Quick answer: An academic CV in LaTeX is a .tex file that compiles into a clean, consistently formatted PDF. Start from the free template below or an Overleaf academic CV template, keep to standard packages, and include Education, Publications, Research, Teaching, Grants, Presentations, and Service. Compile with pdfLaTeX on Overleaf or locally.
Academics love LaTeX for the same reason they love footnotes: precision. A LaTeX CV keeps spacing, fonts, and citation formatting identical across ten pages, and it never shifts a bullet point because you sneezed near the ruler bar.
Below is a minimal, working academic CV LaTeX template you can paste into Overleaf right now, plus how to customize it and what to put in each section.
Why Use LaTeX for an Academic CV?
- Consistency at length. Academic CVs grow every year. LaTeX keeps 2 pages and 12 pages looking equally tidy.
- Professional typography with good kerning and spacing by default.
- Plain-text source you can version with Git and update in seconds.
- Easy publication lists, including the option to generate them from a BibTeX file.
The trade-off: there's a learning curve, and LaTeX error messages are written in a dialect best described as "cryptic haiku." The template below keeps things simple so you rarely see them.
LaTeX is for academic CVs (faculty, postdoc, PhD, fellowship, and grant applications). For industry jobs that run through applicant tracking systems, a simpler resume format is usually safer. See the truth about ATS.
Free Academic CV LaTeX Template (Copy and Paste)
This template uses only standard packages (geometry, enumitem, titlesec, hyperref, lmodern) that ship with TeX Live and Overleaf. All names and details are placeholders.
\documentclass[11pt,letterpaper]{article}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage{lmodern}
\usepackage{enumitem}
\usepackage{titlesec}
\usepackage[hidelinks]{hyperref}
\pagestyle{plain}
\setlength{\parindent}{0pt}
\setlist[itemize]{leftmargin=1.5em, itemsep=2pt, topsep=2pt}
% Section headings: small caps with a rule underneath
\titleformat{\section}{\large\scshape\raggedright}{}{0em}{}[\titlerule]
\titlespacing*{\section}{0pt}{12pt}{6pt}
% \entry{Title (bold)}{Date (right)}{Details (italic)}
\newcommand{\entry}[3]{%
\textbf{#1} \hfill #2 \\
\textit{#3} \par\smallskip}
\begin{document}
\begin{center}
{\LARGE\bfseries Jordan M. Rivera} \\[4pt]
Department of Psychology, Example University \\
\href{mailto:jrivera@example.edu}{jrivera@example.edu} \textbullet\
\href{https://example.edu/jrivera}{example.edu/jrivera} \textbullet\
ORCID: 0000-0000-0000-0000
\end{center}
\section{Research Interests}
Remote work, team trust, employee onboarding, survey methods.
\section{Education}
\entry{Ph.D., Organizational Psychology}{2026 (expected)}{Example University. Advisor: Prof. A. Patel}
\entry{B.A., Psychology, summa cum laude}{2020}{State College}
\section{Publications}
\subsection*{Peer-Reviewed Articles}
\begin{enumerate}[label={[\arabic*]}, leftmargin=2.5em]
\item \textbf{Rivera, J. M.}, \& Chen, L. (2025). Remote onboarding and
early employee retention. \textit{Journal of Workplace Studies,
18}(2), 145--162.
\item Okafor, D., \& \textbf{Rivera, J. M.} (2023). Survey fatigue in
longitudinal workplace studies. \textit{Organizational Methods
Review, 9}(4), 301--318.
\end{enumerate}
\section{Research Experience}
\entry{Graduate Research Assistant}{2021--present}{Team Dynamics Lab, Example University}
\begin{itemize}
\item Designed and ran a three-wave survey study of remote employees.
\item Built R pipelines to clean and analyze panel data.
\end{itemize}
\section{Teaching}
\entry{Teaching Assistant, Research Methods}{Fall 2022, Fall 2023}{Example University}
\section{Grants and Awards}
\entry{Graduate Research Fellowship}{2022}{Example Foundation}
\section{Presentations}
\begin{itemize}
\item \textbf{Rivera, J. M.} (2024, May). Predicting turnover with survey
text. Annual Conference on People Analytics, Chicago, IL.
\end{itemize}
\section{Service}
\begin{itemize}
\item Ad hoc reviewer, \textit{Journal of Workplace Studies} (2023--present)
\end{itemize}
\section{References}
Available upon request.
\end{document}
Quick customization tips:
- A4 paper: change
letterpapertoa4paper. - Tighter layout: set
margin=0.8inin thegeometryline. - Add a section: copy any
\section{...}block and rename it. - Special characters: escape
&,%,$,#, and_with a backslash (for example,\&). This fixes most beginner errors.
How to Use It on Overleaf
- Sign in to Overleaf and choose New Project → Blank Project.
- Replace everything in
main.texwith the template above. - Click Recompile. The template works with pdfLaTeX, Overleaf's default compiler.
- Replace the placeholders and recompile as you go.
- Download the PDF and name it something sensible, like
Rivera_CV_2026.pdf.
Prefer something fancier? Overleaf's template gallery has many CV and résumé templates, including ones built on the popular moderncv class. Check when a template was last updated, since some older ones use outdated packages.
To compile locally instead, install a TeX distribution (TeX Live, MacTeX, or MiKTeX) and run pdflatex cv.tex.
What to Include in an Academic CV
Order sections by what your target committee cares about most. A typical order:
- Contact information (name, affiliation, email, website, ORCID)
- Research interests (one or two lines)
- Education (degrees, institution, year, advisor, dissertation title)
- Publications, grouped by type and listed newest first. Our guide to publications on a CV covers APA, MLA, and Chicago formats.
- Research experience
- Grants, fellowships, and awards
- Teaching experience
- Presentations and talks
- Service (reviewing, committees, mentoring)
- Skills (methods, programming languages, languages)
- References
Early-career researchers sometimes add relevant coursework; see how to list coursework. For the general logic behind ordering, see resume sections order.
Generating Publications from a .bib File
If you already keep references in BibTeX, you can print your publications automatically with biblatex:
\usepackage[style=apa,sorting=ydnt]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{mypubs.bib}
% in the document body:
\nocite{*}
\printbibliography[heading=none]
The ydnt sorting option lists entries newest first. Note that biblatex uses the Biber backend by default, so set Overleaf (or your local build) to run Biber. If that sounds like more setup than you need, a hand-written list like the template's is perfectly acceptable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LaTeX good for an academic CV?
Yes. It's widely used in math, physics, computer science, economics, and engineering, and works for any field. It produces consistent, professional formatting that holds up as your CV grows.
Is there a free Overleaf academic CV template?
Yes. Overleaf's gallery has many free CV templates, and the template on this page works on a free Overleaf account. Paste it into a blank project and click Recompile.
What is the best LaTeX CV template?
There's no single best one. moderncv is a popular choice for a polished look, while a plain article-based template like this one is easier to customize and debug.
Should I use a LaTeX CV for industry jobs?
Usually not as-is. A LaTeX PDF can parse fine, but multi-column layouts, icons, and unusual fonts may confuse applicant tracking systems. For industry roles, use a simple one-column resume.
How long should an academic CV be?
As long as your record requires. Unlike a resume, an academic CV includes all publications, teaching, and service, so length grows with your career.
Need an Industry Resume Too?
If you're applying outside academia, translate your CV into a focused one- or two-page resume. Our Resume Builder helps you turn research and teaching into results-focused bullet points, no compiling required. For extra help, see resume bullet points that turn duties into results.