1. Writing a curriculum vitae for graduate school UNL Undergraduate Psychology Organization & Psi Chi
Carolyn Brown-Kramer, PhD
Assistant Professor of Practice
UNL Department of Psychology
Also called a CV or vita, the curriculum vitae is, as its name suggests, an overview of your life's accomplishments, most specifically those that are relevant to the academic realm. In the United States, the curriculum vitae is used almost exclusively when one is pursuing an academic job. The curriculum vitae is a living document, which will reflect the developments in a scholar/teacher's career, and thus should be updated frequently.
Thanks to Christina Fielder, UNL Career Services, on whose notes this presentation is based!

2. How is a resume different from a CV?
Different purpose
Different length
Different format
Different focus
Make sure you provide whichever one the application requires!
Have them generate ways these are different
Different purpose: The goal of a resume is to construct a professional identity; the goal of a CV is quite specifically to construct a scholarly identity.
Different length: 2+ pages rather than 1 (Remember, however, that length is not the determinant of a successful CV. You should try to present all the relevant information that you possibly can, but you should also try to present it in as concise a manner as possible.)
Different format: More detail is allowed in a CV; don’t have to boil a 2-year position down into 1 bullet point. Order of sections can vary.
Different focus: Your abilities as a developing scholar within your discipline, not your strengths as an employee

3. Employment vs. Academic Resume
Employment resume
Academic curriculum vitae
1-2 pages
Approx. 2 pages, longer for upper-level grad students & faculty members
Skill/experience focused
List focused
Selected history
Complete history
Tailored to organization/position
Broad (though may be tailored somewhat)
Self-promotion
Just the facts
Few presentations or publications listed
Research & teaching listed
Reviewed quickly for advancement to interview
Reviewed extensively with other documents for admission—with or without interview

4. Reorder, add, remove to emphasize your strengths
Typical Categories
Name & contact information (name, address, phone, )
Education (undergraduate & graduate only)
Academic experience
Related employment
Research projects/interests
Publications/presentations
Honors & Awards
Departmental & community service
Scholarly/professional memberships
Reorder, add, remove to emphasize your strengths
The layout and order of your resume should be determined by what you want to emphasize to the admissions committee. The most important and relevant experiences should be at the top, while the least are at the bottom. Imagine if the committee was crunched for time and can only discuss the top two‐thirds of your resume. Organize accordingly.

5. Name & contact information
OK to provide current and permanent address
Don’t refer to “Parent address”
Professional address is a must
School is OK
Consider a professional not tied to your school

6. Education
Education – This should be the most important entry in your resume. After providing the basics (name of undergraduate college / university, degree, graduation date, major, minor, GPA, etc), select the outstanding academic accomplishments to highlight for the admissions committee. These may be sub‐topics under Education or they may be their own categories. Areas that may be included are:  Research  Scholarships  Independent Study  International Study    Honoraries  Conferences  Presentations  Publications

7. Academic Experience
Academic Experience, Course Highlights, and/or Internships—could break into three separate sections – Highlight particularly relevant academic courses by providing more details about these courses. Describe two to three upper‐level courses that provided hands‐on experiences or in‐depth study with bullet statements. Include only the most salient courses relevant to your intended graduate school major. Do not list all courses. Also, most graduate schools prefer applicants with a combination of academic and experiential preparation. Some graduate schools require volunteer or internship experience. Provide details about your related experiences.    

8. Academic Experience (continued)
Particularly relevant academic courses
No more than 2-3 upper-level courses with hands-on experiences or in-depth study
Bullet statements
Helpful to include both academic & experiential preparation
Relevant volunteer or internship experience
Academic Experience, Course Highlights, and/or Internships – Highlight particularly relevant academic courses by providing more details about these courses. Describe two to three upper‐level courses that provided hands‐on experiences or in‐depth study with bullet statements. Include only the most salient courses relevant to your intended graduate school major. Do not list all courses. Also, most graduate schools prefer applicants with a combination of academic and experiential preparation. Some graduate schools require volunteer or internship experience. Provide details about your related experiences.    

9. Relevant Employment
Employment— List the most relevant and recent job positions (paid or unpaid).  Be sure to include 2‐3 bulleted points that highlight the skills and experiences that will best support your application for graduate school and your major area of study.
Note this is RELEVANT employment—if you flipped burgers at McDonald’s and it has nothing to do with your desire to do neuropsychology, omit it!

10. Research Projects (or Research Interests)
Describe any thesis/UCARE/McNair/other research experiences here sentences or bullet points are appropriate
What research topics interest you? What might you want to pursue in graduate school? (But don’t pigeonhole yourself!)

11. Publications/Presentations
Use 100% correct APA style. You can put your name in bold to make it stand out.

12. Honors & Awards
It is appropriate to include a brief description of a few key awards/honors, particularly if they are really prestigious or the reader may not be familiar with them. For instance, Nebraskans probably know what the Regents Scholarship is and how prestigious it is, but someone at University of California will have no idea.
Include only merit-based awards, not awards based on financial need.
Include the value of the award, if applicable (e.g., “full tuition” or $3,500 per year for 2 years)

13. Departmental & community service
Volunteer, Community, and/or Extra‐Curricular Involvement – If you participated in campus or community activities that developed your leadership, time management, or other skills important to your success in graduate school, include these activities and provide details that show your active participation. 

14. Departmental & community service (continued)

15. Scholarly/professional memberships
Psi Chi
Other honorary societies
Consider omitting fraternity/sorority membership unless you were a leader

16. For each thing you include in your CV, consider these questions:
What did you accomplish? (What were the outcomes of your work?)
How did your work help the organization?
How is it relevant to your goals?
How does it demonstrate increasing maturity/responsibility/success over time?
Give numbers/outcomes wherever possible. How many kids did you work with at the daycare? How many students did you see each week when you worked in the writing center?

17. Formatting Visually appealing – leave white space
Consistent heading styles & formatting throughout
Consistent verb tenses throughout
Use compelling action words (avoid “responsibilities included…”)
NO TYPOS, NO GRAMMATICAL ERRORS!
Submit only PDFs to save your formatting!

18. What NOT to include High school awards & experiences
“Padding” or exaggeration
Don’t provide photo, date of birth, SSN, marital status, or other inappropriate info

19. Resources University of Wisconsin Superior: Graduate School Resume
Purdue OWL: Writing the Curriculum Vitae
USC Rossier: How to Prepare a Resume for a Masters Program
Cornell University Graduate School: Resumes and CVs
Kisses of Death in the Graduate School Application Process by Appleby & Appleby (2006):

20. Other questions?
I’m happy to give feedback on your CVs—just make an appointment and send me what you have.