Curriculum Vitae
What is a Curriculum Vitae?
Curriculum Vitae or CV is a Latin phrase meaning, “the course of one’s life.” A CV is similar in function as a resume, detailing one’s education, accomplishments, and skills. However, the CV focuses more on academic accomplishments and is most commonly used by person pursuing careers in academia or entrance into graduate school.
Difference between a Resume and a Curriculum Vitae
A CV is usually a longer document and provides an extensive look at the person’s educational accomplishments in the area of research, teaching experience, publications, awards, and service. Resumes are usually used for non-academic jobs, are shorter in length and summarized skills and experience specific to the job being applied for.
Parts of a CV
Education: A listing of your educational accomplishments, including achievements acquired and those in progress. This section needs to detail degree(s) achieved (official degree title(s), dates of completion or anticipated dates of completion, institution(s) from which they were obtained, and the location (city/state/country) of the institution. You may also add your GPA in this section if it is impressive, as well as industry-related certification, training, and licenses with expiration dates. Dissertation/Thesis titles or topics may also be included in this section on your CV. As a general rule, high school and elementary school education are not included on a traditional resume, especially if you have achieved or are pursuing a college degree.
Experience: Here you will include academic and other related employment, highlighting teaching, editorial, research, awards, graduate assistantships, internships, fellowships, practica, and administrative experience. It is important that this section includes key pieces of information: title of position held, organization where position was held, location of the organization (city/state/country), and dates when the position was held. It’s also important that this information is presented in a manner that makes it very easy for the employer to locate, especially the position, organization, and dates. Please see the sample CV for reference. In addition, you will need to provide a description of the tasks and responsibilities exercised in each listed position. Descriptions should be formulated using bullet points in APR Statements (please see the APR Statements section of the document).
Other sections: The CV, depending on its use, may also include a number of other varied sections including:
| Publications | Professional Associations | Panels and Committees led or served on | Conference/Convention attendance |
| Study Abroad | Grant writing experience | Licensures | Training and professional certifications |
| Languages | Educational overview | Departmental service | Professional objective/summary/overview |
| Dissertation/thesis title | Scholarly presentations/workshops | Teaching, research, education, and professional interests | Consulting experience |
References
CVs should be accompanied with a list of references (3-6) using the format outlined in the References section of this document.
General formatting and To-do’s
- Standard, readable font such as Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial, black, 11-12 pt. font.
- Color is usually not used on a traditional resume.
- 0.5”- 1” margins
- Proofread your CV and have it proofread and critiqued by more than one professional
- Update your CV regularly
