What is a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?
A curriculum vitae (CV) is a comprehensive document that tells the story of your academic and professional development in psychology.
How is a CV Different from a Resume?
- A resume is brief (typically 1 page) and tailored to specific job applications
- A CV provides a complete record of your scholarly work and grows throughout your career
- A CV is organized by categories of academic experience rather than chronological work history
What Should Your CV Include?
Your CV demonstrates your readiness for graduate training by showcasing:
- Education – Academic credentials
- Research experience – Projects that reflect your intellectual curiosity
- Clinical work – Experiences that show your commitment to helping others
- Teaching roles – Evidence of your ability to communicate psychological concepts
- Professional presentations and publications – Your contributions to the field
- Relevant awards – Recognition that reflects your scholarly achievements
- Service – Your dedication to the profession
How Should You Order These Sections?
The order matters significantly because it signals your priorities and fit:
Education always comes first, regardless of program type
For research-oriented programs – Lead with: Publications → Presentations → Research Experience → Teaching → Clinical → Awards
For clinically-oriented programs – Lead with: Clinical Experience → Research Experience → Teaching → Publications/Presentations → Awards
What Should You OMIT from Your CV?
A strong CV is selective rather than exhaustive. Leave out:
- Irrelevant experiences – Part-time jobs unrelated to psychology
- Generic or irrelevant honors – Dean’s List (your transcript already shows your grades), 3rd place in beauty contest, pickleball tournament champion, interpretive dance awards, etc.
- Activities that don’t fit your narrative – Experiences that don’t demonstrate your development as a scholar-practitioner (e.g., bartender at Outback Steakhouse, swim instructor, president of coin collecting fraternity). These are cool experiences, for sure, but they won’t help you get into graduate school.
The Guiding Principle:
Your CV tells a story about your professional journey. People making decisions about your application will evaluate if your CV’s story matches what they’re looking for. In other words, clinically-oriented programs want to see that you’ve prepared yourself to do clinical work, and research-oriented programs want to see that you’ve prepared yourself to do research.
If you’re uncertain about whether to include something, ask yourself this question: Does this experience show that I’ve prepared for graduate training in my chosen area of psychology?
Annotated CV Templates
Here are some word documents you can download and use as templates. I have provided comments throughout, so you can better understand the reasons behind the formatting decisions.
Of course, you’ll want to erase those comments before finalizing your CV. (This is kind of like reminding you to take off the plastic film from your frozen pizza before putting it in the oven; you probably know this, but maybe not).
Clinically-Oriented CV: This may be useful for students interested in getting a master’s degree in programs with titles such as counseling, counselor education, school counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, and clinical mental health counseling. it may also be helpful for many PsyD or even PhD programs that have more of a clinical, rather than a research, focus.
Scientist-Practitioner CV: This may be useful for students interested in PhD programs that follow a scientist-practitioner model, which provides training in both conducting original research and practicing psychotherapy and assessment.
Research-Focused CV: This may be useful for students interested in PhD programs that follow primarily involve research and have no clinical training whatsoever, e.g., social psychology, I/O psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology. Noting clinical experience is not important and should probably be omitted.
A Chatbot Designed for CVs
Here’s a Chatbot I created to help you create or refine your CV. Click on the link below or scan the QR code.
Yes, this is AI, so it makes mistakes. Additionally, AI has a range of other benefits, drawbacks, and concerns. If you’re hesitant or worried about AI, simply refrain from using it. Create your own CV. You can do it!