How To Create an Effective Science CV (With Example)

Updated August 5, 2023

If you're attending school for a science degree or already have one, you can create a compelling curriculum vitae (CV) as you apply for jobs. Science CVs help to describe your understanding of scientific principles and theories and show employers why you're an ideal fit for a role. Understanding how to create an effective science CV can help you show your qualifications to recruiters and improve your chances of receiving a job offer.

In this article, we explain how to create a science CV and provide an example for you to reference as you build your own.

What is a science CV?

A science CV is a document that students in the science field can use to highlight their educational qualifications and skills for a science position. Undergraduate students may use a science CV to apply to internships, full-time jobs, part-time jobs or volunteer work. A science CV may be one piece of a job application, along with a cover letter, letters of recommendation from professors and a portfolio that details their research, lab work and experiments.

How to write a science CV

Here are the steps that you can follow to create an effective science CV:

1. Review the job posting

Before beginning your CV, you can review the job posting of the position for which you're applying. By doing this, you can better match your qualifications to the employer's educational requirements and preferred experience. For example, if a job posting shows that a research facility is looking for a candidate with a strong research background, you may provide details about research you've completed during your time as an undergraduate student and relevant transferrable skills the employer wants in a candidate.

Related: What Are Job Requirements?

2. List your contact information

Place your name in the header of your CV page, and then add your phone number and email address. Including your personal information lets employers contact you if they want to pursue you as a potential candidate for a science position. If you're currently an undergraduate student, you may list your school email address, or you can provide your personal email address as long as it has an appropriate handle. If you have a portfolio or professional website, you can include that information here as well.

3. Create a professional summary

A professional summary goes directly beneath your contact information, and it gives insight into your education, skills and career goals. As an individual who studies and works in the science field, you may give information on the science specialties that you're pursuing and the science skills that you possess. Consider this example of a professional summary for a student who's studying in the science field:

Undergraduate science student with a focus on chemistry who's seeking to assist a team of chemists in analyzing and executing experiments involving the fundamentals of thermodynamics.

4. Provide educational background

If you're pursuing a science career, you can show your educational qualifications that relate to the science field. To provide context, include your school's name and your graduation year. If you're currently in an undergraduate program, then you can specify your intended graduation date. Then, provide the type of degree and information about the science coursework that you completed.

You may also provide details on specific research projects or independent studies that you worked on as an undergraduate. It's also useful to include extracurricular activities that you are a part of, like science clubs, professional societies or school organizations.

5. Include work experience

Include information about science positions in which you've worked. If you're an undergraduate student, you may have less work experience, so try to include internships you've had or volunteer work that you've completed. Recent graduates may also include science positions they've held.

For each role, include the name of the company, your job or internship title. You can also list the responsibilities you held in each position in bullet points. You may also include lab work that you completed or research that you conducted while working. Other items to consider incorporating in your experience section include any papers you helped author and any presentations you conducted.

6. List your science skills

As an individual in the science field, you can experience greater success in your work by having skills that relate to conducting research, completing experiments and collaborating with a team of fellow researchers. Include hard skills like knowledge of equipment use, experimental design and lab safety techniques. You can also mention soft skills in the skills section of your CV, such as communication, teamwork and time management.

Tips for writing a science CV

Here are some helpful tips that you may keep in mind when crafting your CV:

Review CV examples

While creating your CV, it may be useful to review examples of science CVs. This allows you to identify the proper formatting and content of a science CV, and you may get a better idea of which industry keywords to use throughout your document. Try asking your colleagues or peers if you can review their CVs or use online resources to find well-formatted science CVs.

Use science keywords

Hiring managers may place keywords in a job posting that they identify when reviewing CVs. These keywords may show your experience with science procedures and techniques. The specific keywords for a position may change depending on the science field that you specialize in. Here are some common science keywords:

Experimental analysis
Research
Data modeling
Science software
Result analysis
Research planning

Include educational achievements

To further highlight your science qualifications, include educational achievements that you received. You may include positive feedback from a professor or add details of academic awards or accomplishments. Be sure to provide the year that you received the achievement and brief details about the accomplishment. You can also include academic papers of yours that reputable journals have published.

Science CV template

Here's a template that you can refer to while creating your CV:

[First name] [Last name], [Degree or certification if applicable]
[Phone number] | [Email address] | [City], [State]

Professional Summary

[Two to three sentences that highlight years of experience, relevant skills, education or certifications and achievements.]

Experience

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.
[Job duty]
[Job duty]

Skills

Education

[Degree and major]
[Institution name], [Graduation year if you graduated within the past three years]

Certifications

[Certification Name], [Host organization] - [Year completed or expiration date]
[Certification Name], [Host organization] - [Year completed or expiration date]

Download Resume Template

To upload the template into [Google Docs/Google Sheets], go to File > Open > and select the correct downloaded file.

Science CV example

Here's an example to help you review the proper content and formatting of your science CV:

Samuel Johnston

Cleveland, OH | 440-555-5225 | sjohnston@email.com

Summary

Graduate science student with a focus on wildlife biology and ecosystem analysis who's seeking to expand my research skills and conduct experiments on various forms of wildlife within their habitats.

Education

Ohio University

expected graduation in May 2025

Master of Science in wildlife ecology and conservation

Experience

Pine Research Institute, Associate Researcher

January 2021–Current

Conducts research on migratory birds and the impacts of climate change
Organizes research by creating tables, charts and graphs
Presents research findings at biweekly team meetings and answers fellow researchers' questions
Uses various science software for data capturing and analysis
Implements feedback from my supervisor regarding research content and organization

Green Science Center, Biology Intern

December 2019–December 2020

Assisted biologists in amphibian research focused on invasive species and pollution
Gathered materials and collected data on wildlife populations for experiments
Traveled to various ecosystems to collect environmental samples