Research CV for PhD Scholarships: Template With Publications, Projects and Skills

A CV for a PhD scholarship is different from a job resume. Professors and selection panels read it to answer one question: can this person do research? This guide explains what a research CV must show, how to order it, and how to list publications and projects, with a template you can copy.

What a research CV must show

• Training: your degrees, grades and thesis topics.
• Research experience: what you worked on, with which methods and under whom.
• Output: publications, conference papers, posters, reports or code.
• Skills: the techniques, instruments and software you can use without supervision.
• Recognition: scholarships, awards and grants.

Professors often read the CV before anything else, including when you email them, so it has to make sense on its own.

The best order for a research CV

1. Contact details and links, such as Google Scholar, ORCID or GitHub
2. Research interests, in two or three lines
3. Education, with thesis titles and supervisors
4. Research experience
5. Publications and presentations
6. Technical and research skills
7. Awards, scholarships and grants
8. Teaching and other experience
9. Referees

Two pages is normal. Go to three only if you have a real publication list.

How to write each section

Research interests

Name the specific area, not the whole field. Write something like antibiotic resistance in soil bacteria, not microbiology. Match this section to the group you are applying to, without copying their website.

Education

For each degree give the university, years, grade with scale, thesis title and supervisor. Add relevant advanced courses if you have little research experience.

Research experience

For each project give the title, lab or group, supervisor and dates. Then write two to four lines on what you did: the question, the method, your own role and the result. Be honest about your role in group work.

Publications

Use one citation style throughout, and list the newest first. Separate the types: journal articles, conference papers, posters and work under review. Mark work that is submitted or in preparation clearly, and never list it as published. Put your own name in bold.

Skills

Group them: laboratory techniques, instruments, programming, statistics and software. List what you can actually do. A professor may ask you about any item.

Copy-paste research CV template

If you have no publications

Many successful PhD applicants have none. Use what you have:

• Your thesis, with a two-line summary of the result.
• A conference poster or departmental seminar.
• A technical report, dataset or code repository.
• A manuscript in preparation, labelled as such, if a draft really exists.

Then give more space to research experience and skills.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Listing a paper as published when it is only submitted.
• Describing a project without saying what you did yourself.
• A long skills list with techniques you have only watched.
• Different citation styles in one list.
• Sending a business-style resume with an objective statement and no thesis details.
• Not updating the research interests for each professor or programme.

How to describe your research in three lines

Every research entry should answer three questions: what was the question, what did you do, and what did you find? Readers from other fields must be able to follow it.

MPhil Thesis, Department of Environmental Science (2024-2026)
Question: How much arsenic reaches drinking water in three tehsils of southern Punjab?
Methods: Sampled 180 hand pumps; analysed with atomic absorption spectroscopy; mapped results in QGIS
Result: 31% of samples exceeded the WHO guideline; findings shared with the district public health office

Name your own contribution. If you worked in a team, say which part was yours.

The skills section: methods first

For a PhD application, your methods are your most valuable asset. Group them so that a supervisor can scan them in ten seconds.

• Laboratory or field methods: the techniques you can perform without help.
• Data analysis: the software, and the kinds of analysis you have run.
• Programming: the languages, with one example of what you built.
• Research tools: reference managers, survey platforms and design software.
• Languages: with test scores where you have them.

For each skill, be ready to say where you used it. Supervisors often ask.

Publications: honest labels

Put your name in bold in each citation, and keep the real order of the authors. Never list a paper as published before it is. This can end an application.

Match your CV to the supervisor and the scholarship

1. Read the supervisor’s recent papers and the scholarship’s criteria.
2. Move the experience that is closest to their work to the top of your research section.
3. Use the same technical terms that they use, where these describe what you really did.
4. Check that your CV, your proposal and your e-mail tell the same story.

Teaching, service and awards

PhD scholarships often look for more than research. Add short sections for teaching (courses you assisted with, and the number of students), academic service (reviewing, organising seminars, student representation) and awards (the name, who gave it, the year and how selective it was). The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, for example, lists communication skills and leadership abilities among its selection criteria, beside academic excellence and research ability.

Length and layout

Two to four pages is normal for a research CV. Use one column, clear headings and reverse order by date. Save it as a PDF. Do not add a photo or personal details that the application does not ask for.

A final check before you send it to a supervisor

• Can a reader find your research question and your methods in the first half of page one?
• Is every publication labelled with its true status?
• Does each skill have a place where you used it?
• Are your referees’ names and details correct and current, if you list them?
• Has your current supervisor or a senior student read it?

Questions supervisors often ask about your CV

If a supervisor replies to you, expect questions like these. Prepare short, honest answers.

• What exactly was your part in this project? Be ready to separate your work from your team’s.
• Why did you choose this method? Give one reason, and one limitation you noticed.
• What would you do differently now? This shows that you can think critically about your own work.
• Can you use this software without help? Say yes only if it is true, and describe one task you did with it.
• What is the status of this paper? Know where each manuscript is, and what remains to be done.

Research CV and research statement: do not mix them

The CV is a record of facts: what you studied, what you did, with which methods and with what result. It uses short lines and dates. The research statement or proposal is where you explain your ideas, your reasons and your plans in full sentences. If a paragraph in your CV starts to explain why a topic matters, move it to your statement and keep one factual line in the CV.

Frequently asked questions

Should I send my research CV in my first e-mail to a supervisor?

Yes. Attach it as a PDF of two to four pages, together with a one-page research idea.

Should I list work that is not related to research?

Briefly, if it explains a gap or shows useful skills such as project management or teaching. Keep the focus on research.

Do I need a different CV for each supervisor?

Keep one master CV, and change the order and emphasis for each supervisor. The facts stay the same.

How long should a research CV be?

Usually two pages for a master’s graduate applying to a PhD.

Should I include my grades?

Yes, with the scale. Academic record is a main criterion for most PhD scholarships.

Do I need a photo?

Not unless the scholarship or country asks for one.

Should I attach the CV when I email a professor?

Yes. Attach it as a PDF and keep the email short.

Next steps

Use this CV when you email professors for scholarships such as CAS-ANSO, the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship and SINGA. For a general academic layout, see our academic CV template.