Grad School CV: How To Write, Format, Examples, & Tips for 2024

Learning how to write a CV for grad school is an important part of succeeding in higher education. What works for a typical job application might not when you apply for graduate school. In this guide, we will discuss what makes a grad school CV different, what makes a great CV, and what skills and experience to showcase in a grad school CV.

What is a graduate school?

Graduate schools are institutions that award advanced academic credentials, like master's degrees or doctorate degrees. Graduate students need to have a bachelor's degree to qualify for these programs.

Graduate programs are very selective. When you apply for grad school, you'll be competing against some of the nation's best and brightest. Your good grades and accomplishments are important, but they don’t speak for themselves. I you want to be accepted into one of these programs, you'll need a great grad school CV in order to showcase your qualifications properly.

What is the difference between a grad school CV and a regular CV?

The main difference between a grad school CV and a regular CV is that a grad school CV is written for an academic audience.

This means that it will emphasize educational achievements rather than work experience. This might include academic areas like research areas, publications, grants, presentations, and conferences.

Further, an academic CV should be very focused on the requirements of the academic institution and the specific program. It’s important to make sure your grad school CV has everything required for admission.

Do I need a CV for graduate school?

Before you consider how to write a CV for grad school, you should confirm that you actually need one.

Your grad school program may not require a CV. Some admissions departments don’t ask for a CV among your application materials. For others, it will be optional.

However, if you have the choice to upload a CV with your application, make sure you do.

A good CV can be a great help to your application, even if it isn’t required. Done right, A CV can summarize all your key skills and qualifications in a page or two. Delivering this information in a clear, concise, and easy-to-read format will improve your application and help you stand out from the crowd.

What sections should I include in a CV for graduate school?

The exact details of your grad school CV will depend on your academic experience, the graduate program in question, and the application requirements. Common graduate school CV sections include:

• Personal information
• Education
• Work Experience
• Research experience
• Teaching experience
• Awards and honours
• Grants
• Technical skills
• Publications
• Presentations
• Conferences
• Academic and professional memberships
• Volunteer experience

Not all of these sections will be applicable to every program, and not all students will have grants, publications, or presentations to include in their CV. When selecting sections, think carefully about what sections are relevant to you and to your circumstances.

Contact information

It’s important to make your contact information very prominent near the top of your CV. These details have to be easy to find so that anyone who reads your CV will know how to contact you. Make sure your contact information includes:

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Email address
• Online profiles, such as a personal website (if relevant)

While the body font of your grad school CV should be around 10pt or 12pt, you can make your name a bit larger, perhaps 16-18pt, so that it stands out when someone first sees your CV.

Education

The Education section is a very important part of a grad school CV. A grad school CV is an academic document, so your academic credentials should be front and centre.

When you write your Education section, list each degree in reverse-chronological order, beginning with the most recent and working backwards. Each item in the Education section should include:

• Name of the institution
• Location of the institution
• Type of degree
• Dates you attended

You can also include details like GPA, specializations, research areas, thesis topics, and more if you feel they are relevant.

Research experience

Research abilities are integral to an academic career, so it’s important to showcase your research experience if you have it. Items in the Research experience section of your grad school CV should include:

• Role
• Name of the institution
• Dates worked
• Name of your supervisor
• Name of the study/publication (if applicable)

Teaching experience

If you have teaching, tutoring, or teaching assistant (TA) experience, be sure to include it on your grad student CV. Teaching experience items should include:

• Role
• Name of the institution
• Dates worked
• Description of duties

While most graduates won’t have direct teaching experience, any TA or tutoring work could help your application.

Awards and honours

Awards and honours show that you have been recognized for your abilities and achievements. Including your awards on your CV is a great way to demonstrate that not only can you perform, others have noticed. An awards and honours section can include:

• Awards
• Scholarships
• Grants
• GPA distinctions
• Teaching assistantships
• Fellowships

Unlike the other sections of your grad school CV, it’s best to place awards and honours in order of importance rather than reverse-chronological. If you have only one award to list, you may want to place it in related section, instead of creating a distinct Awards section. For example, a teaching award can go in the Teaching Experience section.

Items in the awards and honours section should include:

• Award title
• Name of awarding institution
• Date received

Fellowships, Scholarships, and Grants

If you have been awarded any fellowships or grants, you may want to include them in your CV. For each grant, include:

• Grant name
• Grant providers name
• Value of the grant
• Relevant time period of the grant

This section may also include academic scholarships, fellowships, or any other academic work you did for which you received funding. Feel free to edit the section heading to reflect the contents; for example, if you only have scholarships to list, change the title to Scholarships.

Technical skills

Many graduate school programs will require knowledge of specialist skills, software, or technology. You should read the application thoroughly and pick out the relevant skills you want to showcase, such as using laboratory equipment, software, data analysis techniques, or research.

Work Experience

If you have relevant work experience, you can list it in your CV. List items them in reverse-chronological order, and include:

• Role
• Name of the organization
• Location of the organization
• Dates worked
• Description of your duties and responsibilities

The experience you include could be either professional or academic, but it’s best to stick to experience that is relevant to your application. Unrelated jobs may not be needed on a grad student CV.

Further, don’t repeat information. If your work experience is all research and tutoring positions, you can list those items in your Research Experience and Tutoring Experience sections, rather than Work Experience.

Publications

Publications are integral to an academic career. It’s important to list any books, research papers, journal articles, studies, and any other publications you contributed to.

Publications should be listed according to the citation style of your field: Chicago, APA, MLA, etc.

Conferences and Presentations

Conferences are a constant in academic life. If you have given presentations or contributed to conferences, you can list your contributions in your CV. The details may include:

• Title of the presentation
• Name of conference or event
• Location of the conference
• Date of the conference
• Description of your contribution

Memberships

Professional and academic memberships look great on a CV. If are affiliated with any academic or professional groups, you should include:

• Name of the group
• Dates of membership
• Roles you have held

Volunteer Experience

Volunteering experience looks great on a graduate student CV. If you have volunteered in positions relevant to your field, be sure to include them in your CV.

If you want to save space, you can include volunteering experience in your Work History as long as you note that each item is a volunteer position. However, as long as you have a few volunteering positions to showcase, a separate section for volunteer experience is a great way to draw attention to them.

Tips for writing a CV for graduate school that makes an impact

Faculty members and admissions committees screen a lot of grad student CVs when evaluating candidates for their programs. If you want yours to be noticed, you have to make sure it stands out. Here are some tips for writing a great grad student CV:

Tailor your CV

It’s important to customize your CV to suit the graduate school application. A generic CV that hasn’t been customized with the right details won’t be the right fit. Make sure you read (and re-read) your program's requirements so you know what you need to include.

When you understand what the requirements are, tailor your language, skills, and accomplishments so that the right details are highlighted.

Focus on your academic background

Where a typical CV emphasizes work experience, a grad student CV should focus on academics. Be sure to emphasize your academic achievements, including awards, grants, and publications.

Keep it simple

Keep your CV design organized, use a simple font, and give each section a clear heading. This will make the CV easy to read.

Stick to the requirements

Most academic programs will have application requirements. You need to read these policies carefully to ensure your CV is following all the rules. Even if you have a great CV, submitting an application that doesn’t meet the requirements will result in a rejection.

Use a great CV template

The easiest way to make sure your CV looks great is to use a CV template. When you work with a CV template, you can focus on showcasing your experience without having to worry about the design.

Academia can be a little old-fashioned, so for a grad student CV, a more traditional template, like VisualCV’s ATS or Monte, is likely the best choice.

CV example for grad school