Academic CV Examples: 6 Full CVs for PhD, Postdoc, Faculty
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
6 min read
An academic CV lists your education, research, publications, teaching, funding and service in labelled sections, in reverse chronological order, with no fixed page limit. Unlike a resume, it is a record, not a pitch. What changes by stage is the order and the weight: a PhD application leads with education and research interests, a postdoc leads with research and publications, and a teaching-focused job puts teaching first. Below are six complete CVs, one per stage, and the rules behind them. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
I never hired a professor. I did read a lot of applications, and the ones that were easy to read were the ones that got a reply, in every field.
Example 1: a CV for a PhD application
The simplest case. A master's student applying for doctoral programs, with limited publications. Education and research come first.
Entry level: PhD application CV, master's student (132 words)
Maya Rosen Chicago, IL | maya.rosen@example.edu | 555 0142
Research interests Urban air quality and respiratory health; spatial statistics; low-cost sensor networks.
Education - M.S. Environmental Science, University of Illinois Chicago, expected May 2026. Thesis: Low-cost PM2.5 sensors in three Chicago neighborhoods. Advisor: Dr. L. Ortiz - B.S. Biology, Oberlin College, 2024, magna cum laude
Research experience - Graduate researcher, UIC Environmental Health Lab (2024 to present): calibrated 40 sensors and analyzed 9 months of data in R - Undergraduate researcher, Oberlin Ecology Lab (2022 to 2024): field sampling for a stream study
Presentations - Poster, Midwest Environmental Health Symposium, 2025
Teaching - Teaching assistant, Introduction to Environmental Science, 2025
Skills - R, Python, ArcGIS, field sampling, laboratory safety
References - Dr. L. Ortiz, UIC; Dr. K. Brandt, Oberlin College
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What an academic CV is
Worcester Polytechnic Institute puts the difference in one sentence: "A CV is typically longer than a resume and often includes information about your teaching and/or research experiences, publications, presentations, honors/awards, professional affiliations, etc." The same handout, the WPI curriculum vitae guide, adds that length does not determine quality.
UC Santa Barbara Career Services, in its guide to crafting your CV, lists the typical categories: "Typical categories include: Education, Awards & Honors, Research Experience, Publications, Teaching Experience, & Professional Associations." Use those as the spine and add sections only when you have real content for them.
The order of sections, by stage
- PhD application: research interests, education, research experience, presentations, teaching, skills, references.
- PhD candidate on the job market: education, dissertation, publications, presentations, teaching, awards, service.
- Postdoc: education, research experience, publications, grants, presentations, teaching and mentoring.
- Faculty, research-focused: research and publications above teaching.
- Faculty, teaching-focused: teaching above research. UC Santa Barbara notes that for a community college application you would emphasize teaching before research.
Five more academic CVs
Mid level: Doctoral candidate on the job market (121 words)
Daniel Osei Ann Arbor, MI | daniel.osei@example.edu
Education - Ph.D. Economics, University of Michigan, expected 2026. Dissertation: Credit access and small-firm hiring. Chair: Prof. A. Lindqvist - B.A. Economics and Mathematics, University of Ghana, 2018
Publications - Osei, D., and Lindqvist, A. (2025). Credit constraints and hiring in small firms. Journal of Labor Studies, 41(2), 211 to 240. - Osei, D. (2024). Bank branches and local employment. Working paper.
Presentations - American Economic Association annual meeting, 2025; Midwest Economics Association, 2024
Teaching - Instructor of record, Intermediate Microeconomics (2 sections of 35 students), 2025 - Teaching assistant, Econometrics, 2022 to 2024
Awards - Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, 2025
Service - Organizer, graduate economics seminar, 2024 to 2025
Mid level: Postdoctoral researcher, STEM (124 words)
Dr. Ines Alvarez Seattle, WA | ines.alvarez@example.edu
Research interests Protein folding; cryo-electron microscopy; computational structural biology.
Education - Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Washington, 2023 - B.S. Chemistry, Universidad de Chile, 2017
Research experience - Postdoctoral fellow, Institute for Protein Design, Seattle (2023 to present): lead a 3-person subproject on membrane protein structures - Graduate researcher, UW Biochemistry (2018 to 2023)
Publications - Alvarez, I., et al. (2024). Structure of a bacterial transporter at 3.1 angstrom resolution. Nature Communications, 15, 1842. - Alvarez, I., and Park, J. (2022). Folding pathways in small membrane proteins. Journal of Molecular Biology, 434(7).
Funding - NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship, 2024 to 2027
Mentoring - Supervised 2 rotation students and 1 undergraduate, 2023 to 2025
Mid level: Teaching-focused CV, community college (104 words)
Dr. Robert Hayes Denver, CO | robert.hayes@example.edu
Teaching experience - Adjunct instructor, Community College of Denver (2020 to present): College Algebra, Statistics, Precalculus; 5 sections a year, about 30 students each - Teaching assistant, University of Colorado Boulder (2015 to 2020)
Teaching philosophy and development - Redesigned the Statistics course around weekly problem sets with feedback within 3 days - Completed a 12-week course in inclusive teaching, 2022
Education - Ph.D. Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, 2020 - M.S. Mathematics, Colorado State University, 2015
Research - Publications: 3 peer-reviewed papers on numerical methods
Service - Member, department curriculum committee, 2022 to present
Senior: Tenure-track faculty CV, humanities (100 words)
Prof. Amara Singh Pittsburgh, PA | amara.singh@example.edu
Appointments - Associate Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh (2021 to present) - Assistant Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh (2015 to 2021)
Education - Ph.D. History, Columbia University, 2014
Books - Ports and Empire: Trade in the Indian Ocean, 1780 to 1850. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Articles - Merchant networks in Bombay. Journal of Asian Studies, 78(3), 2018.
Grants and fellowships - ACLS Fellowship, 2022; Fulbright Research Award, 2017
Teaching - Courses: World History to 1500; Modern South Asia; Historical Methods
Service - Chair, graduate admissions committee, 2023 to present
Senior: Research professor CV, engineering (103 words)
Prof. Luis Moreno Atlanta, GA | luis.moreno@example.edu
Appointments - Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (2020 to present) - Associate Professor (2014 to 2020); Assistant Professor (2008 to 2014)
Research funding - Principal investigator on 6 funded grants totaling over $4 million, 2014 to present, including NSF and DOE awards
Selected publications - Moreno, L., et al. (2024). Thermal management in compact heat exchangers. Applied Energy, 355, 122301. - 62 peer-reviewed journal papers and 3 patents in total
Students supervised - 11 Ph.D. students graduated; 14 master's students
Service - Associate Editor, Journal of Heat Transfer, 2019 to present
How long should an academic CV be
There is no page limit, but there is a norm. Newcastle University's careers service says "Your CV should be targeted to the opportunity you’re applying for and will typically be around three pages long." That figure is for a researcher applying for an academic position, in its guide to CVs for academic researchers. Two to three pages is typical for a PhD candidate or postdoc. A senior professor's CV can run much longer, and a selected publications list keeps it readable.
Formatting rules that matter
- Reverse chronological order inside every section.
- Bold your own name in the publications list so the reader finds your papers first.
- One citation style for the whole list, matching your field.
- References on a separate page, with three or four names, ordered as you prefer them to be called.
- No photo, age or marital status.
What to cut
- Unfinished work labelled as published. Mark it "in preparation", "under review" or "working paper" honestly.
- Every conference you ever attended. List where you presented, not where you sat.
- A long skills list. Keep it to tools the reader cares about.
- Hobbies, unless they connect to teaching or outreach.
If you are applying outside academia, our guides to CV examples and CV vs resume cover the shorter format, and the PhD application CV guide goes deeper on the first example above.
Frequently asked questions
What is an academic CV?
A record of your education, research, publications, teaching, funding and service, used for academic jobs, fellowships and grants. It has no fixed page limit.
How is an academic CV different from a resume?
It is longer and organised by category. A resume sells a few relevant achievements, and an academic CV documents the whole record.
How long should an academic CV be?
Two to three pages for a PhD student or postdoc, longer for senior faculty. Add selected lists rather than everything.
Should I list publications that are not yet published?
Yes, honestly labelled: in preparation, under review or accepted. Do not list them as published.
What goes first on an academic CV?
It depends on the job. Education and research interests for a PhD application, research and publications for a research post, teaching for a teaching-focused post.
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