Many job seekers want to know how to best show their educational background to recruiters and hiring managers. Because of that, I wrote this post about the resume education section.
As you look at the post, you will notice it’s comprehensive. Thus, you can read all of it or skip to the parts that interest you the most.
I cover the following topics:
- A high-level description of your education section’s content
- 10 tips for listing your education
- Degrees (with examples)
- Academic achievements (with examples)
- Thesis and dissertation topics (with examples)
- The approach to take if you didn’t graduate (with examples)
- Education-related topics to omit
- Non-degreed training (with examples)
- Professional licenses (with examples)
- Language skills (with examples)
- How to place your education section on your resume
- Headings to use for your education section (with examples)
- How to order your education (with examples)
Using the list above as a guide, please read on:
1. Resume Education Section Content
First, you’ll need to think about the educational background you want to show in your resume. These are the most common categories:
- Degrees (associate, undergraduate, graduate)
- Fellowships
- Academic honors
- Certificates
- Coursework
You can also group the following categories with education to save space:
- Certifications
- Licenses
- Language skills
2. 10 Tips for Listing Education on Your Resume
With content in mind, here are 10 tips for showing your educational background:
- Abbreviate common degrees to their initials (BA, not Bachelor of Arts).
- Lead with the type of degree (AA, BA, MS, PhD).
- Omit periods when listing degrees (MBA, not M.B.A.).
- Show the subject after the degree (BS, Physics).
- Use ampersands (BA, English & Speech; not BA, English and Speech).
- List university names after degrees and subjects.
- List a school within a university first, then show the university.
- Verify school, college, and university names online.
- Show locations only if people won’t know your university.
- Show your graduation date if your experience section goes back that far.
3. How to Show Degrees & Fellowships on Your Resume
Next, to help you visualize the tips shared above, here are examples of how you might list your degrees on your resume:
PhD, Astrophysics, City University of New York
BS, Physics, Rutgers University
***
PhD, Geography, University of British Columbia (Fulbright Scholar)
MS, Public Policy, University of Oregon
BA, English, Lewis & Clark College
***
PharmD, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL, 2013
BS, Biology (with honors), Utrecht University, Rotterdam, NL, 2005
***
JD, Stanford Law School, Stanford University, 1993
BA, Political Science, Morehouse College, 1990
***
MBA, Graziadio Business School, Pepperdine University, 2002
BA, Accounting, Ohio State University, 1986
***
Master of Software Engineering, Dehli University, 1996
BA, Political Science, Dehli University, 1992
***
MPA, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 2019
BA, French, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, 2010
***
BS, Finance (Minor: Information Systems), New York University, 1989
***
AA, Health Sciences, GPA: 3.4, College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA
4. How to Show Academic Achievement on Your Resume
After you have the basics of your degrees down, you might want to add honors you’ve earned. Honors include:
- Cum laude
- Magna cum laude
- Summa cum laude
- Phi Beta Kappa
Share your honors on your resume, but keep them simple. I prefer to write “with honors” rather than going into detail.
Also, don’t mention dean’s list honors. Readers want to see your big achievements, not that you had a good quarter or semester.
In addition, list your GPA if you’re a student or a new grad and it’s higher than 3.0. If not, leave it out.
5. How to Show Your Thesis or Dissertation on Your Resume
As an aside, I often get asked, “Should I include the title of my thesis on my resume?” Do so if your research was on point to your job search. If not, don’t.
6. How to Show Your Education on Your Resume If You Didn’t Graduate
While everything above helps people with degrees, what if you didn’t finish a degree? You can still list that education on your resume. (If you didn’t go to college, see the section on training and coursework below.)
Examples:
Graduate Coursework, Change Management, American University, 2020
***
MBA Courses, Loyola University, Chicago, IL
***
General Studies, University of Georgia, 2005 to 2006
7. School Information to Leave Off Your Resume
Another aside, if you’re looking for a professional-level job, omit:
- High school information (always)
- Extracurricular activities (after you’ve been out of school one or two years)
Recruiters want to see that you’ve moved on to adulting, not that you’re stuck in your high school or college years.
If you want to connect with alums, do so via your cover letters.
8a. How to Show Certificates on Your Resume
Moving on from degrees, over the last several years, certificate programs have emerged as a credible way to learn new subject matter. When they’re relevant to your job search, they belong on your resume.
Examples:
Certificate, Database Architecture, University of California Irvine
***
Certificate, Machine Learning, Stanford University/Coursera, 2021
***
Certificate, Role of Non-Executive Director, Institute of Directors, 2017
8b. Relevant Coursework, Training & Certifications
In addition to certificate programs, many people complete other studies to help their careers. If the knowledge is on point to your job search, include it on your resume. If not, don’t list it.
Training
Examples:
Financial Modeling, Investment Banking Institute
***
Improv Level A & B, The Second City
***
Extensive Leadership & Business Process Training, 1994 to 2004
Leadership Training
There’s one type of training you should almost always include on your resume — leadership development programs.
They help your readers understand that your company has invested in you as a “high potential” and that you have learned the basics of leadership science.
Examples:
Executive Management Program
Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
***
Global Top Executive Program, Unilever, 2013 to 2014
***
Leading with Impact, Harvard Business School
Certifications
Some training results in certification on proprietary intellectual property. If the IP is relevant to your job search, include it on your resume. If not, don’t list it.
Also, if the certification has a well-known acronym, include it in parentheses. It could be a keyword recruiters want to see.
Examples:
Certified Practitioner, MBTI Steps I & II, Myers & Briggs Foundation
***
Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute
***
Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
Human Resource Certification Institute, 2019
9. Licenses
You can save space on your resume by grouping professional licenses with your education. Some certifications and licenses also work at the top of your resume.
Examples:
Certified Public Accountant (CPA), State of Florida, 2007
***
FINRA License Holder — Series 7, 24 & 63
***
Real Estate Broker, License Number 493999, Washington State
***
You can show a license that’s in process like this:
CPA Candidate, completed FAR & AUD sections
10. Languages
You can also save space on your resume by grouping your language skills with your education.
Examples:
Bilingual, English & Spanish
***
Fluent English & Italian
***
Fluent English, French & Hebrew
11. Where to Locate the Education Section of Your Resume
Your education section will usually follow the professional experience section of your resume. You can lead with it if you’re a student or recent graduate.
Also, you might feature another element of your background before your education if it’s more on point to your job search (board memberships, patents, awards, etc.).
12. Resume Education Section Headings
Your resume’s education section heading might look like this:
- Education
- Education & Certifications
- Education, Licenses & Certifications
- Education & Languages
13. How to Order Information in Your Resume’s Education Section
Now that you know what to put in it, where to place it, and what to call it, how should you order your education on your resume?
In general:
- Prioritize degrees over non-degreed education.
- Show degrees in reverse chronological order.
- Follow degrees with other education in reverse chronological order.
Example:
MBA, Rice University, 2003
MA, Engineering, University of Vermont, 1990
BA, Geology, University of Colorado Boulder, 1987
Licensed Professional Engineer (PE), State of Texas
Executive Leadership Program, Exxon Mobil, 2010
Fluent English & Arabic
Break those rules when you want to show your most relevant educational background first.
Example:
Data Science Certificate, Northwestern University, 2019
BA, Marketing, University of Texas at Austin, 2013
What Do Recruiters Want to Know About Your Education
Throughout this post, I’ve said to include information in your resume’s education section if it’s “on point” or “relevant” to your job search. Recruiters want to know:
- If you have a degree(s)
- About other on-point education
- Not much else
That said, research conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently shows the more you learn the more you earn:
“Median weekly earnings in 2018 for those with the highest levels of educational attainment—doctoral and professional degrees—were more than triple those with the lowest level, less than a high school diploma.
And workers with at least a bachelor’s degree earned more than the $932 median weekly earnings for all workers.”
Questions About How to Present Your Educational Background
Finally, do you have a question about how to show your educational background on your resume? I encourage you to ask it in the comments section below.
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Featured on CareerSherpa
Image: Thomas Bethge
Updated March 2022
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Donna Svei, an executive resume writer and former C-level executive, retained search consultant, and CPA, authors all of AvidCareerist’s posts.
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Comments 8
Why ampersands instead of “and” — just brevity? I wondered about bad ATS ability to read amperstans.
Hi Ellie,
Thanks for asking. A few things about ampersands:
1. They give a cleaner look.
2. They take up two characters less space. Sometimes you need every single space you can get in the education section.
3. I don’t worry about applicant tracking systems because “and” is an article; it’s most likely parsed out by the ATS.
Donna
Thanks for this very helpful post. The examples are especially useful. I know our clients will benefit from your wisdom.
#2 – I always wondered if I was correct about not putting periods in degrees, thanks for confirming this!
#7 – Regarding extracurricular activities, this is rare, but I have run into situations where a college extracurricular activity aligned closely with the client’s job target (when they were in early to mid-career).
In one case, the client had helped place college students in internships as an extracurricular activity in college and she was applying for a job managing a college internship program.
Another example was when the client had experience working for a historical museum and was targeting work for an art museum. The job seeker had designed exhibits for an art museum as an intern in college. That was too on target for her to exclude it.
# 8b This example is helpful: “Extensive Leadership & Business Process Training, 1994 to 2004” because sometimes people have taken a lot of Training courses with their company, and it’s too many to list. I believe this approach could prompt an employer to ask for more detail if they were looking for certain types of training.
And your examples of acronyms to include: “MBTI, PMP, and SPHR” are right on point, as they are acronyms a recruiter or hiring manager might skim for in a resume.
#12 – I believe a header might include the word Training as well: Education & Training.
Great post! This is a complete guide!
Hi Donna,
It’s a guide made more complete by thoughtful comments like the one you just wrote and like Ellie’s.
Thank you so much!
Donna
Great blog ..The information that you have shared about What Recruiters Want to Know About Your Education is very useful..Thank u so much for sharing the article with readers..Do keep sharing such nice posts with readers…!!
CB,
You’re welcome!
Donna
Hi Donna,
Loved that all you have shared , and this will really help me alot in my career.
Thanks for sharing.
Aman,
You’re welcome. I had been wanting to write a comprehensive post about education on resumes for quite awhile. I’m glad you liked it!
Donna