Curriculum Vitae (CV) Sample: Psychology

Format

An effective curriculum vitae (CV) should use a clean, professional format that makes your education, experience, accomplishments, and scholarly or professional contributions easy to find. Use a simple one-column layout with minimal graphic elements (avoid textboxes, photos, icons, and other decorative features unless they are appropriate for your field). The CV can be longer than a resume, but it should still be organized, readable, and purposeful.

Sections should be clearly labeled and arranged in a logical order, with the most relevant information given the greatest emphasis. Common sections may include education, research experience, teaching experience, publications, presentations, professional experience, awards and honors, grants, service, leadership, certifications, and professional affiliations. Within each section, use reverse chronological order unless another arrangement better highlights your accomplishments.

Customize your CV to reflect your academic or professional field, career goals, and level of experience. Choose section headings that make sense for your background, add sections that showcase relevant accomplishments, and omit sections that do not apply to you.

Remember that there is no single correct way to organize a CV. Your CV should be tailored to your discipline and the position, program, fellowship, or opportunity you are pursuing.

How to Use This Resource

Access the Sample Resume by clicking the “View Resource” button at the bottom of this page.

The sample resume will open in a Google Doc. If you’d like to use this as a basis for your own document, click File > Make a Copy to save an editable version to your own Google Drive, or click File > Download > Microsoft Word (docx) if you’d prefer to work in Microsoft Word.