Academia & research CV guide
Education comes first; include thesis titles and supervisors. List publications in a consistent citation style with your name in bold.
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Sections to include
| Section (in this order) | How important |
|---|---|
| Education | Expected |
| Academic appointments | Expected |
| Publications & presentations | Expected |
| Research & grants | Recommended |
| Grants, fellowships & awards | Recommended |
| Skills | Recommended |
| References | Recommended |
Tips
- Education comes first; include thesis titles and supervisors.
- List publications in a consistent citation style with your name in bold.
- Grants: funder, amount, role (PI / co-I) and dates.
- Teaching and supervision belong on an academic CV.
- There is no page limit for academic CVs; completeness matters.
Questions
What should an academic CV include?
An academic CV needs your contact details, academic appointments, education and publications and presentations, and usually skills, research and grants, grants, fellowships and awards and references. Lead with what employers in this field check first, and back it up with specific examples. Education comes first; include thesis titles and supervisors. The CV Atlas readiness check flags anything this field expects that your CV is missing.
What order should the sections of an academic CV be in?
Use this order for an academic CV: Education, Academic appointments, Publications & presentations, Research & grants, Grants, fellowships & awards, Skills and References. Put the most important evidence for this field near the top, and list entries within each section with the most recent first. Contact details and your name always come first, in the header. Some countries change the order, for example Japan lists history oldest first, and CV Atlas applies that automatically.
How long should an academic CV be?
There is no strict page limit for an academic CV. Academic and clinical CVs list publications, research, courses and posts in full, so four pages or more is normal for experienced applicants. Keep the layout consistent, and put the strongest evidence for the role on the first page. In the US and Canada this longer document is called a curriculum vitae rather than a résumé.
How do I make an academic CV stand out?
List publications in a consistent citation style with your name in bold. Grants: funder, amount, role (PI / co-I) and dates. Be specific: name the systems, settings and results, start each bullet with a verb, and keep it to one line where you can. Show the scale of your work with numbers where it helps. Tailor the first lines of your profile and each role to the job advert.
Which jobs does the academic CV guide cover?
This guide covers 33 job titles, including Professor, Associate professor, Assistant professor, Lecturer, Senior lecturer, Postdoctoral researcher, PhD candidate / doctoral researcher and Research fellow. They share the same CV structure and checks. If your exact title is not listed, type it into CV Atlas and pick the closest field. Country rules such as photos, length and references are added on top when you choose where you are applying.
Jobs this guide covers
Professor · Associate professor · Assistant professor · Lecturer · Senior lecturer · Postdoctoral researcher · PhD candidate / doctoral researcher · Research fellow · Research assistant · Research associate · Teaching assistant (university) · Principal investigator · Research scientist · Laboratory manager · Academic dean · Department head · Visiting scholar · Research coordinator · Clinical research associate · Clinical trials coordinator · Archivist · Museum curator · Historian · Economist (academic) · Mathematician · Statistician (academic) · Physicist · Astronomer · Sociologist · Anthropologist · Linguist · Philosopher · Political scientist
Country guides
Photo, date of birth, length and paper size change by country. Start with United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, or see all 200 countries.
Open the builderYour first CV is free. The builder applies these rules and checks your CV before you download it.
Guidance checked October 2026. General information for most employers, not legal or immigration advice. A job advert’s own instructions always come first. CV Atlas is not affiliated with any regulator or professional body named.