Academic CV Builder

Academic CV vs. Resume

Resume	Academic CV
1-2 pages	2-20+ pages (length increases with career)
Highlights relevant experience	Comprehensive record
Results-focused	Scholarship-focused
Industry keywords	Disciplinary expertise
Skills section prominent	Publications prominent
Education minimal	Education detailed

Standard Academic CV Sections

Typical Order

1. Contact Information
2. Education
3. Research/Academic Positions
4. Publications
5. Presentations
6. Grants & Funding
7. Teaching Experience
8. Mentoring
9. Service
10. Professional Memberships
11. Honors & Awards
12. References (or "Available upon request")

Section Order Varies By:

• Research position: Publications, grants, research experience first
• Teaching position: Teaching, course development first
• Administrative position: Leadership, service first

Section-by-Section Guide

1. Contact Information

FIRST MIDDLE LAST, Ph.D.
Department of [Field]
[University Name]
[Building, Room Number]
[City, State ZIP]

Email: email@university.edu
Phone: (555) 123-4567
Web: www.yoursite.edu
ORCID: 0000-0000-0000-0000

2. Education

Format: Degree, Field, Institution, Year

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Stanford University, 2019
  Dissertation: "Title of Your Dissertation"
  Advisor: Dr. Jane Smith
  Committee: Dr. A, Dr. B, Dr. C

M.S. in Biology, UC Berkeley, 2015

B.S. in Biochemistry, UCLA, 2013
  Summa Cum Laude

Include:

• All degrees (in reverse chronological order)
• Dissertation/thesis title
• Advisor(s)
• Committee members (for PhD)
• Honors (cum laude, etc.)
• Relevant minors or certificates

3. Research/Academic Positions

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Michigan, 2022-Present
  Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT, 2019-2022
  Advisor: Dr. John Doe
  Lab: Computational Biology Lab

Graduate Research Assistant, Stanford University, 2014-2019
  Advisor: Dr. Jane Smith

4. Publications

Most Important Section for Research Positions

Formatting Options

Option 1: Numbered List (Common in Sciences)

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

15. Last, F.M., Co-Author, A.B., & Senior, C.D. (2023). Article title. Journal Name, 45(2), 123-145. doi:10.1000/xyz

14. Last, F.M., & Co-Author, A.B. (2022). Article title. Journal Name, 44(1), 10-25. doi:10.1000/abc

Option 2: Categories (Useful for Multiple Types)

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (15)

Book Chapters (3)

Books (1)

Under Review (2)

In Preparation (3)

Formatting Details:

• Bold your name in author lists
• Include DOIs when available
• Note impact factors if requested/relevant
• Indicate student co-authors with asterisk*
• Some fields expect reverse chronological; others expect chronological

Categories to Consider:

• Peer-reviewed journal articles
• Books and book chapters
• Conference proceedings
• Technical reports
• Non-peer-reviewed publications
• Works under review
• Works in preparation

5. Presentations

PRESENTATIONS

Invited Talks

"Talk Title," Conference Name, Location, Date.
"Talk Title," Department Seminar, University Name, Date.

Conference Presentations

"Poster/Talk Title," Conference Name, Location, Date. [Poster/Oral]

Categorize By:

• Invited talks (keynotes, seminars)
• Conference presentations
• Campus talks
• Public lectures/outreach

6. Grants & Funding

GRANTS AND FUNDING

Awarded

NIH R01 (Co-PI), "Project Title," 2023-2028, $2.5M total ($500K to my lab)

NSF CAREER Award (PI), "Project Title," 2022-2027, $650,000

Internal Grant (PI), "Project Title," 2021, $25,000

Pending

NIH R21 (PI), "Project Title," submitted January 2024

Not Funded (Optional)

[Some fields expect you to list unfunded submissions]

Include:

• Funding agency and mechanism
• Your role (PI, Co-PI, Co-I)
• Project title
• Dates
• Total amount (and amount to your lab if split)

7. Teaching Experience

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Courses Taught

BIOL 301: Molecular Biology (Instructor of Record)
  University of Michigan, Fall 2022, Fall 2023
  Enrollment: 45 students
  Developed new course curriculum

BIOL 101: Introduction to Biology (Lab Instructor)
  Stanford University, 2015-2018
  
Guest Lectures

"Topic," Course Name, Professor's Name, University, Date

Include:

• Course number and title
• Your role (Instructor, TA, Guest Lecturer)
• Institution and dates
• Enrollment numbers
• Course development or new preparations
• Teaching evaluations summary (if strong)

8. Mentoring

MENTORING

Graduate Students
- Student Name (Ph.D. expected 2025), Dissertation: "Title"
- Student Name (Ph.D. 2023), Current position: Postdoc at MIT

Postdoctoral Fellows
- Name (2021-2023), Current position: Assistant Professor at X

Undergraduate Researchers
- Name (2022-2023), Thesis: "Title," Current: PhD program at Y
- Name (2021-2022), Thesis: "Title," Current: Industry position

9. Service

SERVICE

To the Profession
- Editorial Board Member, Journal Name, 2022-Present
- Grant Reviewer, NIH Study Section XYZ, 2023
- Conference Organizer, Conference Name, 2022

To the University
- Graduate Admissions Committee, 2022-Present
- Faculty Search Committee, 2023
- Curriculum Committee, 2022-2023

To the Department
- Seminar Coordinator, 2022-Present
- Undergraduate Advisor, 2022-Present

10. Professional Memberships

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), 2015-Present
Society for Neuroscience (SfN), 2018-Present

11. Honors & Awards

HONORS AND AWARDS

NSF CAREER Award, 2022
Best Paper Award, Conference Name, 2021
Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Stanford University, 2018
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2015-2018
Phi Beta Kappa, 2013

Role-Specific Emphasis

Tenure-Track Faculty

Emphasize:

1. Publications (especially recent, high-impact)
2. Grants (especially independent funding)
3. Research trajectory and vision
4. Teaching experience
5. Mentoring record

Postdoctoral Position

Emphasize:

1. Publications (from PhD and postdoc)
2. Research experience and skills
3. Collaboration experience
4. Future research potential
5. Any funding/fellowships

Lecturer/Teaching Faculty

Emphasize:

1. Teaching experience (courses, evaluations)
2. Course development
3. Pedagogical training
4. Mentoring undergraduates
5. Teaching awards

Research Scientist

Emphasize:

1. Publications
2. Technical skills
3. Grant writing experience
4. Collaboration record
5. Relevant research experience

Discipline-Specific Conventions

Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)

• Author order matters (first author, last author = senior)
• Impact factors sometimes included
• Numbered publication lists common
• Conference presentations less weighted than publications

Humanities (History, Literature, Philosophy)

• Single-author publications highly valued
• Book publications crucial
• Conference presentations important
• Public scholarship valued

Social Sciences

• Both solo and collaborative work valued
• Mix of journal articles and books
• Funded research important
• Policy impact valued

CV Length Guidelines

Career Stage	Expected Length
Graduate Student	2-4 pages
Postdoc	3-6 pages
Early Career Faculty	5-10 pages
Mid-Career Faculty	10-20 pages
Senior Faculty	15-30+ pages

Rule: Your CV grows throughout your career. Don't pad, but don't artificially constrain length.

Progress Tracking

Display progress before each CV-building phase:

[████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 25% — Phase 1/4: Analyzing Academic Background & Target Role
[████████░░░░░░░░░░░░] 50% — Phase 2/4: Structuring Sections & Order
[████████████░░░░░░░░] 75% — Phase 3/4: Formatting Publications & Grants
[████████████████████] 100% — Phase 4/4: Delivering Complete Academic CV

Output Format

When creating an academic CV:

# ACADEMIC CV STRUCTURE FOR [NAME]

## Recommended Section Order
[Based on position type and field]

1. [Section]
2. [Section]
...

## Section Content

### Education
[Formatted education section]

### Publications
[Formatted with appropriate style for field]

### [Other Sections]
[Formatted content]

---

## Formatting Notes
- [Field-specific conventions to follow]
- [Style guide recommendations]

## Things to Add/Update
- [ ] [Missing item]
- [ ] [Item needing update]

Error Handling

Error	Likely Cause	Action
No academic history provided	User requests CV without sharing background	Ask for degree history, institution names, dissertation titles, and advisor names
Publications list empty	Early career or no publications yet	Note publications section will be minimal; suggest listing works in progress or under review
Discipline format unknown	User doesn't specify their academic field	Ask for field; formatting differs significantly (Sciences vs. Humanities vs. Social Sciences)
Missing grant or funding information	User hasn't provided funding history	Include section header with placeholder; note that grants should be added when available
Target role type unclear	Faculty vs. postdoc vs. lecturer position	Ask for target role type; section order and emphasis differ significantly by role

Academic CV Checklist

• ✅ Contact information complete (including ORCID if applicable)
• ✅ Education includes all degrees, advisors, dissertations
• ✅ Publications properly formatted with your name highlighted
• ✅ All grants listed with amounts and your role
• ✅ Teaching experience comprehensive
• ✅ Service documented
• ✅ Consistent formatting throughout
• ✅ Reverse chronological order (usually)
• ✅ No unexplained gaps
• ✅ Updated within last 6 months