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What to put on a grad application CV

In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, Olivia writes:

I am applying to PhD programs in Philosophy. Many require submitting a resume/cv. As someone just coming out of undergrad, I do not have the level of publications/academic achievements that I am seeing on current grad students or faculty. What kinds of things should be included on this and how should it be organized? Should employment history also be included?

Good question. Given that grad school applicants may have little to report besides where they received the undergraduate degree or MA, what in the world should they put on their CV when applying to grad school?

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5 responses to “What to put on a grad application CV”

  1. Michel

    Prizes, awards, scholarships, and volunteer from their undergraduate days. I suppose employment history could go there, but unless it was university-related or topically relevany, I don’t think it matters.
    TBH though, it does seem a little perverse to require a CV, given how little relevant information is going to be on there.

    Reply
  2. Michel

    Agh. Volunteer work* and relevant*.
    Apologies for my sausage-fingered phone typing.

    Reply
  3. anon

    I don’t think applicants should worry about this – the other aspects of the application are much more important. (writing sample & letters)
    Just follow the same norms as everyone does regarding section headings, leaving out the sections that you don’t have any content for. At the undergrad level, you have your degree (you can list GPA), maybe some scholarships, maybe some research assistantships/TAships or undergrad conferences, but none of these will make or break your application.

    Reply
  4. Amanda

    I don’t remember doing this when I applied to grad school. Is this new? If so why would they start requiring it? Our grad program doesn’t require a CV but some students submit one. We let in a student last year who put blog posts under “publications.” On the one hand that appears a bit silly. On the other hand, to me it showed they had enthusiasm for writing, and the posts themselves showed they at least had skilled prose. I think what I would do is put something like this under a title called “writing activity” so you can demonstrate enthusiasm to writing without irking some professors who won’t like calling them “publications.” To be clear, I think it is unfair to hold this against a student, and I wouldn’t, but well, there are all sorts out there.

    Reply
  5. Kathryn Norlock

    It bothered me that there wasn’t a very helpful response here, but as I had to provide this advice for a student of mine today, I thought I’d add it here for any undergraduates who find this by searching for philosophy-specific advice:
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ry6Tq9KedBVcKoLzFbJe1kUQqHuS0V1p/view?usp=sharing
    See, for McGill’s more general guide to CVs in any field and for good samples,
    https://www.mcgill.ca/caps/files/caps/guide_cv.pdf

    Reply

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