7 Grad School Resume Examples [& Templates]

How to Write a Grad School Resume

A grad school resume is different from your average job application. You’ve got so much to cover, from education to skills, it can feel illegal to only have one page to do it all.

Whether you’re fresh out of college or applying for a Master’s/PhD, or even a research lab, knowing the best resume tips will help you stay ahead of the competition. We’re going to cover each section and how you should approach it in detail.

Open your academic clarity with a good contact information section

Your contact details should easily let recruiters and admission offices know how they can reach you. Don’t make the mistake of using your current student email ID. Instead, add a personal one that you regularly check.

For the most part, you only need to include:

• Full Name
• Phone Number
• Email Address
• Location
• LinkedIn (if available)
• Portfolio (optional)

Impress with an objective to your future goals

Your grad school resume should have a resume objective at the top that outlines your current skills and goals. Not sure what we mean? Take a look at this example of a candidate with a Master’s in Psychology to get an idea of what a career objective looks like:

While writing one, you should follow three simple rules:

1. Keep it within 3–4 lines
2. Personalize it to the company/university
3. Include at least one skill or project

Master (no pun intended) this section, and you’ll give readers a clear idea of what you aim to become and what you will do once you join their institution.

Include academic foundations that support your application

This section is what a lot of your application relies on. It is also what most employers/admission offices will scrutinize closely, so you want to get this right no matter what. From degrees to letters of recommendation, mention everything that can give you an edge over other grads.

For your education in particular, include these details:

• Degree name and year of passing
• GPA (if above 3.5)
• Any relevant coursework
• Any awards/honors

Also, don’t forget to add any certifications you gained in college. Doesn’t matter if they were worth credits or not, as long as they’re relevant to your degree, include them.

What’s academics without skills?

If you read LinkedIn’sEconomic Graph, you’ll find that skills-based hiring has expanded the talent pool, especially among Gen-Z candidates. This means recruiters now rely on industry prowess more than degrees alone.

You don’t want to risk being avoided by employers just because your resume’s skillset wasn’t well-structured. If you’re in research, segregate laboratory from soft skills in the following way:

Psychology Lab Research Equipment:

• GSR/EDA sensors
• Olfactometers
• Physiological amplifiers
• fMRI scanners

Soft Skills:

• Communication
• Patience
• Compassion

Make university projects your biggest differentiator

Now this is where things get real. Your projects are what show employers you’re better than the rest and actually have real-world experiences. But this doesn’t undermine the value of full, or even part-time jobs.

For instance, if you haven’t fully entered the workforce yet, try these ideas:

• Undergraduate Research Assistant
• Lab Quality Assurance Intern
• Team Researcher

Simply listing your projects/work experience isn’t going to be enough. You want to pay close attention to how you frame your bullet points. Below, we’ve listed both bad and good examples to help you out:

Bad examples:

• I helped the senior lab assistant complete their daily tasks and clock out early
• Was involved in daily lab checks for handling expensive equipment
• Took the opportunity to perform administrative work

Notice anything?

• The first point starts with a pronoun, and the “clock out early” impact is unprofessional
• You can remove the word “lab” from the second sentence and use it for almost any job
• The third point starts with a verb, but not a strong one

Here’s how you can improve those bullet points by quantifying them:

• Assisted senior lab assistants in completing all work and projects on time, helping them maintain a 97% on-time deliverability rate
• Held maintenance and health audits on 19 types of equipment, ensuring the lab staff only used operative apparatus
• Helped with various administrative tasks, such as copyediting and document organization, expediting the average time-to-publication by 4 days

Using a bullet point generator can help you turn sub-par sentences into quantified points that keeps employers hooked to your resume.

How to format your grad school resume

Before your resume reaches employers, it needs to get past strict ATS systems. The only way to beat it is by speaking its language. Take a moment to read the job description and take note of a few things:

• Important keywords
• Relevant skills
• Exact job title

Include all three of them in the appropriate sections (except job title) to easily clear any ATS checks. Here are some extra best practices you should consider:

• Reverse-chronology: List all projects/work experiences in descending order, starting from the top. This helps you highlight your latest achievements first.
• One page: The best way to grab an employer’s attention is limiting your resume to a single page.
• File type: Always submit your resume as a PDF file, unless the job description clearly states otherwise, which is rare.
• Bullet points: No need for long paragraphs to describe what you’ve accomplished. Use concise bullet points to explain each experience.

Key takeaways

• Keep everything on one page
• Let your transferable skills lead
• Present achievements from projects and volunteer work
• Keep your format professional and review-friendly
• Make good use of your education
• No room for a single error
• Tailor your resume to the program and school