Examples & writing guide
Academic CV example for 2026
Updated 17 June 2026
A strong academic CV gives a selection panel a clear account of your scholarly achievements, research interests and specialist skills. This guide explains how to shape an academic CV for an early-career or established application, while keeping the evidence relevant to the particular post. If you are moving into a research role outside a university, adapt the same evidence for a scientist CV.
Examples by experience level
Graduate Academic CV
TemplateBlue Horizon3 / 5
Why this works
This academic CV example leads with scholarly work, subject expertise, teaching evidence and clear, defensible outcomes.
Continue writing your CVSenior Academic
TemplateTeal Signal2 / 5
Why this works
This academic CV sample gives research equal weight with teaching, supervision and leadership, using specific outcomes to show the scale of Riley's contribution.
Continue writing your CVJunior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Opening emphasis | Lead with research interests, subject expertise, recent study and the strongest teaching or tutoring evidence available. | Lead with an established research direction, a sustained publication contribution, teaching leadership, supervision and the scale of academic responsibility. |
| Research evidence | Use dissertation or project research, early publications, conference contributions and clearly stated methods to demonstrate readiness for further academic work. | Show a sustained publication record, independent research, funding-bid contributions and conference activity. Clarify your personal contribution and the resulting scholarly or institutional outcome. |
| Teaching evidence | Quantify tutorials, seminars, demonstrations or marking completed, including student level and cohort size where the figures are defensible. | Demonstrate course or module design, varied teaching delivery, assessment responsibility and inclusive curriculum development across larger cohorts or several modules. |
| Student supervision and support | Include peer mentoring, tutoring, project support or co-supervision, making your own responsibility clear. | Show dissertation or research supervision, pastoral work and liaison with central support services. Explain how you organised the work and improved the student experience or process. |
| Leadership and administration | Mention dependable coordination, meeting contributions and small administrative responsibilities without overstating ownership. | Quantify programme, module or research-group leadership, committee work, workload coordination and changes delivered through those responsibilities. |
| Digital and analytical evidence | Name the digital learning platforms, teaching technology and analytical methods you have actually used, with brief application context. | Show how technology or high-level analysis informed teaching practice, research decisions or improvements adopted beyond one class or project. |
How to write an academic CV
Choose a structure that fits the post
An academic CV can exceed the usual two-page convention when the additional material is relevant. Length alone proves nothing, so cut repeated project descriptions, routine duties and old details that do not help the application. Begin with your name and contact details, followed by a short academic personal statement. Then arrange education, academic appointments, research, teaching and publications according to their importance for the vacancy. Funding activity, conferences, academic service and other professional work can follow where they add useful evidence. Keep every section in reverse-chronological order and use one clear date format throughout.
| Section | What the reader needs |
|---|---|
| Personal statement | Your field, career stage, focus and strongest evidence of fit |
| Academic experience | Appointments, responsibilities, scale and defensible outcomes |
| Research | Projects, methods, collaborators, outputs and your individual contribution |
| Teaching | Student level, teaching formats, assessment, supervision and curriculum work |
| Publications | Full citations in one consistent style, with status stated accurately |
| Education | Qualification, institution, dates and selective thesis or methods detail |
| Additional sections | Funding, conferences, service or professional activity relevant to the post |
Adjust the emphasis rather than sending the same academic CV to every institution. A research-only application should give greater prominence to research experience, publications, conference contributions, funding work and relevant technical skills. For a lectureship that combines research and teaching, provide clear teaching and tutoring evidence as well. Research may contribute to an institution's wider research activity and profile, so explain how your outputs, collaborations or project work connect with the proposed department without making inflated claims about their impact.
Write appointments as evidence, not copied job descriptions. Each bullet should name your action, establish the academic scope and give a result where one can be supported. Your skills section should be compact, but important capabilities should also appear in context. For instance, do not merely list digital teaching; identify the learning activity you delivered with a digital platform and what changed for students. Likewise, demonstrate inclusive curriculum work through a specific redesign, resource or teaching decision.
Keep education readable and avoid describing one doctoral project under three headings. Extras deserve space when they strengthen the application. An interests section is optional on an academic CV, so omit it if it adds nothing to your candidacy.
Personal statement examples
Social policy researcher and university tutor whose doctoral work examines access to public services. Experienced in seminar teaching, dissertation support and mixed-methods analysis, with two peer-reviewed outputs and three conference presentations arising from the doctoral project. Now seeking a lectureship that combines careful research with inclusive, student-centred teaching.
Hard-working academic looking for a new challenge at a good university. I have strong communication and research skills, enjoy teaching students and can work independently or in a team. I am passionate about education and believe I would be an excellent fit for this role.
Writing your experience
Turn duties into evidence
A useful academic experience bullet follows a simple pattern: action + academic scope + result. Scope might be the number and level of students, modules supported, dissertations supervised, research participants, outputs produced or collaborators involved. The result might be a completed project milestone, an accepted output, a delivered curriculum change or a measurable student outcome. Use only figures you can explain and defend. A suspiciously precise number without records or context weakens the application.
Separate your contribution from the work of the department or research group. "Contributed to a project" leaves the reader guessing. State what you designed, analysed, taught, assessed, coordinated or wrote. Where several people produced the outcome, use accurate wording such as "co-authored" or "worked within a four-person team" rather than claiming sole credit.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Helped with undergraduate teaching | Designed and delivered eight seminars for 42 second-year students, recording 88% attendance across the term |
| Worked on a research project | Analysed 36 interview transcripts and built the thematic framework used in two conference papers |
| Supported dissertation students | Supervised six undergraduate dissertations; all six met the submission deadline and four received marks above 65% |
For a higher education lecturer application, relevant experience can include lectures, seminars, tutorials and, where the discipline calls for them, practical demonstrations or field work. Course preparation, teaching methods, coursework and examination assessment, and dissertation supervision may also belong in the section. Student support deserves concrete treatment too: describe the number of students advised, the issue you coordinated and any liaison with central support services, while respecting confidentiality.
Research bullets can cover your contribution to institutional research activity, publications, funding bids, conferences and professional development. Avoid presenting attendance as an achievement by itself. Explain whether you presented findings, drafted part of a bid, developed a method, wrote an output or applied learning to your work.
Useful opening verbs include designed, delivered, supervised, assessed, analysed, authored, co-authored, revised, coordinated, presented and mentored. Choose the most accurate verb rather than hunting for decoration.
Senior academics should make scale, leadership and judgement visible. Show responsibility for a module, curriculum revision, a research strand, supervision across several projects or a defined part of a funding proposal. Early-career candidates can use doctoral teaching, research assistance and relevant professional work. In either case, concise bullets work best; place extensive methodological detail and full citations in their dedicated sections.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Present the route accurately
List education in reverse-chronological order. Give the qualification, subject, institution and dates, followed by selective detail such as a thesis title, relevant research methods or an academic distinction. If you are still studying, state the expected completion date plainly. Never blur a qualification in progress into one already awarded.
Qualification expectations vary by appointment and entry route. For higher education lecturers entering through the university route, applicants will usually have completed, or be working towards, a postgraduate master's or PhD qualification. Keep that statement tied to the university route rather than presenting it as a universal entry rule.
For Lecturer (Grade J) at appointment, the stated route requires a good honours degree or equivalent and detailed knowledge in the relevant subject area. It also requires a PhD, near completion of a PhD, or research experience in an academic, industrial or clinical setting equivalent to a PhD. Describe these conditions only when applying through that exact grade and route. Elsewhere, follow the vacancy's wording and present the evidence you genuinely hold.
The Academic Professional Level 7 Apprenticeship has a separate application route. Applicants will normally need a postgraduate qualification in their subject area or several years of equivalent work experience, together with their employer's agreement. State which route applies to you without implying that one route is better than another.
Publications are not qualifications, so place them in their own section. Relevant published academic work is commonly worth including in a higher education lecturer application. Use one citation style consistently and distinguish accurately between published, accepted and forthcoming work.
Common mistakes to avoid
AvoidUsing one generic academic CV for every vacancy, regardless of whether the post is research-only or combines research with teaching.
InsteadReorder the evidence around the post. For a research-only position, give greater prominence to research experience, publications, conference contributions, funding activity and relevant technical skills. For a lectureship, also make teaching and tutoring experience easy to find.
AvoidListing duties such as "taught seminars" without showing the level, scale or result of the work.
InsteadAdd defensible context: the student level, cohort size, module, teaching format and outcome. State how many sessions you delivered or how promptly you returned feedback, but use only figures you can verify.
AvoidBurying publications, research interests and specialist skills beneath unrelated employment detail.
InsteadBring scholarly achievements, research interests and specialist skills towards the front of the academic CV. Give the most space to evidence that matches the advertised post.
AvoidDescribing teaching without mentioning curriculum design, assessment or the learning environment.
InsteadShow the work behind delivery. Include relevant examples of designing inclusive, student-centred learning, preparing materials, assessing coursework or examinations, and using digital learning platforms.
AvoidClaiming broad student-support skills without explaining what the support involved.
InsteadUse a specific, appropriately confidential example, such as signposting students to central services or supervising dissertation work. Explain your action and its outcome without revealing personal student information.
AvoidAllowing teaching evidence to crowd out the research record on a senior academic CV.
InsteadFor senior or research-focused applications, make the publication record, independent research, funding-bid contributions and conference activity prominent. Show the scale and outcome of each contribution rather than presenting a bare list.
Frequently asked questions
Use the space needed to present relevant scholarly achievements clearly. Publications, teaching and research may need dedicated sections, but repetition still weakens the document. Keep reverse-chronological order and place the evidence most relevant to the post where a reader can find it quickly.
Use genuine evidence from dissertation research, projects, tutoring, seminar contributions, demonstrations, marking, mentoring or conference activity. State exactly what you did, distinguish support from independent responsibility and use only dates, cohort figures and outcomes you can defend.
Include relevant publications for higher education lecturer applications and present them in a consistent citation style. Research-focused roles call for a proven research and publication record, so distinguish published work, accepted work and other outputs accurately.
Give greater prominence to research experience, publications, conference contributions, research-funding activity and relevant technical skills. Make your own contribution clear, especially on collaborative work, and reduce detail that does not help the panel assess the research criteria.
Alongside research evidence, give clear details of teaching and tutoring. Include defensible evidence of lecture, seminar or tutorial delivery, assessment, curriculum development and dissertation supervision where those activities are part of your experience.
Do not include a photo or date of birth on a British-style CV. An interests or other activities section is optional for an academic CV, so retain it only when it adds relevant evidence rather than displacing research or teaching content.
From example to application
Turn this academic example into a CV that sounds like you.
Keep the structure that works. Tailor the details around your experience, strengths, and the role you want.