I consider the CV one of the most essential documents in a grad school application. That’s because it stands out as a required document in almost every graduate application, be it a normal graduate school application, an advertised position or direct contact with faculty, the academic CV is one document that is implicitly or explicitly asked for.
One mistake applicants make is to use academic CVs that are indistinguishable from a professional or job CV. Often, they use the same format of the professional CV to design an academic CV.
While both types have similarities, some aspects differ slightly or significantly and must be considered when preparing an academic CV.
I will use samples from my CV and stories from my experience to buttress my tips for preparing an academic CV. Remember, the CV should be tailored to the specific position you are applying for.
More detail in the education section of your CV
Unlike a job CV where you can highlight educational qualifications briefly, academic CV requires more details. You can get away with putting just your highest qualification in your job CV, in an academic CV however, you need to provide more details.
In my academic CV above, I highlighted specific modules that are aligned to the position I am applying for and I included my grades in those modules. I mentioned my thesis title for all my degrees, even the one I am presently undertaking.
This is important if you are still undertaking a degree whilst seeking admissions for a higher degree. Already the date (e.g. 2020-till present, or 2020-2022) will show that you are still undertaking the program and shows when you are likely to finish.
Highlight skills that prepare you for the position
I remember when I informally contacted my supervisor; he was kind to ask me to include more computer science-related skills in my CV, if I had any. I intended applying for a Computer Science PhD program, so it made perfect sense that I aligned my skills to the program.
You should highlight role-related skills. For example, if the role requires designing machine learning applications, you should have and include technical skills, like programming, that are related to machine learning.
Research and Teaching Experience
Research experience is definitely worth highlighting for a grad school position. If you are worried about not having enough research experience, use this section to elaborate more on the projects you took part in during your undergraduate or master’s or any other research outside academia. It does not have to be carried out in a formal institution to be called research.
If you have related projects you have done or participated in, you could include those. In that case, you should rename this section “Research and Projects”. Teaching experience is by far helpful in your academic CV, particularly if the position has a graduate teaching offer. But even if it is not explicitly stated, teaching experience would always be an excellent asset given that the academic environment is all about teaching.
Scientific Communication In Academic CV
This part is optional in most professional CVs, but should not be omitted in an academic one. I use scientific communication to refer to all activities related to disseminating your work to the wider scientific body in your field and beyond.
This section includes conferences attended, poster presentations, research papers in journals and conference publications, oral presentations and so on. Considering that you may not have a lot of scientific communication currently, you could group all in one section. However, if you have a lot, you could divide this section into appropriate subsections.
Volunteering and Community Service in Academic CV
Since academia is all about being intrinsically motivated and doing work out of enthusiasm, this section of your CV can help you stand out as a candidate motivated beyond material gains. If you have had experiences of working with people and impacting the community, include them in your CV.
Which of these tips do you find most useful? Are you making use of any of them right away? Let me know in the comment box below.
Hello Scholarleen,
Thank you for this incisesive write up, it’s quite clear and helpful!
My question is:
1. How do one take care of the gaps in your academic timelines for instance, it took a few years after secondary school before I was admitted to the University and that has caused a gap in the dates there.
2. Can such gap as illustrated above count against one seeking admission for grad school?
3. Can holding positions in a youth organization in the church and on-campus come in handy as “Volunteering”?
Thank you for all the efforts you put out there.
Hi Godwin. Thanks for your nice comments. I’m glad you found the article helpful.
For questions 1 and 2, I do not think the graduate admissions committee pays as much attention to gaps in educational qualifications as employers do to gaps in employment. Especially for gaps between secondary and university education, I don’t think it could impact your admissions as much. In your CV, you would only need to put the dates in which you studied and prepare to respond to gaps if they ever come up in your interview. I wouldn’t use the CV to explain the gaps except I want to include other activities I carried out within those gap periods in other sections other than the education section e.g. courses taken, volunteering, internships (with their dates). If the gaps are, say between a Bachelors and Masters education for a significant number of years, I think the admissions committee might be interested to know other things you were doing in those gaps and they may look to other sections like Work Experience. But if the gap is between your last education and your current application, e.g. you completed your Masters 10 years ago and now seeking a Ph.D. position, they may be interested in what you were doing for those number of years and might want to probe further to understand your motivation for seeking to come back to university. Also, note that the gaps could work in your favor if the course requires some level of experience outside academia, that is if you gathered some experience during the gap. All in all, it depends on a number of factors like the kind of gap, timeframe, the course you’re applying for, funding opportunities, and the admissions criteria.
To question 3, I think such positions will be useful to add if you can demonstrate the relevant skills you acquired from them. I once used an example of my position in the church to demonstrate my leadership skills during an interview for a PhD seminar. I hope this helps, all the best!