How to Write an Academic CV for Graduate School Applications

When you apply to a master's or PhD program, you may be asked for a curriculum vitae. It sounds like a resume, and it is related, but the purpose is different. A resume sells your skills to an employer. An academic CV shows a committee how you have worked as a scholar: what you have studied, researched and contributed.

If you are an undergraduate, you may feel you have little to put on one. In fact, most applicants are in the same position. This guide explains how to build a clear, honest CV that makes the most of what you have.

How a CV differs from a resume

If you also need a one-page graduate school resume for a job or assistantship, it follows different rules from a CV.

Step 1: Check what the program asks for

Application instructions vary. Look for:

• Page limits.
• Required sections, such as research interests.
• File type, usually PDF.
• Whether the CV is optional or required.

Follow the instructions exactly. A CV that ignores a limit can look careless.

Step 2: List everything first

Before you worry about layout, write a long list of everything you have done:

• Courses and grades relevant to the program.
• Research projects, lab work and thesis work.
• Presentations, posters and conference attendance.
• Publications, even if in a student journal.
• Teaching, tutoring and mentoring.
• Awards, scholarships and honors.
• Relevant jobs and internships.
• Technical skills, languages and software.
• Service, leadership and volunteering.

Include dates and names as you go. You will cut later. Our article on choosing a graduate program can help you decide which items to emphasize.

Step 3: Choose sections and order

A common order for a student applying to graduate school:

1. Contact information at the top.
2. Education, with degree, institution, dates, GPA if strong and relevant honors.
3. Research experience, including labs, supervisors and projects.
4. Publications and presentations, if you have any.
5. Teaching and mentoring experience.
6. Awards and honors.
7. Relevant work or internships.
8. Skills, such as languages, lab techniques, programming languages and software.
9. Service and leadership.

Reorder to put the most relevant material first. If you have no research yet, lead with education and relevant projects, and describe coursework in detail.

Step 4: Write each entry well

Every entry should answer: what did you do, where, when and with what result?

Weak: "Worked in a lab."

Better: "Undergraduate research assistant, Smith Lab, Department of Biology, State University (Sept 2025 to present). Prepared and imaged tissue samples, ran statistical tests in R and presented findings at a lab meeting."

Tips:

• Start with strong verbs: analyzed, designed, tested, coded, interviewed, transcribed.
• Name your supervisor and group. Committees often know the people involved.
• State the topic or question in plain terms.
• Show results, such as a poster, a dataset or a presentation.
• Be honest about your role. Do not claim authorship you do not have.

If you worked on a team, describe your own contribution.

Step 5: When you have limited research experience

Many applicants have little formal research. You can still show academic readiness through:

• Course projects, especially substantial papers, labs or capstones.
• Independent study or honors thesis.
• Data analysis or coding projects.
• Relevant jobs, such as lab technician or tutor.
• Reading groups, seminars or conferences attended.
• Skills, such as software, languages or lab techniques.

Describe projects in detail: the question, the methods and the outcome. A well-explained course project is better than a vague mention of "research."

Step 6: Education, GPA and honors

List your institutions, degrees and dates. Include GPA if it is strong, usually above a 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, and consider listing a major GPA if it is higher. Add honors such as dean's list or graduating with distinction. Our guide to GPA for graduate school applications explains how programs read grades.

If you are an international student, give grades in the original system and, where possible, an explanation or conversion. Do not invent equivalents.

Step 7: Format for scanning

A committee may read dozens of CVs. Make yours easy to scan.

• Use a simple font such as Times New Roman, Garamond or Calibri at 10 to 12 points.
• Use consistent date formats (for example, "Sept 2025 to May 2026").
• Use clear headings, with bold or small caps.
• Align dates on the right or left consistently.
• Use bullets sparingly, or use short paragraphs where they read better.
• Leave white space.
• Avoid graphics, photos and columns that may not scan well in application systems.
• Save as a PDF with a clear filename, such as "Lastname_CV.pdf."

Common mistakes

• Padding with trivial items. Cut high school awards, minor jobs and long lists of skills you cannot back up.
• Inconsistent formatting. Mismatched dates and fonts look sloppy.
• Listing duties, not accomplishments. Say what you did and produced.
• Exaggerating. Committees check claims, and supervisors will be asked.
• Typos. Proofread carefully, and have someone else read it.
• Ignoring the program. Tailor the order and emphasis to each application.

Tailoring for each program

Keep a master CV that contains everything, then make a version for each application. Move the most relevant research or courses to the top and trim items that do not fit. If a program emphasizes quantitative methods, highlight statistics and programming. If it emphasizes fieldwork, put your field experience first.

A short sample entry set

To see how this looks in practice, here is a compact set of entries for an undergraduate applying to a psychology master's program.

Research experience. Research assistant, Cognition Lab, State University (Jan 2025 to present). Recruited and tested 60 participants for a memory study, coded responses and ran statistical tests in R under the direction of Dr. Lee.

Presentations. Poster presenter, State University Undergraduate Research Day (April 2026). Title and co-authors listed.

Teaching. Peer tutor, Introductory Statistics (Sept 2025 to present). Ran weekly review sessions for groups of 8 to 12 students.

Skills. R, SPSS, Qualtrics, Spanish (conversational).

Notice that each entry names a role, a place, a date and one or two concrete actions. Use the same pattern for your own work.

When to ask for feedback

Share your draft with a professor or research supervisor at least two weeks before the deadline. Ask two specific questions: Does the order show my strongest work first? Is anything unclear or missing? Faculty can often tell you what a particular program values.

Final checklist

Before you submit, confirm that:

• You followed the page limit and file type.
• Your name and contact information are correct.
• Dates, names and titles are accurate.
• Every entry shows a role and a result.
• The format is consistent.
• A professor or advisor has reviewed it.
• You can discuss every item in an interview.

Final thoughts

An academic CV does not need to be long to be convincing. It needs to be clear, accurate and focused on the preparation the program values. Start early, ask for feedback, and treat the CV as a living document that you will build on through graduate school and beyond. If you are also writing a personal statement, make sure it supports your statement of purpose, so the two documents work together.