Are you wondering how to write a CV for grad school? Did you know that graduate school applicants creating their first CV often get it wrong? It's way too detailed, not detailed enough, the formatting is incorrect or the content is irrelevant. In this post, our graduate school admissions consultant is going to tell you exactly how to write a CV for grad school, answer some of the most common questions regarding CVs, provide you with some tips on how to make yours stand out, discuss common mistakes and give you specific section examples. Finally, we will share 3 stellar grad school samples, so you can get some inspiration for your own!
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CV vs Resume
What is the difference between a CV and a resume? This has to be the most popular question that students ask us and it's always a good idea to think of one versus the other, meaning no, they're not the same. A resume is a short, concise 1 to 2-page document that summarizes your education and credentials, employment history and other accomplishments or skills. Resumes are often used in the professional field, such as MBA resumes or medical school resumes, and are designed to give potential employers and professional programs a “snapshot” into your relevant background.
A CV, on the other hand, is often used in the academic field as it encapsulates your education and academic background. There are unique sections that allow you to really showcase your experiences and achievements which may include teaching, research, awards and publications. As it's a lot more detailed than a resume, CVs often extend past the two-page mark, depending on the level of experience you have. However, for those wondering how to get into grad school, keep in mind that each school will have specific requirements so as always, make sure you follow the instructions.
Purpose of a CV
A CV is designed to give admissions committees insight into your academic potential, background in the field, and extensiveness of that background. This will be your first direct communication with the admissions committee, so it has to be done correctly. Put yourself in their shoes, if you had to sift through hundreds maybe even thousands of applicants that you've never met before and don't know anything about, their CV, along with their statement of purpose or statement of intent, is what you'd be using to whittle down the pile of contenders. True, some graduate programs may require you to submit research interest statement or grad school career goals statement, but these requirements are less common. Your purpose as an applicant is to create the perfect CV that best showcases your talent, accomplishments and experiences. Ultimately, you want to be selected for their graduate program and to do so, you must convince the reviewer to move you forward throughout the graduate school application process.
What to include in a CV for grad school including specific examples
Knowing what to include in a CV for graduate school is something that a lot of students struggle with. While there is no golden CV template that every student should follow, it should be structured in an easy to follow format and should generally include the following sections:
Personal Information
The personal information section is standard in every CV and should be included at the very top of the page or as a header. You will be providing your contact information, so the admissions committee can easily access the best way to get in touch with you. Make sure you don't include overly personal information such as your birth date or social security number.
Include:
- Full name
- Mailing addressing
- Email address
- Phone number
Example: Personal Information
Julie Johnson
1232 Palm Springs Drive, Florida 32006
(786) 991-1423
Education
Typically, you want your education to follow directly after your personal information, this information is essential and the admissions committee needs to be able to find it quickly. Always start by writing your education in reverse chronological order, meaning that the most recent education should be listed first.
Include:
- Name of the school
- Program you attended
- Degree you achieved
- Year you began and completed your degree
Note: If you have not finished yet, just list your major and your anticipated date of completion.
Example: Education
2010-2011 MA Anthropology, York University
2006-2010 B.S.c Marine Biology, University of Windsor
Relevant Experience
This section should follow your education and can be broken down into different sections to enhance your CV. Depending on your experiences, you could include research, teaching and/or administrative subcategories. This is one of the most important sections of your CV because this is where your experiences will help set you apart from other candidates. You should be tailoring this part of your CV to the specific programs you're applying to while ensuring your listed items are relevant. As with the education section, write in reverse chronological order. It's important to be specific in the skills gained and the activities that you did.
Include:
- Organization name
- City and state
- Position title
- Dates the position was held
- Use action words to summarize your duties, accomplishments and successes
Example: Teaching experience
Tutor - 2008-2010
University of Windsor, ON
- Tutored students in organic chemistry to improve understanding and test scores
- Collaborated weekly with other tutors and professors to develop effective tutoring strategies
Example: Research experience
Research Assistant - 2010-2011
York University, ON
- Managed lab operations including training new lab assistants
- Assisted in the development and preparation of experiments
- Developed research papers for publication
Honors and Awards
This section should include any awards or honors you've received such as scholarships, grants, teaching assistantships, and even being included on the Dean's list. This section can be written in order of importance, to highlight the most impressive achievements first.
Include:
- Name of the honor/award
- Date you received the honor/award
Example: Honors and Awards
Jean A McMillan award for graduate research, York University 2011
Dean's list, University of Windsor 2009-2010
Presentations (Oral and Poster)
Whether you've been involved in giving presentations or even contributed to the visual work, both are important to list here.
Include:
- Title of presentation
- Conference name
- Location of conference
- Date of conference
- Brief description of the content you contributed
Example: Presentations
“Transitional Experience,” York University Seminar, speaker and organizer. North York, ON, January 2011
"Drifting Ideas," Canadian Literature Association, speaker and designer. London, ON, November 2010
Publications
Have you written or contributed to any published articles, books, research reports or any other form of publication? If so, use bibliographic citations in the format that is acceptable for your field of study.
Example: Publications
Travis, J., additional authors. (in press). Title. Journal, Volume (Issue), page numbers.
Victor, A, additional authors. (in press). Title. Journal, Volume (Issue), page numbers.
References
Three to five references is an appropriate amount to include on your CV for grad school. List your references in order of strength and relevance. Note that if you're applying to a program where you were already asked to include your references separately, it's not necessary to include them again here.
- Name of reference
- Professional title
- Contact information (email and phone number)
Example: References
Spencer French, Professor and Graduate Programs Head
Department of Anthropology, York University (416) 244 – 2345, [email protected]
Rebecca Mann, Faculty, Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology, York University (416) 244 – 1234, [email protected]
Optional Sections
There are a variety of optional sections that you could add depending on your specific experiences or skills.
6 Tips to a successful CV
1) Format your CV appropriately.
The format of your CV is extremely important to the way it is initially perceived. Use bold, italics or the underline feature to highlight key sections and headings. Font should be easy to read and standardized, such as Times New Roman, 12. Make sure to separate your sections with breaks and keep everything organized so it flows logically. Unless otherwise stated, you should always save your CV as a pdf, this ensures that the formatting you see when you view the document on your computer is the same formatting the reviewer sees. The insertion of random characters and spacing inconsistencies can cost you a spot in the program. Whatever you do, remember to remain consistent throughout your document.
2) Perfect your grammar and spelling.
Proofread, proofread, proofread! It is not acceptable to have ANY spelling or grammar mistakes in your CV. The time and effort you put into your CV is a direct reflection of how you value the graduate program you're applying to. If you have mistakes, you're essentially showing the admissions committee that you're careless, didn't spend much time on your CV and are not very detail-oriented. It's a sure way to have your application rejected. Always check your CV on multiple occasions with fresh eyes, have someone who is not a friend or family member and has an appropriate level of education (e.g. Ph.D.) and expertise to review your CV and provide you with honest feedback. Someone who is a friend or family member normally doesn’t work because they may be inclined to hold back to avoid offending you with their feedback and that may actually give you a false sense of confidence that may hurt your chances of acceptance.
3) Label your CV appropriately.
Hundreds if not thousands of CVs are being reviewed to assess an applicant's suitability for a specific program, have you labeled ALL of the pages of your CV? If not, they could be mixed up and if the reviewer doesn't have a way to quickly re-assemble them, it's game over. Always label the bottom of EVERY page of your CV. This should include your first name, last name and the page number. This way, with little effort, your CV can be put back together.
In addition to labeling each page, be sure your document title includes your first and last name. For instance, save your CV as “RachelGreenCV”. That way it's easy for the reviewer to find your document instead of a file named “myCV” which could be any student and can be frustrating to navigate.
4) Use bullet points instead of paragraphs.
Even though this is a detailed document, long paragraphs are never appropriate. Use bullet points to describe and summarize each point to discuss. 2-4 bullets are usually a good amount to use to convey the required information.
5) Use action verbs to grab and keep attention.
This is a great way to make your CV stand out compared with the competition. Take these two sentences;
a – ran weekly staff meetings to provide client updates
b – initiated weekly staff meetings to communicate client updates
The second sentence is definitely stronger and more memorable.
6) Don’t underestimate what you have to offer.
Often students get discouraged when they come to the realization that they haven’t won any awards, published any articles or participated in any presentations. The optional sections are a great way to fill in any gaps and showcase a variety of different skills or experiences you may have.
Are you also required to submit a statement of intent? Check out our tips below:
Common Mistakes to Avoid
3 Sample CVs for Grad School
Sample #1
Sample #2
Sample #3
FAQs
1. Is a CV the same as a resume?
No, they are different. Resumes are usually short, one-page documents that demonstrate relevant professional background for a job or a program. A CV demonstrates your education and academic background. CVs are generally more detailed. They include sections such as research experience, publications, teaching experience, and so on.
2. Does every graduate program require a CV as part of the application?
Yes, most programs require the submission of a CV.
3. How long should my CV for graduate school be?
That's a tricky question. Try to stick to 2 pages. On the one hand, you should try to include only relevant information from your academic career. So try not to include experiences working outside of academia, education, or research. However, having a short CV could also be seen in a negative light, since it may appear that you do not have enough relevant experience.
Most importantly, follow the instructions you are given by the program. If they say that a CV should be 1-2 pages long, stick to this requirement.
4. What kind of sections should my CV include?
It should include education, research experience, teaching experience, publications, any relevant work experience, as well as relevant volunteer experience. You can also add a section on relevant awards and honors. There are also deafferent optional sections you can include, such as extracurriculars, skills, experiences abroad, and so on. Just remember that even your optional sections should be
5. What should I include in the CV heading?
Your should include your full name, address, phone number, and email address.
6. Should I address my CV to a specific program?
No, there is no need to do that. However, you can change your CV slightly for each program, to meet their requirements and values.
7. Should I write in full paragraphs?
No, your CV should be written in bullet point form. This way, it's easier to scan for the admissions committee. Remember that they have hundreds, if not thousands of CVs to look through. You want them to easily understand your experience and background without spending too much time on your submission. In fact, they might not read it at all if you submit a CV written in paragraph form.
8. I don't have any relevant experience! What should I do?
You may think this way, but it simply means you need to spend some more time brainstorming why you want to pursue your chosen field and programs. You have to dig deep and give yourself more credit! Take some time to reflect on your educational and extracurricular experiences. And if you ever need any help with your CV, don't hesitate to reach out to graduate school admissions consulting for help.
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5 Comments
Noha Fouad
Regarding the preferred format of a CV for academic graduate program, should it be formatted in a table?
ReplyRouhy
Thank you for your well organized materials.
ReplyNiimat
Hi...I want to prepare an academic CV for a graduate program ( Masters) but I want to switch career...I read chemistry in my undergraduate and I have been working as a teacher after graduating but now I want to switch to Public health...how do I structure my CV in line with Pubkic health?
ReplyBeverly Wilson
I have prompts for my goal statements from the grad school but I help structuring my answers.
ReplyErin
What do I do If I don't have any research or teaching experience? Do I skip that section?
Reply