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Northern Illinois University: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language
Yes, through the evaluation: NIU asks for a credential evaluation, and WES, one of the agencies it accepts, takes certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary.
Credential evaluation: Course-by-course for all international records
- $24.95 per page
- Usually 24 h for 1–3 pages
- Signed certificate of accuracy, PDF
- See the price before you pay
How we know · policy checked on October 21, 2026
Northern Illinois University asks undergraduate applicants with secondary or university records from abroad to buy a course-by-course match equivalencies evaluation from ECE, WES, SpanTran (The Evaluation Company) or another NACES member, which the agency sends directly to NIU.
NIU's evaluation agencies, such as WES and ECE, accept certified translations from professional services such as eVerbary.
You order the translation first and send it to the agency with your records; the Graduate School, separately, asks international applicants to upload certified English translations with their attested transcripts, and SpanTran takes outside translations only from ATA-certified translators, which eVerbary can assign on request.
NIU at a glance
Does it accept eVerbary? Yes
NIU asks for a course-by-course evaluation from ECE, WES, SpanTran or another NACES member (transcript requirements), and WES accepts a certified translation from a professional translation service (WES translation rules); ECE accepts any complete, word-for-word translation (ECE).
The Graduate School asks for certified English translations without naming a translator (graduate materials). Policy checked on October 21, 2026.
- Translation
- Through the evaluation (ECE, WES, SpanTran)
- Who may translate
- Set by the agency; SpanTran: ATA-certified
- Credential evaluation
- Course-by-course for all international records
- Price
- $24.95 per pageUp to 250 words, certification included
- Delivery
- 24 hoursStandard for one to three pages
- Grades
- As recordedNever converted to a US GPA
Checked on October 21, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page. Policies change: confirm on NIU's own page before you submit.
Worth knowing about NIU
Evaluation, even for high school
International secondary records go to an agency too.
Agency reports to NIU
ECE, WES or SpanTran send the equivalency report directly.
Graduate: certified translations
Uploaded with attested transcripts and proof of degree.
NIU requirements in detail
Translation (undergraduate)
NIU publishes no translation rule for undergraduates; international records go through a course-by-course evaluation (Official transcripts and supporting documents).
Who may translate
Undergraduate: set by the evaluation agency (see below). Graduate: not stated beyond "certified".
Evaluation (undergraduate)
Course-by-course match equivalencies from ECE, WES, SpanTran: The Evaluation Company, or another NACES member, at your expense; covers secondary and postsecondary records (Official transcripts and supporting documents).
Delivery
The agency tells you what to send it and mails its report directly to NIU; NIU may still ask for original transcripts from the school abroad (Official transcripts and supporting documents).
High school abroad, finished in the US
If a US high school verified and accepted your foreign coursework, NIU accepts that US transcript instead (Official transcripts and supporting documents).
Graduate applicants
Upload transcripts and proof of degree attested by a school official, with certified English language translations; hard copies after admission (Graduate School: application materials).
India and Pakistan (graduate)
Individual marksheets and degree certificates, attested by the principal, controller of exams, registrar or USIEF (Graduate School: application materials).
Graduate deadlines (international)
Fall May 1, spring October 1; programs may set earlier dates (Graduate School: apply).
What each evaluation agency asks for the translation
WES wants an exact, word-for-word translation by a professional translator, such as a certified translation agency, and does not accept translations made by applicants (WES).
ECE accepts a complete, literal, word-for-word translation in the same format as the original and lets applicants translate their own documents; it also sells an $85 waiver under which it translates for its report only, without a translation you can reuse (ECE).
SpanTran: The Evaluation Company says an outside translator must be certified by the American Translators Association, or you can order its own translation once your evaluation application is complete (TEC); another of its pages mentions a certified translator or ATA members more broadly (TEC).
If you choose TEC, see the ATA section below. For any other NACES member, check its own rule before you order.
A rule that changed in January 2026
NIU's international freshman and transfer pages now send every applicant with records from abroad to the evaluation described on its transcripts page, and ask anyone who applied before January 12, 2026 and is sending international records directly to NIU to write to IntlAdmissions@niu.edu (International admissions: incoming transfer requirements).
The evaluation now covers high school too: secondary and postsecondary international records alike go to the agency (Official transcripts and supporting documents).
Transfer applicants with less than a year of university work abroad also send their final secondary records or exam results, which means a second set of documents to translate for the agency (International admissions: incoming transfer requirements).
Graduate School: translations uploaded with the application
The Graduate School works differently.
International applicants upload transcripts and proof of degree (diploma, diploma supplement and the like) attested by an appropriate school official, together with certified English language translations, when they apply; admitted students later send hard copies of all transcripts, marksheets and proof of degree (Graduate School: application materials).
The page asks for no evaluation and does not say who must make the translation.
Uploading proper records matters: the Graduate School warns that failing to do so delays the decision and may add cost. Having the translations ready before you start the application lets you upload records and translations together.
Need a certified translation for NIU?
$24.95 per page of up to 250 words, certification included, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages. See the price before you pay.
Documents applicants usually translate
- Secondary school transcripts and leaving exam results, for the agency
- University transcripts, mark sheets and diplomas, for the agency or the Graduate School
- Diploma supplements and degree certificates
- Individual marksheets (India and Pakistan graduate applicants)
What an eVerbary translation includes
- A complete English translation of every page, stamps, seals and handwritten notes included, laid out like the original so each line can be matched.
- Grades exactly as recorded, with the grading scale the document prints. We never convert marks to a US GPA.
- A signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead, with our contact details, delivered as a PDF you can upload.
- $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, certification included; 24 hours for one to three pages as standard. Regular clients who need it can get delivery in as little as 30 minutes, on request.
Uploading the translation to NIU
Undergraduates: the translation goes to the evaluation agency with your records (WES, for example, takes uploads in your WES account: WES: translation requirements); the agency then sends the equivalency report directly to NIU (Official transcripts and supporting documents).
Graduate applicants upload the attested records and their certified English translations in the online graduate application (Graduate School: application materials).
If you need a translator certified by ATA
Some offices accept only a translator who is personally certified by the American Translators Association (ATA). eVerbary assigns one on request, for the languages ATA certifies into English:
$34.95 per page
Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian
$44.95 per page
Japanese, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Danish and Persian
To order it, ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for NIU, which program it is for, and that you need a translator individually certified by ATA, plus anything else the office asks for (notarization, delivery by email to the office).
We confirm the price and the translator before you pay. ATA does not certify other languages into English, so no translator anywhere holds ATA certification for them.
For those languages we provide a notarized certified translation instead, at $44.95 per page plus notarization ($34.90 per order); ask the office to confirm it accepts that, and write its answer in the quote notes.
What we do not do
eVerbary is a translation service, not a credential evaluation service: we do not issue evaluations, US equivalencies or GPA conversions, and we cannot send documents on behalf of the school that issued them.
For NIU that means we translate your secondary and university records; the course-by-course evaluation is ordered by you from ECE, WES, SpanTran or another NACES member after the translation, and the agency reports to NIU.
How to order
- Scan or photograph every page of the document, front and back, including any stamps on the reverse.
- Upload it, choose the language and "certified", and see the price before paying.
- Receive the PDF, usually within 24 hours for one to three pages, and upload it with the copy of the original wherever the institution asks for it.
Frequently asked questions
Does NIU need a translation of my foreign transcripts?
For undergraduate admission it asks for a course-by-course evaluation of international records (Official transcripts and supporting documents). The agency needs the translation under its own rules: WES, for example, wants a professional one (WES: translation requirements).
Do I need an evaluation for my high school diploma from abroad?
Yes, NIU's evaluation rule covers secondary as well as postsecondary records, unless a US high school already verified and accepted the coursework (Official transcripts and supporting documents).
What translation does the NIU Graduate School want?
Certified English language translations, uploaded with transcripts and proof of degree attested by a school official (Graduate School: application materials).
I applied before January 12, 2026. Where do my records go?
NIU asks you to email IntlAdmissions@niu.edu if you applied before that date and are sending international records directly to NIU (International admissions: incoming transfer requirements).
Can eVerbary provide an ATA-certified translator for NIU?
Yes, on request, for example if you use SpanTran (The Evaluation Company). Ask for a free quote and write in the notes that the translation is for a TEC evaluation for NIU and needs a translator individually certified by ATA. ATA certifies Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and Ukrainian ($34.95 per page) and Japanese, Korean, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Croatian, Danish and Persian ($44.95 per page) into English; no other languages.
Will eVerbary convert my grades to a US GPA?
No. The translation reproduces the grades and the grading scale exactly as they appear. A GPA conversion is credential evaluation, which the institution or an evaluation agency does.
Sources
Northern Illinois University's own pages, read on October 21, 2026.
- Official transcripts and supporting documents (niu.edu)
- International admissions: incoming transfer requirements
- Graduate School: application materials
- Graduate School: apply
- WES: translation requirements
- ECE: documentation requirements
- The Evaluation Company: avoid delays
- The Evaluation Company: facts and fictions
Translating documents for NIU?
Upload a scan of your transcript or diploma and see the price and delivery time before you pay.