Quick answer: A graduate student CV is a detailed record of your academic work. List your sections in this order: contact information, education (with thesis or dissertation title and advisor), research interests, research experience, publications, presentations, teaching experience, grants and awards, service, skills, memberships, and references. Use reverse-chronological order within each section, label unfinished work honestly ("in preparation," "under review," "ABD"), and expect it to run two to four pages. Reorder sections to emphasize research or teaching depending on the position.
Graduate school teaches you many things, including how to turn a single conference poster into three lines of a CV. That's not cheating. A CV is supposed to capture everything you've done academically, and as a grad student, every presentation, TA role, and small grant counts.
This guide explains how to write a graduate student CV, the right section order, how to list work in progress, examples for master's students, PhD candidates, and humanities scholars, and how to turn your CV into a resume for industry jobs.
CV vs. Resume for Graduate Students
- CV (curriculum vitae): a complete academic record with no strict page limit. Used for PhD applications, fellowships, research assistantships, postdocs, faculty jobs, and conferences.
- Resume: a one- to two-page summary focused on skills and results. Used for industry, government, nonprofit, and most non-academic jobs.
Many graduate students need both. Keep a full CV and a shorter resume version ready. See CV vs. resume.
Graduate Student CV Sections (In Order)
1. Contact information
Name, department and university, email, phone, and links to your academic website, ORCID, or Google Scholar.
2. Education
Most important for graduate students, so it comes first. Include degree, field, institution, and (expected) graduation date, plus:
- Dissertation or thesis title
- Advisor or committee chair
- Concentration or specialization
- GPA if strong and relevant
PhD in Sociology (Expected May 2027), University of Wisconsin–Madison
Dissertation: "Housing Instability and Educational Outcomes in Midwestern Cities"
Advisor: Dr. Jane Morales
See how to list a degree on a resume.
3. Research interests (optional)
A short line or list of topics, helpful for academic search committees.
4. Research experience
Assistantships, lab positions, independent projects, and fieldwork, with your role, PI or supervisor, dates, and two or three bullets on methods and contributions.
5. Publications
Peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, and manuscripts. Use one citation style, bold your name, and separate published work from submitted or in-progress work. See publications on a CV.
6. Presentations
Conference talks and posters, invited talks, and departmental colloquia, with title, venue, location, and date.
7. Teaching experience
TA roles, guest lectures, courses taught as instructor of record, tutoring, and mentoring.
8. Grants, fellowships, and awards
Funding (with amounts if notable), scholarships, travel grants, and honors. See awards on a resume.
9. Service
Department committees, peer reviewing, student organizations, conference organizing, and outreach.
10. Skills
Research methods, software and programming (R, Python, Stata, NVivo, MATLAB), lab techniques, and languages.
11. Professional memberships
Disciplinary associations, such as ASA, APA, AAAS, or MLA.
12. References
Usually three, with name, title, institution, and contact details. On academic CVs, references are often listed directly.
How to List Work in Progress
Graduate CVs often include unfinished work. Be specific and honest:
- Manuscripts: "Under review at Journal of X," "Revise and resubmit, Journal of X," "In preparation"
- Degree status: "PhD Candidate," "ABD (All But Dissertation)," or "Expected May 2027"
- Dissertation stage: "Proposal defended, September 2025"
- Grants: "Submitted" or "Under review" in a separate subsection from awarded funding
Never list a manuscript as published or accepted until it officially is.
Graduate Student CV Examples
Master's student applying to PhD programs
AISHA RAHMAN
MS Candidate, Department of Psychology, University of Florida | aisha.rahman@ufl.eduEDUCATION
MS in Psychology (Expected May 2026), University of Florida
Thesis: "Sleep Quality and Working Memory in College Students" | Advisor: Dr. Mark Chen
BA in Psychology, magna cum laude, University of Georgia, 2024RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Graduate Research Assistant, Cognition Lab, University of Florida | 2024 – Present
- Designed and ran a 120-participant study on sleep and memory using E-Prime
- Analyzed data in R using mixed-effects models
PRESENTATIONS
Rahman, A., & Chen, M. (2025). Sleep quality predicts working memory performance. Poster, Association for Psychological Science Annual Convention, Washington, DC.TEACHING
Teaching Assistant, Research Methods (PSY 3213), 2024 – 2025AWARDS
Graduate School Travel Grant, 2025SKILLS
R, SPSS, E-Prime, Qualtrics, experimental design
PhD candidate applying for postdocs or faculty jobs
DAVID KIM
PhD Candidate, Department of Chemical Engineering, Georgia Tech | dkim@gatech.edu | Google ScholarEDUCATION
PhD in Chemical Engineering (Expected August 2026), Georgia Institute of Technology
Dissertation: "Catalyst Design for Low-Temperature CO₂ Conversion" | Advisor: Dr. Rachel LinPUBLICATIONS
Kim, D., Patel, S., & Lin, R. (2025). Low-temperature CO₂ reduction on copper alloys. ACS Catalysis, 15, 2201–2214.
Kim, D., & Lin, R. (2026). Mechanistic insights into alloy catalysts. Under review, Journal of Catalysis.PRESENTATIONS
Invited talk, American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting, 2025GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, 2021 – 2024TEACHING & MENTORING
Teaching Assistant, Transport Phenomena (2 semesters) | Mentored 4 undergraduate researchersSKILLS
Catalyst synthesis, XPS, DFT (VASP), Python, MATLAB
For science-specific detail, see our science CV sample.
Humanities PhD candidate
EMMA WILSON
PhD Candidate, Department of English, University of Michigan | ewilson@umich.eduEDUCATION
PhD in English (Expected 2027), University of Michigan
Dissertation: "Weather and Memory in Victorian Fiction" | Chair: Dr. Thomas Reed
MA in English, University of Michigan, 2023PUBLICATIONS
Wilson, E. (2025). "Fog and Forgetting in Bleak House." Victorian Studies, 67(2), 211–234.TEACHING
Instructor of Record, Introduction to Literature (3 sections, 75 students), 2024 – 2026
Teaching Assistant, Victorian Novel, 2022 – 2023LANGUAGES
French (reading proficiency), Latin (reading knowledge)
Free Graduate Student CV Template
[FULL NAME]
[Degree] Candidate, Department of [Field], [University] | [Email] | [Phone] | [Website/ORCID]EDUCATION
[Degree] in [Field] ([Expected] Month Year), [University]
Dissertation/Thesis: "[Title]" | Advisor: [Name]
[Previous Degree], [University], [Year]RESEARCH INTERESTS
[Topic], [Topic], [Topic]RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
[Role], [Lab/Project], [University] | [Dates]
- [Methods and contribution]
- [Outcome: dataset, paper, presentation]
PUBLICATIONS
[Citation, your name in bold]
[Citation, "under review" or "in preparation"]PRESENTATIONS
[Title], [Talk/Poster], [Conference], [Location], [Year]TEACHING EXPERIENCE
[Role], [Course], [University], [Dates]GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS
[Name], [Amount, if notable], [Year]SERVICE
[Committee/Reviewer/Organization], [Years]SKILLS
[Methods], [Software], [Languages]REFERENCES
[Name, Title, Institution, Email] ×3
If you write in LaTeX, use our academic CV LaTeX template.
Tailor Your CV to the Position
Most guides mention reordering sections, but here's how to decide:
- Research positions and R1 faculty jobs: put research experience and publications right after education
- Teaching-focused colleges: move teaching experience up and include course evaluations or teaching philosophy highlights
- Fellowships and grants: emphasize funding history, research plans, and publications
- PhD program applications: lead with education and research experience; GPA and relevant coursework matter more here
- Industry jobs: convert your CV into a resume (see below)
How Long Should a Graduate Student CV Be?
- Applying to graduate programs: one to two pages
- Master's students: one to three pages
- PhD candidates: two to five pages, depending on publications and teaching
Don't pad it. A short, honest CV is better than a long one stretched with filler.
Formatting Tips for Academic CVs
- Use a clean, single-column layout with clear section headings
- Choose a standard font (Times New Roman, Garamond, Calibri) at 10.5 to 12 pt
- Use one citation style for all publications and presentations
- Bold your name in author lists
- Add page numbers and your name in the footer of each page
- Save as a PDF
How to Turn Your CV Into a Resume
For industry, government, and nonprofit jobs, condense your CV into a one- or two-page resume:
- Add a summary that frames your research in terms of skills and outcomes
- Combine research and teaching into a single "Experience" section with results-focused bullets
- Shorten publications to a "Selected Publications" list or a single line ("8 peer-reviewed publications")
- Highlight transferable skills: data analysis, project management, writing, presenting, and teaching
- Drop references and most conference details
See how to write a resume summary and our data analyst resume guide, a common path for PhDs moving into industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a graduate student CV include?
Contact information, education with thesis or dissertation details, research experience, publications, presentations, teaching experience, grants and awards, service, skills, memberships, and references.
How long should a graduate student CV be?
Usually one to three pages for master's students and two to five pages for PhD candidates, depending on publications, presentations, and teaching.
Should I include papers that are under review?
Yes, in a separate subsection, clearly labeled "under review," "submitted," or "in preparation." Never present them as published.
What's the difference between a CV and a resume for graduate students?
A CV is a complete academic record used for academic and research positions. A resume is a shorter, skills-focused document for industry and most non-academic jobs.
Should a graduate student CV include GPA?
It's optional. Include it if it's strong and you're applying to graduate programs or early-career positions. Most PhD candidates leave it off.
Need a Resume Version Too?
Our Resume Builder helps you turn your academic CV into a polished, one-page resume for industry roles, highlighting the research, analysis, and communication skills employers want.