University of Washington & Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington

Preparing your Curriculum Vita

Cari McCarty

Friday, May 3, 2013 University of Washington Leadership Education in Adolescent Health

What is a Curriculum Vitae?

• Curriculum vitae means “Course of life”

• Primary function is to provide a succinct chronicle of your past experiences and training

• Serves as a multipurpose, personal application form for employment, educational opportunities, honors and awards, participation in organizations

Differences between a Resume and CV

• CV is longer, more detailed synopsis of background and skills

• Includes more information related to educational and academic training and background, awards, honors, et.

• Used in the US for applying for academic, education, research positions, fellowships

Updating the CV

• The CV is a living document that needs to be continually updated

• CV often needs to be restructured and rewritten for each specific purpose

• Some people recommend maintaining 2 versions: Short summary and longer version with more detailed information

General Tips on the CV

Sections should be arranged in reverse chronological order

Language of a CV is abbreviated and succinct

Your CV will be unique—there is no “standard” style that fits across disciplines

Be honest and label your roles accurately

Typical Sections

Contact Information – name, address, phone #s, email

Education – Major, degrees, dates and schools

Title of thesis/dissertation

Expected graduation date

Honors and Awards – List each award, granting institution, and date awarded. (change title if you only have one but not the other)

Typical Sections (Cont’d)

Teaching Experience – any courses that you assisted with as a TA or taught

Research Experience – Assistantships, Practica, etc.

Include the institution, role held & supervisor

Professional Experience – Administrative Work, Summer Jobs

Typical Sections

Grants Awarded

Title of Agency, Project Name and brief description, dollar amount

Publications• Use the citation style appropriate for your discipline• Eventually, you will separate out articles from chapters,

etc. but okay to keep together if list is short

Typical Sections

Conference Presentations - Dates, Titles, etc. using formatting from discipline

Professional Activities – Memberships and/or roles in professional organizations, ad hoc reviewing, committees led, etc.

References- you can say available on request or list references if you’ve received permission from your advisors

Tips

• Use clean, subtle formatting with 1 inch margins• Avoid creating a busy looking document• Omit irrelevant personal information and

accomplishments• Make sure your headers are accurate• Use page numbers• Seek feedback from your peers and faculty