By Lilian H. Hill
As you look ahead to graduation, you are likely to be more intentional about your job search and clarifying your next professional steps. You may be pursuing a promotion within your current organization or giving serious consideration to an academic career. Each of these pathways has distinct expectations and norms for presenting your qualifications, experience, and accomplishments. In most professional and industry settings, a résumé is the standard document. It is concise, typically limited to one or two pages, and highlights skills, roles, and achievements that align closely with a specific position. In contrast, academic careers require a curriculum vita (CV), a comprehensive record of your scholarly work, including education, research, publications, teaching, presentations, and service. Choosing the appropriate document and tailoring it to your intended audience's expectations is a critical step in effectively presenting yourself for either trajectory. This blog post focuses on developing an academic CV.
Curriculum Vita
A curriculum vitae (Latin for “course of life”) is a comprehensive, organized record of your academic and professional accomplishments, and it follows a clear structure that documents your academic and professional identity. You may see references to curriculum vita and curriculum vitae; there is no difference between them, and both are abbreviated as CV.
A CV is used because it provides a complete, detailed record of your academic and professional history, which is essential in fields where your scholarly development, research productivity, and teaching experience matter. A CV shows the full scope of your accomplishments over time and is the standard, accepted format used to present qualifications in academia, research, medicine, and grant applications. The more advanced you are in your academic career, the longer your CV will become.
A CV allows search committees, employers, and reviewers to evaluate your expertise, potential, and trajectory. It demonstrates how your work fits into the scholarly landscape by documenting your degrees, research experience, publications, presentations, teaching, service, awards, and professional development. A CV also demonstrates your long-term growth, helping reviewers see patterns such as increasing responsibility, refined research agenda, or a strong publication pipeline.
Structure of a CV
CVs have a standardized structure that is used in higher education, research, and professional academia. One of the best ways to get an idea of what a CV looks like is to ask to view your professors’ CVs, because recognized activities differ by academic discipline. For example, the fine arts emphasize juried shows and performances, while the sciences rely on peer-reviewed articles. Education, psychology, and other social sciences tend to emphasize peer-reviewed articles, but they also recognize other publication types.
In the table below, the basic structure is explained in the left-hand column, with tips for building needed content in the right-hand column. Items in CVs are listed in reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent items come first within each category. A CV is a living document, so you should be careful to keep it up-to-date.
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Section |
Building Content |
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Header/Contact Information Include:
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If you don’t yet have a website or ORCID iD, you can create them now. They add credibility and centralize your work. |
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Education · List each degree, field of study, Institution · Graduation year (or “expected” year) · Dissertation or thesis title · Advisor(s) (optional but useful in academic contexts)
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If you are early in your career, you can include relevant coursework, honors or distinctions, and research-focused class projects
Caution: ”‘All but Dissertation” is abbreviated as ABD. It is a significant doctoral milestone but does not count as an academic degree. Don’t embarrass yourself by listing it as a degree in your CV. |
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Professional Appointments Include teaching, research, or administrative roles. Example: · Graduate Research Assistant, Department of XXX, University of X (2025–present) |
If you lack formal titles, include internships, fellowships, practicum placements, and leadership roles in labs. Include relevant prior employment, but do not include entry-level jobs unrelated to your current academic work. For example, the job you held in high school or the temp jobs while earning your bachelor’s degree is irrelevant; |
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Research Experience Detail your roles in research projects. Include: · Project title or focus · Your role · Brief description (1–2 lines) · PI or faculty mentor |
Take any research activity including course projects, literature reviews, independent studies, and frame them as formal research experience.
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Teaching Experience · Course title and number · Institution · Role (Instructor, TA, Guest Lecturer) · Semesters taught · Responsibilities (grading, lecturing, curriculum design) |
List any teaching-like activity: · Leading workshops · Guest lectures · Tutoring · Training staff or peers · Facilitating online discussions
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Publications Usually divided into subsections: · Peer-reviewed articles · Book chapters · Conference proceedings · Reports · Manuscripts under review or preparation |
If you don’t yet have formal publications: · Include class papers you are developing into manuscripts (“in preparation”). · List technical reports, white papers, or newsletters. · Convert assignments into scholarly products. Hint: do not list headings for which you have no entries yet. |
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Presentations Include conference talks, posters, invited lectures, and workshops. You can divide these into categories to highlight the variety of your contributions. |
· Present class projects at student research days. · Include presentations for local organizations, nonprofits, or campus groups. · Turn course work into conference presentations or poster presentations. |
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Grants, Fellowships, and Awards List internal and external funding. You can list applications and then indicate whether they were funded or non-funded. |
If you lack grants: · Apply for small internal travel grants. · Apply for student research support. · Include scholarships, honors lists, or recognitions. |
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Certifications / Professional Training Include: · IRB/Human subjects training · HIPAA training, FERPA training · Professional development workshops · Continuing education credits |
Complete free short courses · CITI Training · Peer-Reviewer training, e.g., Elsevier · Technology training and micro credentials. |
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Service Academic or community service such as: · Committee membership · Peer reviewing · Professional association involvement · Student organization leadership · Event organizing |
To build service experience, volunteer for: · Conference proposal reviews · Departmental committees · Graduate student associations
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Professional Memberships Include memberships in: · APA, AAACE, UPCEA, AERA, AERC, AMA, or SRA, etc. · Local or regional groups · Special interest groups |
Join at least one professional organization related to your field. Many have discounted student rates. |
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Skills Include: · Research software (NVivo, SPSS, R) Teaching technologies (Canvas, Zoom) · Lab techniques · Writing and editing skills · Language proficiency |
If unsure what to include, reflect on tools you use for coursework or research. |
How to Tailor a CV for Specific Purposes
A CV may be more structured than a resume; however, you can tailor a CV for specific jobs or grant applications by strategically emphasizing the experiences, skills, and outputs that align most closely with the role or funding opportunity. Begin by carefully reading the position description or grant call and identifying recurring priorities such as teaching, research productivity, community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, or methodological expertise. Use these priorities to decide what to emphasize.
Next, adjust the order and emphasis of sections. For a teaching-focused position, place teaching experience, training, and instructional innovations near the top. For a research-intensive role or grant, foreground publications, funded projects, and methodological expertise. Then, reframe descriptions using the language of the opportunity. Without changing the substance, mirror keywords and concepts from the job ad or grant guidelines. For grant applications, highlight outcomes (e.g., publications, impacts, products) and roles (PI, co-PI, evaluator) rather than just participation.
You should also curate rather than omit. It is acceptable to condense less relevant sections (for example, “Additional Service” or “Other Presentations”) while expanding sections that directly support the application. This choice signals a fit without misrepresenting your record. For grants, explicitly include alignment cues: relevant populations, methods, theoretical frameworks, prior funded work, and dissemination experience. Reviewers often scan CVs, so make relevance immediately visible.
Finally, maintain a master CV and create tailored versions from it. This ensures consistency while allowing you to adjust emphasis for each job or funding opportunity. It also ensures that you preserve every activity and accomplishment to prevent information loss.
