An academic CV follows different rules from a professional resume — and submitting a resume-style document to a grad school application is one of the most common avoidable mistakes. Here is how to get it right.

CV vs. resume: the key differences

A resume is one page, optimised for a specific job, and heavily edited for concision. An academic CV is typically two to four pages for a new applicant, comprehensive rather than selective, and follows a standard section order that academic readers expect. Length is not a problem on a CV — omitting relevant academic information is.

Section order

Use this sequence. Omit sections if you have nothing to put in them — do not pad with irrelevant entries.

1. Header

Your name (large, prominent), email, and optionally a link to a personal website or Google Scholar profile. No photo, no home address.

2. Education

Reverse chronological. For each degree: institution, degree name, field, graduation date (or "Expected [month year]"). Include GPA if strong (above 3.5/4.0 is worth including; below that, omit). Include thesis title if you have one.

3. Research experience

This is the most important section for graduate applications. For each position: role title, lab or supervisor name, institution, dates. Under each, list 2–4 bullet points describing what you did, the method or tool used, and the outcome. Use action verbs: Designed, Developed, Investigated, Analysed, Demonstrated. Quantify where possible.

4. Publications

Include only if you have them. Use the citation style standard for your field (APA for social sciences, IEEE for engineering, Chicago for humanities). List under review or in preparation items separately and honestly label them.

5. Professional or industry experience

Include roles relevant to your research area. Focus on technical contributions and connect them to research skills where possible. Two to three bullets per role.

6. Skills

Organise by subcategory: Programming Languages, Research Methods, Lab Techniques, Languages. List only skills you can genuinely demonstrate — admissions committees sometimes probe these in interviews.

7. Awards and honours

Name of award, granting body, year. Include scholarships, Dean's lists, competitive fellowships.

8. Conferences and presentations

Include talks or poster presentations at academic conferences. Use the same citation style as publications.

Common mistakes

  • Using a resume template. Objective statements, "Skills summary" sections at the top, and one-page constraints are resume conventions — drop them all.
  • Describing responsibilities instead of contributions. "Assisted with data collection" tells the reader nothing. "Developed a Python pipeline to clean and merge three longitudinal datasets (n=12,000) for a multi-site clinical study" is useful.
  • Padding with irrelevant experience. A retail job from undergraduate years adds nothing for most academic applications unless it directly relates to your research.
  • Inconsistent formatting. Academic CV readers notice formatting inconsistencies — they signal carelessness. Use one font, one date format, one bullet style throughout.

Tailoring for different fields

While the structure above applies broadly, some fields have specific conventions. In the humanities, a writing sample often accompanies the CV and the research experience section may include independent archival or fieldwork. In clinical fields, clinical placements belong in a dedicated section. When in doubt, look at the CVs of recent graduates from your target program — most post them publicly.