How to write an academic CV for scholarship applications

Almost every scholarship asks for a CV, and many applicants send the same document they would use for a job. A scholarship panel reads a CV differently. It wants to see your academic path, the evidence that you can succeed in the programme and the experience that supports your plans. This guide shows how to build a CV for that reader.

Academic CV or job CV?

A job CV is usually short and focused on results for an employer. An academic CV puts education first, includes research, publications, presentations, teaching and academic awards, and may run longer for experienced researchers. For most master's applicants, a clear two-page CV is right. PhD and postdoctoral applicants may need more space for publications and projects.

If the programme gives a template or a page limit, follow it exactly. Some programmes, including many in Europe, accept or prefer the Europass format; others say nothing. When there is no rule, use a clean, simple layout of your own.

Sections, in a sensible order

1. Name and contact details. Full name as in your passport, email address, phone number, city and country. A professional email address matters. Photos, date of birth, marital status and religion are not needed unless the programme asks for them.
2. Education. Most recent first. Degree, field, university, city, country, dates. Add your final grade or grade point average with the scale (for example "4.2 out of 5"), because panels in other countries may not know your system. Mention your thesis title and supervisor if relevant.
3. Research experience (if any). Projects, your role, methods used, results.
4. Work experience. Job title, organisation, dates, and two to four lines on what you did and achieved. Volunteering that is relevant to your plans can go here or in its own section.
5. Publications and presentations. Use one citation style consistently. Include conference posters and talks. Do not inflate: a working paper is not a journal article.
6. Awards and scholarships. Name, awarding body, year, and why you received it if it is not obvious.
7. Skills. Languages with an honest level (for example the CEFR levels A1 to C2, or a test score), software, laboratory or field methods.
8. Other activities. Leadership roles, community work, competitions, selected trainings.

References can be listed at the end or replaced by "available on request", unless the programme asks for referees' names in the CV.

Describing what you did

Each line should show an action and, where possible, a result. Start with a verb and add a number or concrete outcome.

Numbers make experience easy to judge, but only use figures you can explain in an interview.

If you have little experience

Early-career applicants often worry that their CV looks empty. Use what you have:

• course projects and your thesis, with the methods you used;
• student organisations, clubs and volunteering, with what you organised;
• part-time jobs, which show responsibility and time management;
• online courses only when they relate closely to the programme;
• competitions, olympiads and conferences you took part in.

Formatting rules that help the reader

• Use one font, two sizes at most, and clear section headings.
• Keep dates aligned in the same place on every line.
• Use reverse chronological order within each section.
• Save and send as PDF unless another format is required, and name the file clearly, for example "Surname_Name_CV.pdf".
• Check that dates and titles match your motivation letter, your transcripts and your referees' letters.

Common mistakes

• Listing every training certificate instead of the ones that matter for this programme.
• Writing long paragraphs instead of short lines.
• Leaving unexplained gaps. A short note such as "family responsibilities" or "military service" is enough.
• Using a template full of graphics, skill bars and columns that are hard to read or print.
• Sending the same CV to a research master's and a professional fellowship without changing the order of sections.

Final checklist

• Education first, most recent first, with grades and the scale.
• Every experience line starts with an action and shows a result.
• Languages show a real level or test score.
• Two pages for most master's applicants, unless told otherwise.
• PDF, clear file name, no spelling mistakes.

See also: motivation letter, recommendation letters and the document checklist. Then look for open scholarships or scholarships for master's students.