How to Write an Academic CV: Format, Sections, and Examples

An academic CV is recommended for those applying to a PhD program, postdoc, faculty role, research fellowship, or academic grant. An academic CV is not just a “long resume,” but a document of your scholarly trajectory.

This guide will help you learn how to write an academic CV using a clean academic CV format. We’ll also provide and copy-ready academic CV example structures that you can  easily adapt for your needs.

What you will learn

This blog will cover what an academic CV is, when it is required, and how it’s different from a resume. We’ll go over the essential sections used on most academic CVs and the best format that allows a hiring committee to easily scan them.

We’ll provide copy-ready academic CV example formats for grad students, postdocs, and faculty candidates. We’ll also cover decision rules for ordering sections and how to avoid common mistakes.

Content

• Academic CV: Quick answer
• What an academic CV is and when to use one
• Academic CV vs resume
• Essential sections to include
• How to format an academic CV
• Academic CV example structure
• Common mistakes to avoid
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Academic CV: Quick answer

• Use an academic CV if you’re applying to academic and research roles requiring a full record of research, teaching, publications, grants, and service.
• Order the sections based on relevance to the role, such as Research, Publications, and Grants for research-focused roles, or Teaching for teaching-focused roles.
• Use reverse chronological order to list items in each section, with the most recent first.
• Instead of a generic “Experience” section, divide it into separate categories for Research Experience, Teaching Experience, and Service.
• If you have publications under review, you can stay honest and consistent by listing them in a clearly labeled section like Submitted or Under review.
• Keep one master CV as a complete list of all your experience, and then create targeted versions for each application by choosing the most relevant items and section order.

What an academic CV is and when to use one

An academic CV, or an academic curriculum vitae, is a complete record of your academic background, including education, research, teaching, publications, presentations, awards, and service.

It’s a common mistake to think of it as “a resume that is longer” because it has a different purpose. While resumes are concise and job-focused, an academic CV is designed to be comprehensive.

Academic curriculum vitae definition in plain language

Your CV is your academic track record in one document that answers:

• What you’ve studied
• What you’ve researched
• What you’ve published or presented
• What you’ve taught or mentored
• What you’ve contributed through grants, awards, and service

When a CV is required and when a resume is better

An academic CV is recommended when applying for:

• faculty and lecturer positions
• postdoctoral positions
• research roles at universities and research institutes
• academic fellowships, grants, and scholarships

Meanwhile, a regular resume is ideal for most roles in business, nonprofit, and government.

Academic CV vs resume

Comparing the differing goals and purposes is the easiest way to understand the difference between an academic CV vs resume.

What hiring committees expect to see

Academic hiring committees typically want to see proof of scholarly aptitude through:

• research progress and outputs
• publication and presentation record
• teaching experience and mentorship
• service and professional affiliation
• grants, awards, and recognition

Key differences in length, purpose, and content

• Purpose: a CV documents your academic history while a resume highlights your fit for a specific job.
• Length: academic CVs are more comprehensive, so they’re usually longer than a resume, which is typically brief and selective.
• Content: CVs include publications, presentations, grants, and teaching, while resumes focus on skills and accomplishments relevant to a role.

Essential sections to include

Start out with the below core CV sections and then, depending on your field or what you’re applying for, add other optional sections.

Core sections most academic CVs need

• Name and contact information
• Education
• Research experience
• Teaching experience
• Publications
• Presentations
• Awards, honors, fellowships, or grants
• Service and leadership
• Professional affiliations

Common optional sections by career stage

You can add sections if they strengthen your candidacy for a specific role:

• Research interests and teaching interests
• Mentoring experience
• Works in progress or publications in progress
• Patents, if relevant
• Skills, languages, lab instrumentation, field methods, or technical stack
• Selected presentations, if you have a very long list 

Decision rule: If a section doesn’t help the committee determine you’re ready for the role, don’t give it prime placement.

How to format an academic CV

A strong CV allows the committee to quickly and easily find research, publications, teaching, and funding evidence.

Academic CV format rules that keep it readable

Use these default formatting rules:

• Use consistent section headings and spacing
• Use reverse chronological order within each section
• Use a consistent citation style for publications that aligns with your field norms
• Use simple typography and clean hierarchy so it’s easy to find sections 
• Avoid dense paragraphs by using structured entries and bullets for clarity

By using an academic CV format with headings, clean entries, and consistent dates, you’ll keep your VC easily readable.

Ordering sections based on the role

Since most university career offices allow a flexible section order, be sure to choose an order that highlights strengths for the position you are seeking.

Use these “If this, then that” rules:

• If the role is research-focused, put Research Experience, Publications, Grants, and Presentations earlier
• If the role is teaching-focused, put Teaching Experience, Teaching Interests, and Teaching Awards earlier
• If you’re early-career, put Education and Selected Projects or Research Experience earlier
• If you’re applying for a postdoc, keep it more concise, focused, and relevant

Publication and citation formatting basics

Use a consistent scholarly format for your citations and be honest about publication statuses:

• Published: list normally
• Accepted: label as forthcoming or in press where appropriate
• Under review or submitted: list in a clearly labeled section

Academic CV example structure

You can use the below academic CV example structures as templates and reorder them based on the job ad.

Example structure for PhD candidates and grad students

Academic CV example – PhD candidate

1. Name and contact information
2. Education
3. Research interests
4. Research experience
5. Publications and manuscripts
6. Presentations and posters
7. Teaching experience
8. Awards and fellowships
9. Service and leadership
10. Skills and languages

Tip: If you don’t have a lot of publications, you can strengthen Research Experience by briefly describing what you did, methods used, and outputs produced.

Example structure for postdocs

Academic CV example – Postdoc

1. Name and contact information
2. Education
3. Research experience
4. Publications
5. Grants, fellowships, awards
6. Presentations
7. Teaching and mentoring
8. Service and affiliations
9. Skills and methods

Tip: If you have a lot of presentations, you might want to include a Selected Presentations section higher up that focuses on your strongest work.

Example structure for faculty and research roles

Academic CV example – Faculty candidate

1. Name and contact information
2. Academic appointments
3. Education
4. Research interests and research experience
5. Publications
6. Grants and funding
7. Teaching experience and teaching interests
8. Advising and mentoring
9. Service and leadership
10. Honors and awards
11. Professional affiliations

Tip: Faculty search committees often want to easily find research outputs and teaching evidence, so prioritize whichever is most relevant to the posting.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using a resume format that hides scholarship — Fix: add academic sections that committees expect, like Publications, Research, Teaching, and Service.
• Keeping one fixed order for every application — Fix: reorder sections to highlight what’s most relevant to the role.
• Mixing everything into one Experience section — Fix: divide into Research Experience, Teaching Experience, and Service.
• Inconsistent citation formatting — Fix: pick the standard style for your field and apply it consistently.
• Mislabeling works in progress — Fix: use clear labels like Submitted, Under review, or Works in progress, and keep it consistent.
• Overstuffing early-career CVs with low-signal items — Fix: prioritize relevant, high-impact items and use Selected sections if they help boost relevance.

Conclusion

A strong academic CV is a clear record of your scholarly trajectory. Use the sections committees expect, keep a consistent format, and reorder sections to align with the role you’re seeking. Keep a comprehensive master CV document, and tailor different versions for each role  you apply to.

If you’d like more help showcasing your academic experience on an academic CV, consider working with a professional resume writing and career coaching service like YES. You can also explore other YES blogs and watch videos on the YES Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@yescareercoachingresumewri2042

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How long should an academic CV be?

Depending on the field, seniority, and application type, academic CVs usually don’t have a length limit. However, some applications, like certain postdocs, might expect a more concise CV focusing on the most relevant items.

2. What is the difference between an academic CV and a resume?

An academic CV includes research, teaching, publications, presentations, awards, and service, while a resume is more concise and job-focused.

3. Should I include publications that are under review?

You can include a section like Submitted or Under review for these publications, as long as you are honest about their status, keep it consistent, and don’t imply acceptance or publication.

4. Can I use one academic CV for every application?

Keep a comprehensive master CV and then tailor each submission by reordering sections and selecting the items most relevant to that role. Many academic career offices advise a flexible order that highlights what’s most relevant to the position you’re seeking.

5. What order should publications, teaching, and research experience appear in?

Prioritize whatever is the most relevant evidence to the role. Place Research and Publications earlier for research-focused roles; put Teaching higher for teaching roles. While section order is flexible, list items within each section in reverse chronological order.