If the next step in your academic journey is graduate school, you’ll want to review this graduate school resume example! Understanding what specific documents must be submitted with your application, including your graduate school cover letter and statement of intent is crucial. Along with these, your graduate school resume is of vital importance. Read on to learn more about what to include, and how to organize this important application component.
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If you’re thinking of taking the next step in your academic career and applying to graduate school, congratulations! In addition to your transcript, as well as any grad school letters of recommendation and your statement of intent, you'll need a resume to include with your application. You may have a resume on-hand that you’ve used for jobs in the past, but it’s important to note that graduate school resumes are– while equally as professional– a bit different than regular resumes.
So, how do you prepare a great resume for graduate school? Keep reading to discover what a graduate school resume is, view a graduate school resume example, and understand what you should include, and how you should format your resume in a way that makes it stand out to the admissions team!
What is a Graduate School Resume, and How is it Different from a CV?
A graduate school resume is a brief summary of your education and experience that will be submitted with your other application documents when you formally apply to graduate school. It is a professional document that contains your personal information, experiential details, and credentials relevant to the program to which you’re applying. Information on your resume will be concise and organized as bullet points. Any extensive details and narrative-style writing should be reserved for your graduate school cover letter or graduate school statement of purpose.
Your graduate school resume should also include specific details about your personal and academic accomplishments, such as extracurricular activities, volunteer experience, qualifications and interests relevant to your program and intended career path. The purpose of a graduate school resume is to briefly highlight your most valuable qualities and experiences that directly relate to your graduate school program, and demonstrate why you would be the perfect fit for your chosen school.
Because your graduate school resume will be sent to admissions teams, it is important that you tailor it to demonstrate your academic experience, and mention relevant work experiences outside of academia in the latter portion of the resume. This makes your graduate school resume different from a traditional, professional resume you’d prepare when seeking employment because traditional resumes are tailored to focus on employment history and skills, whereas graduate school resumes are intended to detail academic experience extensively and only briefly touch on employment experience. In addition to listing your academic experience and accomplishments as the highlight of your graduate school resume, you’ll also want to ensure your objective is clear, and that the employment experiences you do choose to list align with the rest of your resume and academic path. For example, your summer job as a barista may have been a lot of fun and a great experience for you, but if you’re applying for a graduate program in Psychology, this might not be a pertinent job to detail, especially if you’ve had a number of more recent and/or relevant experiences.
It’s important to note that your graduate school resume is different from a graduate school CV. These are two different documents, each serving a different purpose while supporting each other.
As mentioned above, your graduate school resume should be a brief summary or list of your relevant experiences and accomplishments, without extensive detail, that give admissions teams a quick overview of what relevant skills you possess. A CV is more detailed and extensive, focusing on academic and professional achievements of many kinds, including jobs, hobbies, awards, publications, additional qualifications, courses you succeeded in, instructing experience you’d had, etc. A resume, on the other hand, is meant to provide readers with a very brief outline and description of your experiences in a few short bullet points.
A good rule of thumb is that your resume should be about one page long, or two pages at most. While employment resumes are often encouraged to be one page whenever possible, graduate school resumes often require you to mention a few additional points about education and accomplishments, as well as additional certifications, compared to a regular resume. Keep in mind that anything over two pages is too lengthy; resumes should be less than two pages, and CV’s are often a bit longer.
Why and When You Will Need a Graduate School Resume
Figuring out how to get into grad school requires a lot of preparation and documents. When submitting your application materials through an online portal or by mail at the institution’s admissions office, you’ll want to ensure you’ve covered all bases and submitted all required documents. If you’re hoping to apply to graduate school, you’ll probably need a strong, professional graduate school resume. While it may not always be a required document, it’s a good idea to have a professional academic resume prepared, in case you want to apply to research positions or teaching assistant positions while you are a student.
Even if you’re only in your junior year, but are thinking of applying to graduate school in the future, it’s never too early to start an ‘academic’ resume, that can be revised and transformed into a graduate school resume over time. That way, you’ll have a document on hand that is organized, brief, and clearly details all relevant educational, personal, and employment experiences that would make you an ideal candidate for your chosen program.
If you’re applying to graduate school soon, and have not drafted your graduate school resume, now is the time! As with all components of your application, it’s best not to rush the process! You’ll thank yourself for preparing your graduate school resume several weeks before the application deadline so you’ll have time to review and revise accordingly.
Wondering how to get into grad school with low GPA?
What to Include and How to Structure your Graduate School Resume
Your graduate school resume is a professional document. There are several resume templates available online that can be used to guide your layout. Whatever you choose, template or not, your graduate school resume should be legible and easy to follow.
Before you begin drafting your graduate school resume, look at the description of the program to which you’re applying, and do a bit of research on the academic institution itself. What do they value in their students? Additionally, you should understand what the focus of your desired program is; for example, if it’s research, you should focus on highlighting research experience you’ve had, whereas if it is publications or social work, you’d be best for detail experiences related to written publications and field experience.
You must only include relevant experiences, and keep your details to a minimum. If you have one or two great experiences you’d like to expand on, make sure they’re listed on your graduate school resume, and take time to describe them in greater detail on your separated graduate school cover letter, research interest statement, or the grad school career goals statement!
Your graduate school resume must include the following information, and follow this structure:
Header
Your header should include your full name, address, phone number, and email address in the top of your page. If you use a template, the position of your header may be different,but regardless, your personal information must be clearly listed at the top of your graduate school resume.
Objective Statement
This brief statement will appear under your header information and above your academic experience section.
It should be no more than two or three sentences long as its purpose is to capture the attention of the admissions team by briefly describing why you’re qualified for their program, and what you’re hoping to achieve in it.
Education
You’ll want to list your academic experience immediately after your objective statement. This should include the institution you currently attend, as well as any other relevant schooling/experiences. For example, if you’ve studied abroad, attended college, or completed any internships or practicum placements, you can list them and provide brief details here.
You could also mention your GPA, or any awards you’ve received at your current institution. Be mindful that if your GPA is not great, you may not want to list it here. While there is always ways to get into grad school with a low GPA, you do not want to draw attention to it.
Publications (optional)
Publications are considered to be a huge accomplishment and can definitely be an asset on your graduate school resume. If you’ve had any publications, it is advised that you include this section and list each of your publications accordingly in order to stand out to admissions teams!
Your publications must be properly cited using Chicago style, MLA, APA, or any other style that is required by the discipline that correlates with your program.
Employment Experiences
You’ll want to list relevant employment experiences here. Whether you’ve worked a full-time position, or several part times ones, include the most recent experiences first.
It’s important to remember that if you’ve had several jobs, you don’t have to list every experience. Think of your most recent and relevant experiences that have taught you valuable and transferable skills, and include them on your graduate school resume.
Volunteer and Extracurricular
While it isn’t mandatory to include this information, any volunteer work you’ve done in your community recently, or at your academic institution, is worth noting, as long as it’s relevant.
As for extracurriculars, try to include activities that you have committed to for prolonger periods of time. You do not want to include your one trip to a soup kitchen over Christmas. Your volunteering and extracurriculars must demonstrate dedication and development. You can include items like:
These types of extracurriculars show ongoing commitment and interest to activities outside of your required academic and employment schedule.
With both volunteer and extracurricular activities, you’ll want to ensure you only include relevant and recent information. Even if you loved a volunteer experience you had as a young child, or, you were briefly a proud member of a school team many years ago, experiences that don’t speak to who you are right now as a graduate school applicant are irrelevant.
Additional Skills, Qualifications, and Certifications
Here, you can detail any additional skills you have, and certifications you’ve earned. For example, you may be certified to teach First Aid, or have obtained a certification to work in a mental health setting, and that could be applicable to your program. You may also have extensive knowledge about a subject or topic related to your field of study, and may even opt to detail any special recognition you’ve received.
Additionally, you can make note of general skills you’ve obtained from past experiences in this section, such as, “Advanced knowledge of assistive devices and technology”, or “Fluent in English, Spanish, and ASL”.
Optional
References are not always required on a graduate school resume, as this is more common for employment purposes. However, it does not hurt to include the names and contact information of a few people–usually two or three– who can speak to your skills and abilities as a student or professional. These should not be close friends or immediate family members, but rather, professors, teaching assistants, colleagues, employers, co-workers, or even volunteer supervisors. You may opt to include somebody who wrote/will write your letter of recommendation as a reference on your graduate school resume, too.
As always, read what your program’s application requirements are if you’re unsure what to include. And, ensure that your chosen references are aware that you’re giving their information; always ask for permission first, and advise them that they may be contacted by a program!
In addition to, or instead of references, some graduate school applicants may opt to provide their LinkedIn profile, or another web address for a relevant portfolio. This depends on the applicant, as well as the program requirements.
Still working on your statement of purpose? Check this out:
Graduate School Resume Example One
Jane Doe
123 Anywhere Street
Newtown, USA
123 4A5
(123)-456-7891
Objective
A fourth-year honors undergraduate psychology student at ABC University, passionate about developmental psychology, and aspiring to pursue a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at your celebrated institution and work toward a future career in youth counselling and psychotherapy.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, ABC University, 2018-2022
- GPA: 3.8/4.0
- Honors: I am projected to graduate from my program with honors in June, 2022
- Awards: Glen. R. Anyman Scholarship Recipient 2019, 2021
Autism and Behavioral Sciences, Newtown Community College, 2016-2018
- GPA: 3.2/4.0
- Awards: Dean’s List, 2017
- Practicum: Completed 4 month in-field placement
Publications
“Music Therapy and its Effect on Neurodivergent Stimming.” ABC Journal of Psychology. Doe, Jane. Smith, John. West, Mark et al. April 2021.
Employment Experience
JR. ABA Therapist, Development Minds Centre, Newtown, 2019- Current
- Scheduled for part time and full time (during summer months) shifts
- Attend team training and development courses each quarter
- Assist recurring and new students with learning and skill building exercises
- Instruct using ABA techniques and knowledge acquired from ABS certification
- Conduct myself as a professional and role model for all students
Student Key Holder, ABC University Bookstore, 2018-2019
- Responsible for stocking books and organizing academic materials
- Oversaw and revised retail training procedures
- POS operation and training
- Assisted in planning team building events for staff members
- Read plan-o-grams and changed marketing materials and store layout seasonally
Part Time Sales Associate, Walmart, Newtown, 2015-2018
- Organized sales floor accordingly
- Operated POS system
- Supervised staff in-training
- Responsible for opening and closing procedures
- Assisted with loss prevention protocol
- Demonstrated advanced customer service skills
Volunteer and Extracurricular
Newtown Arts Dance Academy
- Jazz and Lyrical dance student (2013-2010)
- Volunteer instructor and fundraising events coordinator (2019-2022)
ABC University Running Club
- Club member (2020)
- Co-captain (2021-2022)
Additional Qualifications
- Advanced knowledge of assistive technology and devices, including closed-captioning software and speech-to-text (Dragon)
- Certified ABA instructor, certified in de-escalation approaches for youth with ASD
- Fluent in American Sign Language and spoken French
Graduate School Resume Example Two
John Doe [email protected]
201-18 Anywhere St. (647)-292-9999
Southtown, ON.
L9L 1G2
Objective
I am a curious and driven History and English major with a minor in Anthropology and experience instructing, researching, writing and archiving. I am eager to attend your M.A in History program and pursue thesis courses with an emphasis on Europe’s development during the Middle Ages, with the intent of eventually becoming a dedicated History instructor myself.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Honors X University 2018-2022
- Major focus in History and English, with a passion for renaissance literature and the history of the middle ages
- Minor focus in Anthropology
Awards and Publications
- “Literature: How It Developed, Then Shifted, National Patriotism during Britain’s Industrial Revolution.”, X University Journal. Doe, John. May 2022
- Kate. L. Anyperson History Excellency Award recipient, 2019
- X University English Program Scholarship recipient, 2019
Employment
PT Writer and Editor, Editorial National Post, 2020-Current
Following my internship in 2020, my manager hired me to write on a part time basis for the National Post. I complete 1-5 tasks a week, these can include editing submissions for publish as well as curating original content
Teaching and Internships X University, 2020-2022
- Teaching Assistant, “Shakespeare’s Comedies and Tragedies, ENG 204”, 2022
- Teaching Assistant, “Russia during WWI, HIS 103.”, 2021
- Internship, credited, completed at National Post (editorial writing), 2020
FT Summer Camp Counsellor XYZ Camps
2016-2019
As a camp counsellor, I was responsible for scheduling and directing activities, monitoring campers between the ages of 7 and 10 on a daily basis, for 6 weeks each summer. This role taught me invaluable organizational leadership skills.
Volunteer and Extracurricular Experience
- Member of X city Library’s Historical Society, 2011-current
- Founding member of X University Anthropological Archives Club, 2020-current
- Volunteer ‘Big Brother’ with Big Brothers Big Sisters, 2015-2018
Additional Qualifications
- Skilled in computer and software development, advanced technology skills
- Well adept at archiving, organizing, and understanding historical materials and artifacts
- Fluent in (written) Latin
For Reference
Ms. R. Smith
Supervising Professor (for teaching assistant roles), 2021-2022
905-999-1234, ext. 4441
Mr. M. Young
Department Manager, National Post, 2020-current
416-777-4321
Mrs. L. White
M.A, Librarian, X City Library
Historical Society Supervisor and friend, 2011-current
647-000-9999, ext.1234
Personal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/john-doe-1998
FAQ
1. What is a graduate school resume?
A graduate school resume is an organized, formal document that briefly details your academic experience, qualifications, skills, and employment experiences that are relevant to the graduate school program that you’re applying for.
2. Is a graduate school resume different from a regular resume?
Yes. Your graduate school resume is meant to showcase your academic accomplishments and abilities first in order to catch the attention of admissions officers. Typically, for employment resumes, you’d mention your education toward the end of the resume and focus on your employment-related experiences and skills; you’ll do the opposite in your graduate school resume. In your graduate school resume, your academic achievements must come first.
3. Is a graduate school resume different from a graduate school CV?
Yes. Think of your graduate school resume as a ‘list’, or a collection of concise information about what you have accomplished- academics, jobs, extracurriculars, and additional qualifications. Your graduate school resume is a brief summary that shows the admissions team what you’ve done, and when you’ve done it, it gives an overview of who you are as a candidate.
Your graduate school CV, or curriculum vitae, is a longer document that is similar to the style of a graduate school resume, however, it provides more extensive details about your academic accomplishments. In your CV, you will provide information about each of your teaching experiences, research experiences, publications, awards, academic extracurriculars, GPA, and even courses you’ve taken. It goes much more in-depth, especially academically, than a graduate school resume.
4. How long should my graduate school resume be?
Your graduate school resume can be a bit longer than a ‘typical’ resume, but you should still try to keep it to one page.
In workplaces, people tend to think a resume that is longer than a page is taboo. That is not the case with graduate school resumes. But, you must still keep it brief and omit any unnecessary details. Remember, you only want to include relevant information and experiences on your resume. Even if you loved your summer job from five years ago, or your volunteer experience in high school, if you’ve had more valuable, relevant experiences since, you shouldn’t include them!
If your resume is two pages in length, that is okay! If your resume extends to a third page, try to condense it as much as possible, as three pages is an absolute maximum!
5. What format should I use for my graduate school resume?
It is best to use a professional, legible font (such as size 11 or 12 Times New Roman or Arial). Your resume should flow nicely, with necessary spacing between your sections.
Oftentimes, graduate school applicants utilize free templates for resume’s, or use the appropriate H2 and H3 headers to ensure their sections are clearly defined.
6. How can I make my graduate school resume stand out?
Your resume will stand out if you have a simplistic, easy-to-read and follow format, as well as relevant, concise information.
The admissions team is looking for the best candidates for their program, so make sure you highlight your academic history and achievements well, and consider looking for keywords or key qualities in their program description and place them strategically (but naturally) throughout your resume, where applicable.
7. I don’t have any impressive accomplishments, what should I write?
Your graduate school resume is a list of your accomplishments, along with your academic and employment history.
Even if you don’t feel you’ve accomplished anything remarkable, you must have some academic experience to apply to graduate school! You can list your program name, any publications you’ve had, and your GPA.
If you haven’t had any publications, internships, teaching experience, and/or awards, that is okay. Although they might look impressive, graduate schools focus on a variety of factors when considering applicants for admission. Instead, focus on highlighting your other skills, volunteer history, extracurriculars and employment experience!
8. How do I submit my graduate school resume?
This can depend on your program requirements, so, always double check how and when your application and supporting documents (such as your graduate school resume) must be supported.
Often, it is through an online portal. Unless otherwise specified, always upload your graduate school resume as a PDF document. This will be easiest for the admissions committee, and is generally the most professional way to submit a formal document.
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