A Resume for Graduate School gives an admission committee the chance to capture as much information as possible about you in very little time. Since such committees handle hundreds and sometimes thousands of applications, Resumes help them short-list candidates for the next round of the admission process. In many cases, Resumes are the basis for categorizing forms and candidates based on several criteria. So, it is very important to get your Resume right and divulge important information to help you with your admission to a Grad School Program.

 In other words, a Resume for Graduate School may be looked upon as a summary of your academic and professional life. Most Universities have made this an integral part of the admission process and, therefore, a key admission requirement. However, some universities ask for a CV for graduate school, but that is a different matter altogether.

A Resume for Grad School should always consist of 5 main sections, without which it would be incomplete. Together these sections make for a good and widely accepted Template, making it easy for you to write your resume.

The five main sections of a Graduate School Resume Template are:

1. (A) Heading
2. (B) Education
3. (C) Experience
4. (D) Skills
5. (E) Additional Information

Graduate School Resume Components

Breaking down the five main sections of a Resume for Graduate School is necessary to cover all points that you may wish to convey or all that you are expected to convey. Most of the components listed below are essential but depending on the program you are applying for and the university’s requirements, some components could be omitted.

1. Create a Bold Header
   Begin with creating a bold and stylish header that instantly captures the reader’s attention. Highlight your Full Name initially and continue with your Phone Number, E-mail Address, Postal Address (optional), and Social Media Handles – such as LinkedIn (optional but important if you have one).
2. List out Academic Accomplishments
   List out all your academic accomplishments but be mindful of how far back you go. In most cases, Universities are not interested in your Kindergarten or Elementary School unless they have asked for a Curriculum Vitae. Arrange your academic history chronologically, preferably with the latest being on top. Each listing should contain the institution’s name, location, affiliation, GPA, and honors. If you mention a current Program from which you are yet to graduate, add a probable month and year of graduation.
3. Specify Coursework, Internships and Volunteer Work
   One way of adding in coursework, internships, and volunteer work is to include them along with your academic accomplishments – especially if they are directly related to the program. Alternatively, you can create a separate section and list them all out in that section. Either way, make sure you cover the program’s core subjects, any internships you undertook, and field or volunteer work you signed up for.
4. Call out Professional Experience
   This component is a very important one, not to be missed. If you are a working professional, list out your work experience by order of time and provide details such as the employer’s name, dates or tenure of work, job title, department, and chief roles and responsibilities. On the other hand, if you are a student, you could skip this and move on.
5. Include Publications
   Depending on the program you are applying for and the university in question, you should include any publications you may be involved with. If you were involved with any publication – add them to your resume with a heading, 1-to-2-line description, and when & where it was published.
6. Highlight Skills and Certifications
   If you were certificated or even licensed for anything related to your program during your studies, highlight it in your resume. Also, make a list of Hard Skills and Soft Skills you have acquired along the way, which do not necessarily come with a certificate.
7. Feature Awards, Grants, and Honors
   Your resume should also feature any awards and grants you received in the course of your education. Include details such as the title, institution responsible for it, amount, reason, etc. If you bagged any honors for your Studies, add them with relevant details as well.
8. Mention Extracurricular Activities
   If you have been a keen participant at a lit-club, or took part in theater, or played a sport, add them all up in your resume. Certain activities can help you gain favor if they are relevant to the program you are applying for. Besides, some Universities award scholarships based on extracurricular activities.
9. Add Additional Information
   Anything that the components mentioned above do not cover may be added at the tail of your resume. If there are points, you wish to make that fall outside of these standard components’ scope, but you still find relevant, proceed to bake them in. However, do not go overboard and supply excessive amounts of irrelevant or boring information.

Graduate School Resume Template Details

Keeping your Graduate School Resume Template clean and simple is always a good way to grab someone’s attention. Too much detail and divulging uncalled-for information will put the reader off and dilute your key points and highlights. A good Resume is meant to be a snapshot or summary of who and what you are, so keep it as short and precise as you possibly can.

As far as details for each section or component go, provide only that which is necessary and which you think will add weight to your resume. Emphasize your scholarly and other achievements while highlighting your capabilities, skills, and experience. Overall, you must focus on keeping your Resume objective, to the point, and sincere.

There are a few things you should keep in mind while writing your Resume for Graduate School. Listed below are some important guidelines and best practices that will help you write a formidable one with relative ease:

• Be Aware of Program Requirements
  Before you begin writing your resume, check the University’s Program requirements and see if there is anything specific you have been asked to cover. If so, make a note of it and compile relevant data to add to your resume.
• Keep it Concise and Succinct
  Do not beat around the bush and make your resume lengthy. Unusually long Resumes are often not read, and more pages do not imply a better Resume.
• Go with an Easy-to-Follow Format
  Simplicity is the key to a standout Resume. Make your resume clutter-free and presentable, with distinguishable elements and content, at very first sight. The reader should easily grasp all information without looking for something in an obscure part of a page.
• Flow Logically
  Let the information in your Resume flow naturally. Do not break a section up only to continue with it somewhere down the line. Everything should be logically arranged, structured, and seamless.
• Style Professionally
  Use a smart font and a decent font size such as 11 or 12 pts. Try not to decorate your resume too much with Italics, Bold Text or Underlined Text, or for that matter, even a combination of them all. If you must use color, apply soothing shades that do not stick out like a carrot in an omelet. Also, space your lines so that everything is clear and legible.
• Make it Error-Free
  It is very easy to make errors and commit typos when preparing your resume. Silly mistakes can often cost you much. Check your grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, and spellings for errors, and correct them straight away.
• Proof-Read
  This is perhaps THE most important part of writing a Resume. In the interest of being done and over with this document, students often forget to or do not want to review what they have written. It is always best to print out your resume, read it several times over from start to finish and ensure that everything is as it should be. Another good practice is to pass on a copy to someone close to you – a friend or mentor – and get them to provide you with feedback or suggestions before being done with the final copy.
• Publish or Print
  If you have been asked to submit a written or hard copy of your resume, have it printed on good quality paper. See to it that the printed papers do not have dog-ears or are creased and crumpled. Do not fold or excessively pin the sheets as well.
  
  If, on the other hand, you have been asked to upload your resume online, export or create a file in the Portable Document Format – commonly known as PDF. PDFs are standard and universally accepted. However, in doing so, it is a good idea to encrypt the document and disable editing. Furthermore, keep the file size well below, say 2MB, to easily be shared or downloaded.

There are hundreds and thousands of Grad School Resume examples available online. A simple search will pop up some compelling reads, but we suggest you keep them only as references and build your resume from the ground up. Based on the sections, components, and guidelines of a Resume, here is an example to show you how yours could look: