. If your statement started as a Korean or Japanese essay, the Korean or Japanese essay to English statement guide maps each section.

Also see what to delete from a European CV for the US.

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 for specific academic goals, program fit and evidence of preparation, including whether your thesis paragraph shows what you can do. Applying to PhD programs? Use the general PhD statement of purpose rubric, or start from the statement of purpose review page.

More guides for applicants with long first degrees:

• Laurea, Diplom, Specialist: master's level or not?: how universities classify long European degrees.
• Europass CV for master's applications: the European CV format.
• All graduate school essay guides.

Sources

Retrieved October 31, 2026. Only the Berkeley page names a cycle (Fall 2027).

• UCLA Graduate Division, Required Academic Records: translation rule and exact original degree title.
• UC Berkeley Graduate Division, Admission Requirements: degree names and grades transcribed, not converted.
• Fulbright Foreign Student Program, IIE Instructions for Italian applicants (A.A. 2027/28), linked from the Commissione Fulbright call page: degree fields, Diploma Supplement, writing sample.
• Comisión Fulbright Chile, Beca Fulbright de Magíster bases, Convocatoria 2026: professional title including the licenciado degree; grade average excluding the thesis.
• University of Bristol, international country pages (Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Greece, Romania), linked in the table section: degree names.