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03:44 Aug 6, 2011
Croatian to English translations [PRO] Science - Education / Pedagogy / academic title
Croatian term or phrase:dr. sc.
Diploma from University of Zagreb. It is signed by three officials, all noted as Prof. dr. sc. Name.
The diploma recipient translated this as "Prof. Name, Ph.D." -- is that correct?
Instead, I think that dr. sc. should be translated D.Sc. for Doctor of Science.
I've searched online (Wikipedia, the University of Zagreb website in Hr and En, other professional sites), but I am still unsure.
Can anyone confirm one or the other? Please provide a reference. Thanks!
Hi, Lirka,
I do get that a Croatian sc.dr. degree is equivalent to a PhD degree in the US. However, doctor scientiae (Lat.) translates to doctor of science (Eng),
to give just one reference, this site: http://commencement.harvard.edu/background/degree_notes.html... I also understand that Doctor of Science is most often conferred as an honorary degree in the US.
Yes, znanost and scientia also mean knowledge, but I cannot translate doktor znanosti (spelled out) as doctor of knowledge, nor can I translate it as doctor of philosophy.
But as a practical matter, I discussed the question with my client and the decision is to "go literal" in this case. This question reminds me that translating transcripts and diplomas is not always straightforward. Thanks again, y'all!
doktor znanosti (cr)= scientiae doctor (lat)=PhD(en)
"Scientiae" means "znanost" and not "science", get it?
PhD is a 100% safe bet. I would not experiment there. And btw, never leave anything in Latin for the US market. Ever! :)
One more thought -- perhaps I should translate doktor znanosti into Latin. Decisions, decisions! I really appreciate the help, and looking at the U. Zagreb list, I can see that these professors use PhD in their English resumes.
Thanks very much, Rudi (and Pavle)!
In this case, what about the degree awarded, which is Doktor znanosti? So far, I have Doctor of Science -- I think it would be odd or incorrect to translate it any other way, no? (And, by the way, the dissertation was in biology, so doctor of science is not out of place here.)
On a certain level, since I am not being hired to evaluate degree equivalencies, and since the credentials of these officials are really not in question, I wonder if I should go literal regardless of common knowledge.
Also, please forgive my tardy response. I was expecting a notification of any answers, but I guess I left some box unchecked. (This is my first time posting a question.)
Thank you again!
PhD is indeed correct. While the Dr. of Science is awarded in the US, it is a relatively uncommon degree awarded mostly in certain graduate science programs, and is considered equivalent to a Ph.D. In the B/C/S dr.sc., the sense of "science" is much broader than simply the hard sciences, more at "field of study", and it can be awarded in nearly any field. Check out this list of Zagreb University history professors, for example, and you will see that even as historians they are also "dr.sc.', but obviously would not be "Doctors of Science" as would be understood in the US. I'd stick with Ph.D.
Reference information: The web reference below seems to provide ample info. One paragraph refers specifically to former Yugoslavia. Looks like it is PhD after all, although Sc.D. won't be exactly wrong if you're translating for the U.S. market.
The translation workplace 
