Academic (CV) Curriculum Vitae Template, Examples Guide

Academic (CV) Curriculum Vitae Template, Examples Guide A curriculum vitae, commonly known as a CV, is a comprehensive record of your academic background as well as your research and teaching experience. Within academia, the CV is considered the standard proof of your credentials and should be used when applying for serious academic positions such as four-year colleges and universities.Perhaps the most critical part in any academic application process is writing an academic curriculum vitae that highlights your achievements and shows that youd be an asset to any educational institution youre looking to join.The good news? Youre about to write an academic CV your peers will use to teach students how its done.In this guide, Im going to show you:A proven academic CV template better than 9 out of 10 other academic CVs.How to structure your academic CV to show off your most relevant achievements.Academic CV tips on how to format your CV to match selection committees requirements.Academic CV examples that will dazzle every selection committee.B elow, youll see what an academic cv looks like. We made this sample academic CV using our CV and resume builder.Want to save time and have your academic CV ready in a flash? Try our resume builder. Its fast and easy to use. Plus, youll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.Academic CV sample made with our builderSee more templates and create your resume here.One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.Create your resume now1Whats the Best Academic CV Template?Lets make one thing clear.Your academic CV is not a resume youd use to apply for a job outside of academia. As its aim is to demonstrate your academic experience and achievements, it consists of several additional sections.SoWhat to Include in an Academic CV?A good academic CV template should include the following sections, from top to bottom:Contact InformationResear ch Objective or Personal ProfileEducationProfessional AppointmentsPublicationsAwards and HonorsGrants and FellowshipsConferencesTeaching ExperienceResearch ExperienceAdditional ActivitiesLanguages and SkillsReferencesWhat if youre at an early stage of your academic career and, for instance, have no teaching experience or fellowships to showcase yet?Just skip these sections that are not applicable for your CV. Include the remaining ones in the order listed above.If youre applying for a scholarship and have been explicitly asked to submit an academic resume, dont submit a lengthy academic CV, but a shorter document. Want to learn how to write one? Have a look at our guide: Scholarship Resume (Template Complete Guide 20+ Examples).You might have noted that, all over the Internet, there are thousands of recommended academic curriculum vitae templates with differently ordered sections. Why is the one suggested above the best of them?Because it focuses on whats most prestigious and compe titive. It helps you validate your worth as an academic candidate in a flash.Heres some food for thought:Many applicants choose to put their Teaching and Research Experience sections above Professional Appointments and Publications, but it really makes little sense.Why?Simply because getting a regular academic contract or getting published in a peer-reviewed journal is harder to achieve and more competitive than just teaching or doing research.Pro Tip: Theres no page-count limit for a CV for an academic. Make it as long as it needs to be to show your whole career path. Even if it means double-digit page count.Alright, so youve seen the full checklist of all the necessary sections for your CV. Now, lets break down how to structure the content of each section to best highlight your achievements and skills.1. Contact InformationPretty obvious, right? The header of your academic curriculum vitae has to include your full contact information.In the contact information section, enter your: Full name,Professional title and affiliation,Institutional address,Your home address,Email,Telephone number,LinkedIn profile (optional).Pro Tip: When writing an academic CV for humanities, the common practice is to put the words Curriculum Vitae below your full name.In technical or business academic fields, adding a link to your LinkedIn profile in your contact information section is strongly recommended.Whether or not you include your LinkedIn profile, expect the selection committee to thoroughly research your online presence. Want to know how to make sure theyre going to like what they see? Check out our guide: How to Check Your Online Presence Before Recruiters Look You Up2. Research Objective or Personal ProfileWhats the difference between these two?Research objective on a CV for academic purposes is a brief, concise paragraph in which you outline your research plans.A personal profile gives a summary of your academic background and your best achievements.And which one to choose ?Go for research objective if youre writing an academic research CV. For instance, if youre applying for graduate research programs or for a research grant.True, youve already discussed them at length in a separate document describing your research goalsbut you still need to reiterate them on your academic curriculum vitae.Why?Because, more often than not, selection committees look at your academic CV before they start reviewing other application documents.If your CV begins with a research objective, its a surefire way to immediately catch the selection committees attentionto make them eager to read on and learn more about your career background.How to write it? Have a look.Heres a sample research academic CV objective:Example of an Academic CV for PhD ApplicationResearch ObjectiveMA student in Journalism and Social Communication at Anytown University, made the Deans List for three consecutive years, seeking to leverage two study abroad experiences and a semester-long research inter nship to undertake postgraduate research regarding the evolution of socialist mass-media in mid-twentieth-century Eastern Europe.Wow, right? Thats one hell of a PhD CV objective.Looking for a permanent academic contract? In your academic lecturer CV, put a personal profile below your contact information.Just like your academic CV research objective is a synopsis of your full research objective, an academic CV personal profile should summarize your personal statement.See this example of an academic CV personal profile:Sample Academic CV Personal ProfileProactive lecturer and researcher with 10+ years of experience teaching courses on undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Supervised 22 BA theses, 9 MA theses, and 2 PhD dissertations. Edited and co-authored 3 monographs on contemporary trends in psychology and psychoanalysis. Published over 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals.What makes this example so great?Above all, that its super specific. It includes proof of this candidates ac ademic prowess and a lot of verifiable achievements.When making a resume in our builder, drag drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your resume here.Create my resume nowWhen youre done, Zetys resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.Right, so youve started your academic curriculum vitae with a bang. The decision makers are hooked.Whats next?3. EducationIf youre targeting an academic post, this section is the meat and potatoes of your CV.Heres how to turn it into chteaubriand with dauphinoise:List all your postsecondary degrees in reverse chronological order. Start with the most recent one, follow it with the previous one, and then the one before it.Include:Year of completion or expected completion (no starting dates)Degree typeYour majorYour minors, if applicableYour department and institutionYour honorsDissertation/Thesis Title and AdvisorPro Tip: Dont spell out Doctor of Philosophy or Master of Arts. It makes you come across pretentious. You can choose to omit the full stops in Ph.D. or M.A. Just remember to be consistent throughout your CV.See a properly written sample academic curriculum vitae education section:Education on an Academic CVExample2017 MA in FrenchThe Department of Romance Languages and LiteraturesUniversity of Chicago, Chicago, ILGraduated summa cum laudeThesis title:The Lesbianism of Marcel Proust: An Analysis of the Traits of Female Queer Culture in In Search of Lost TimeThesis supervisor:Professor George SwanWant to learn more about the reverse chronological format of a CV or resume? See our dedicated guide: Chronological Resume Template 20+ Examples [Complete Guide]Voila!Thats how its done. Now, for the next section.4. Professional AppointmentsIf youve already had these, put them right below your education section.That way, the selection committee members will immediately know what institutions youve cooperated with so far. Its pretty impor tant in the academia, right?In your professional appointments section, include:Your positionYour institutionDates workedBrief description of your responsibilitiesContrary to what the above list might suggest, try to avoid using bullet points on an academic curriculum vitae. I cant stress it enough: its not a resume!Take a look at this example of an academic CV Professional appointments section.Sample Academic CV Professional Appointments SectionDouglas Kelly Professor of Art HistoryUniversity of Wisconsin, 2012-2017Taught a total of 18 undergraduate and 9 postgraduate courses, mainly focused on contemporary conceptual art, as well as photography, and performance. Supervised 12 MA theses. Member of the Postgraduate Studies Board from 2014 to 2017.Note, in the professional appointments section on your postdoc academic CV, include only contracted academic positions.If youve got no such posts under your belt, dont list part-time university gigs, or T.A. positions in this section. Lets f ace it, these are not mightily impressiveevery PhD-level scholar has had them, right?Instead, follow with5. PublicationsDivide them into two sections: Peer-reviewed Publications and Other Publications. List the former firsta no-brainer, isnt it?Then, divide your peer-reviewed publications into further subcategories in the following order:BooksBook chaptersPeer-reviewed journal articlesContributions to edited volumes equivalent to peer-reviewed journalsAll other publications go into, well Other Publications section.Pro Tip: When listing your publications, choose one bibliography style (MLA, APA or Chicago) and stick to it throughout your academic CV. Not sure which one to choose? Check the website of the institution youre applying to and see what citation style they use.6. Awards and HonorsThis is where you can show off your trophy case.List all awards and honors youve received in reverse chronological order. Include the name of the award, the year when you got it and the institution that presented you with it.Writing how much $$$ exactly you received is optional. The rule of thumb is: if youre in arts or humanities, dont include it. For business or scientific CVs, its more common.7. Grants and FellowshipsWhy is this section important?Because it proves that your research so far has been innovative and valuable enough to attract funding. It's particularly important nowadays, due to the planned cuts in federal science funding.As with awards and honors, list your grants and fellowships chronologically descending. Enter the year span and the funding institutions name. Againdisclosing the exact amount of funding you received is field-specific.8. ConferencesDivide this section into three subsections:Invited talksthose you presented at other institutionsCampus talksthose that you did at your institutions campusConference participationconferences you participated in but gave no lecture9. Teaching ExperienceThis ones a bit tricky, because its not synonymous with Profess ional Appointments section Ive discussed above.In the Teaching Experience section on your academic curriculum vitae, include the TA courses youve taught. List all the courses taught if youve had less than 10 of these.But if youre an experienced scholar and your academic CV Appointments section truly shines, feel free to only list the institutions in which youve been a Teaching Assistant along with the dates you TAed.Targeting a teachers career? Youll need a perfect resume. For some great teacher resume examples, see our guides: Teacher Resume: Sample Complete Guide [20+ Examples] or Teaching Assistant Resume: Sample and Complete Guide [20+ Examples]10. Research ExperienceThis is where you list all your academic research posts. As per usualenter them in reverse chronological order.If youre experiencedlimit your research or lab positions to the following:Full-time ResearcherResearch AssociateResearch AssistantLittle research experience? On an academic CV for masters application, or o ther academic CV for graduate student, list even the smallest research projects in which youve participated.11. Additional ActivitiesEverything that doesnt fit into the above sections goes here.What do I mean by this?Have a look at some examples of academic CV additional activities entries:Non-academic jobsExtracurricular university activitiesService to professionMedia coveragePro Tip: If your academic CV is particularly extensive (above 8 pages), you dont have to list any of the above activities. Do so only if theyre really breathtakingly impressive.12. Languages and SkillsPretty straightforward, right?List all the languages you know well enough to read academic texts in them. Indicate your level of proficiency using the following phrases:Native/bilingualFully proficientAdvancedIntermediateCan read with a dictionaryAny language of which you only have some very basic understanding is left off.Putting skills on an academic CV is optional. It might come across as unprofessional. In ge neral, do it only if youre in a technical or scientific field.13. ReferencesThe final section of a well-organized academic CV template is the References.List your references vertically. Include:Full name and titleTraditional mail addressTelephone numberEmail addressYup, you have to include the snail mail address, although, lets face it, nobody will ever use it. Its just one of those peculiarities of academic praxis.Dont add any narrative to your references, unless youre creating an academic curriculum vitae for an undergrad student. If sogive a brief explanation of your academic relationship with a given reference.And there you have it! A complete academic CV template.But hold up a sec. Before you start writing yours, check out some general academic CV tips on formatting.And yes, this matters a lot. Academic decision makers can be very picky when it comes to seemingly unimportant details.2How to Format an Academic CV?Think about this:Academic selection committees have to review thou sands of applications for each post, scholarship, or grant theyre offering.Whether youre writing an academic CV for graduate school, an academic research CV, or even applying for college, youll be facing a lot of competition.What does it mean for you?That you need to choose a clear, legible academic CV format.One thatll make all the key details information about your career easy to skim for the decision makers.Heres how to do it:1. Use one inch margins for all four sides of your CVThat way, your CV will look good once its printed on white paper.2. Be consistent with your fontChoose one font type and size and stick to it throughout your CV. Go for 11 or 12pt. Use 14 to 16 pt for your name at the top and bold for section headings.Use standard fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman.Avoid italics of any kind except for journal or book titles (dear Brits, this is about you).For more on picking a great font for every application document you write, check out our piece: What is the Best Fo nt for a Resume (+10 Examples Tips)3. Put double blank line before all headings and one blank line after them.White space is good for readers. It guides their eyes to all the important parts.4. Make your CV as long as it needs to beAn academic CV is not a resume. It doesnt have a page-count limit. Its supposed to show the detailed course of your academic career.5. Save your academic CV in PDFPDF files keep your formatting intact. A word academic CV could look differently on various devices, depending on the software version.Key TakeawayWriting an academic CV doesn't need to be difficult if you follow this general guidance:Struggling to put your academic curriculum vitae sections in the right order? Your most competitive and prestigious achievements should always go first.Start with a brief research objective or a personal profile that shows what your academic career has been about.Dont use bullet points and dont over-explain your academic experience. Be concise and to-the-point.Use a good academic CV formatmake your CV legible, clear, and elegant.All check? Good luck with your application (though you wont really need it)!Do you have any questions on how to make an academic CV that gets you that dream post? Want to share your experiences with writing a CV for academic posts? Give us a shout in the comments and well answer your queries!