An academic CV is different from a job or professional CV. It is basically an encyclopedia of everything you’ve ever done in the context of academics. It is not specific to any particular application that you might be using it for. This is in contrast to a resume (job CV), which tends to be fitted for a particular job that you’re applying for and it tends to be focused more on skills and the things that you bring to the table for that particular job. An academic CV as a result tends to be much longer than a resume. Writing an academic CV for graduate school applications can be a daunting task. However, with the right guidance and a few tips, you can craft a CV that will stand out and effectively communicate your qualifications to the admissions committee.
These are some perks that may be included in your Academic CV.
1. Start with a professional profile or summary. This section should include a brief overview of your background, qualifications, and objectives.
2. List your education, including degrees, institutions, and dates. Include any awards, honors, or other distinctions you have earned.
3. Include any relevant work experience. Be sure to include job titles, employers, and dates of employment.
4. List any research or publications you have been involved with. Include titles, journal or book names, and any other pertinent information.
5. Include any professional or academic presentations you have made.
6. List any professional affiliations or memberships you have.
7. Include any awards, honors, or other distinctions you have earned.
8. Include any relevant volunteer experience.
9. Include any additional skills, qualifications, or experiences you have that may be relevant.
10. Proofread and edit your CV to ensure accuracy and clarity.
It is of great advantage to organize the above points in such a way that they emphasize whatever puts your best foot forward, and also what is relevant to your academic career. This is an academic CV, putting everything about education and research over non-academic work experience, usually. But again, make sure that you organize it to emphasize your best attributes, but as they relate to academia. This means that your structure might be different from other people’s. For example, here’s my CV from my first year as a Ph.D. student. Notice how it starts with academic experience and then has professional work experience.
And actually, now I’d probably swap research and teaching here since research is typically more important. But these are things that matter more than that I worked as a technical writer for a year. Actually, this might have benefited from putting publications at the top too since they’re really important. But on the other hand here there isn’t a lot, so it might not be worth emphasizing. But again these things can be quite different per person. So, for example, if you graduated from undergrad and then worked for a few years as a production supervisor as a in a manufacturing company, and now you’re applying for Additive Manufacturing Ph.D. programs, that is far more impressive than the fact that I worked at the bank or radio station. So, you might consider leading with that, particularly if you don’t have much research or teaching experience.
One Frequently asked question is how long should an academic CV be.
Whenever you’re applying to a school, the number of CV pages is not specified. You give them the whole thing. Even if it’s 12 pages. However, if it specifies anything like “send us a two-page CV,” it suggests you should condense it. The use of the word “chosen or selected” is another effective approach to condense or abridge a resume. Selected publications, selected awards, selected internships, and so on. Anytime you write a short CV where you’re not including everything that would be on your CV, you can signal that with that word. And then you can choose to include the things that you think are the most impressive, and that will put you ahead.