Curriculum Vitae (CVs)

The curriculum vitae (also referred to as CV or vita), is a comprehensive synopsis of academic

credentials, research and scholarly achievements, and teaching experiences. It is often used by
graduate students or PhDs to apply for jobs in academia and research or for grants and
fellowships. Unlike the resume, the CV has no restrictions on length.

 Writing a CV

The curriculum vitae (Latin for "course of life"; also referred to as the CV or vita) is a
comprehensive synopsis of your academic credentials, research achievements, and teaching
experiences. It is used to apply for academic and research positions, grants, fellowships, and
awards. Unlike the resume, the CV has no restrictions on length and grows longer as you
become more accomplished. The organization of your CV should be guided by your strengths,
requirements of the job, and conventions of your discipline. Review CV samples that follow for
various formats and strategies.

In compiling your CV:

 Customize your materials for various types of applications

 Expect to prepare 2-3 versions of your CV to address specific requirements of the position or
nature of the institution. For example, you may want to list your research first when applying
to research institutions, but place teaching experience first when applying to smaller liberal
arts or community colleges
 Follow CV conventions of your discipline. Since CV norms can vary from field to field, ask for
advice and samples from your department and advisor
 Have your CV proofread several times by various people including faculty members from your
department

 Sections of a CV
 The following are common sections of a CV. After the first three sections (Identification,
Education, Dissertation), think of the other sections as modules that can be added,
removed, or ordered to suit the requirements of a particular job (e.g. teaching vs.
research) or to highlight your key strengths (e.g. prestigious fellowship or publication).

 Identifying Information: Name, address, phone number, email and URL (if you have
one). Some people include both personal and department addresses to emphasize their
current academic affiliation. Include your name and page numbers on subsequent pages
as a footer or header. Do not include date of birth, race, marital status, or other personal
information.

 Education: Begin with your most recent or expected degree, and work backwards to your
undergraduate degree. List degrees, majors/minors, institutions, and dates of completion
(or expected date) in reverse chronological order.

 Dissertation or Thesis: Provide the title, a brief description of your work, and your
advisor and committee names. For engineering and sciences, if you decide to describe
your research more completely in the "Experience" section, you may want to simply list
the title of your dissertation in this section. For a new candidate in humanities or social
sciences, the dissertation should be featured prominently in this section.

 Awards, Honors, Fellowships, Scholarships: Include information that gives your

reader a clear understanding of the importance of each honor, especially if it is not
evident from the official title or if it was received from another country.

 Experience: This category is often divided into several possible categories such as
"Research Experience," "Teaching Experience," "Consulting," "Fieldwork," or
"Postdoctoral Work," as well as many others, depending on your discipline. Reverse
chronological order is again the rule.

 Publications, Creative Work: List publications in a citation format that is appropriate for
your field. If applicable, this section can be separated into several categories such as
"Journal Articles’, "Book Reviews", "Monographs", "Art Exhibits", "Poems" or "Musical
Recitals".

 Presentations: List all talks and papers you have presented, along with the names,
dates, and locations of the conferences or meetings. Indicate invited talks. If you do not
have many publications or presentations, you can combine these items under a
"Publications/Presentations" section.

 Academic Service: List all departmental and university groups, committees and task
forces on which you served. Student groups are valid as well.

 Memberships or Professional Affiliations: List all professional groups and offices held.

 Other Professional Experience: If you have related work experience (either paid or
volunteer), list it here. For example, if your discipline is in Slavic Languages and you have
worked as a Professional Translator, it may be helpful to include this information.
 Special Training: List any special, related training you have received through your
university, department, or other professional organizations. Such training might include
courses on teaching, research techniques, or computer applications.

 Languages: If relevant, list your languages and level of expertise.

 References: Provide name, title, and contact information.

 Sample CVs

This is an illustration of a shorter CV which focuses on research experience and on articles

published or accepted for publication. The candidate is applying for an academic post-doc and
thus emphasizes his research and publications. (His letter of inquiry for a post-doc appears with
the other samples of cover letters.)

If he were applying for a junior faculty position in a research university, the CV might include
some additions: brief notations about his teaching experience (assuming that he has been a TA
at some point) and a short section on research and teaching interests.

 Arnold CV: Materials Science – Engineering (pdf)

Example 2: Cell Biology (Post Doc)

This candidate is seeking a junior faculty position, with an emphasis on research. For this
purpose, she emphasizes her research experience and makes sure her publications' list begins
on the first page. Toward the end, she gives a list of technical skills to demonstrate her versatility
in research and the breadth of techniques she has mastered. With the competition for funding,
she wants to demonstrate that she can carry out research in a number of fields and can train and
supervise graduate students who might work on a variety of projects.

Since she has worked with prominent faculty and they have given their permission to be
contacted, she lists them as references at the end. You may instead choose to include a separate
reference page.

 Alexander CV: Cell Biology (Post Doc) (pdf)

Example 3: Population Biology (Post Doc)

This CV emphasizes the writer’s research work, honors, and publications. He demonstrates that
he has been successful in obtaining funding as a student, with several prestigious awards and a
substantial post-doctoral fellowship. Teaching experience is listed on the second page. With this
CV he might send a statement of research interests or brief research proposal, as requested in
some job announcements.

 Martin CVs: Population Biology (Post Doc) (pdf)

Humanities, Social Science, Education

Example 1: Slavic Studies

With this CV, the writer first establishes her academic credentials and the recognition she has
received for her research in the form of fellowships. She then balances this with her commitment
to teaching and undergraduate education by giving priority to "Teaching Experience" and
"University Service," placing these sections at the top of the second page where they are sure to
be noticed, rather than putting her publications in this position.

Her experience has included living with undergraduates as a Resident Fellow and leading
workshops on teaching skills for Teaching Assistants. Both are indications of her commitment to
undergraduate education and evidence of her teaching skills. She demonstrates her teaching
versatility by giving a broad "menu" of "Teaching Interests" and a good listing of graduate level
courses in language, literature, and linguistics. (Presumably, having had these courses, she can
now teach them.) Since she will be teaching Russian language courses, she has highlighted her
language proficiency as well.

 Sutherland CV: Slavic Studies (pdf)

Example 2: English
A very economical CV that tells the reader a great deal about the research interests of the
candidate, about his significant teaching experience and his impressive honors. The third page
gives a listing of graduate courses which, with the teaching experience, make the argument that
this candidate can teach almost anything in modern American literature, African-American
literature, and literary criticism as well as a broad range of English literature courses. He has
taught both survey/lecture and seminar courses. His two fields of American and African-American
literature make him especially attractive to hiring committees.

He also has managed to be a "good citizen," devoting time to committee service. The indications
are that he is prepared to be in a setting that, while requiring a full teaching load of undergraduate
courses as a new professor, will reward his research and publication interests.

 Taylor CV: English (pdf)

Example 3: Curriculum and Teacher Education
What comes through clearly in this CV is the owner’s commitment to preparing new teachers,
improving the teaching strategies of current teachers, and conducting research on reading
instruction and literacy. All of his "Professional Experience" leads the reader to the conclusion
that this candidate has defined himself and his field. In this case it works well to have all of the
experience listed in reverse chronological order under one heading. There is often a section of
"Research Interests" or "Teaching Interests", but with this person, his experience, his dissertation
topic, his publication record, and his presentations all suggest a research agenda and teaching
interests. This contrasts with the Rivera-Corot CV below, in which the owner has several related
areas of interest and has organized her extensive and varied experience under several section
headings.

 Robbins CV: Curriculum and Teacher Education (pdf)

Example 4: Administration and Policy Analysis –

Education
This CV portrays the career development of one individual, from student service employee to
program developer and innovator, to researcher then doctoral student exploring policy questions
about Chicano/a students and higher education. Because of her varied experience and service
activities, the variety of research and evaluation projects already completed and the breadth of
teaching and research she could do, it seemed wise to organize the CV into categories of
information, with descriptive entries for each job or project. This emphasizes her capabilities for
either an administrative or faculty position, or one that combines both administration and
teaching.

 Rivera-Corot CV: Administration and Policy Analysis – Education (pdf)