CV for Masters application

Eng102

Hi,

I'm in the process of applying for a Masters and have to upload my CV as part of it. Now, I'm presuming that this should be an "academic" CV but I really don't know what to present. The guide to the application process mentions nothing about it.

I spoke to a friend and she suggested that they probably want a breakdown of all of my results etc. but that seems a bit pointless seeing as I'll also be uploading my transcript.

Any thoughts?

jon1981

depends on the masters,

im applying for a masters and they are looking for a work experience orientated CV. so read the application criteria and try and gauge what they want or contact the course director.

Cannibal Ox

Do both? Have your education section first (maybe) and do something like:

Leaving Cert:
Topics covered included:
Business
History
etc., etc.,

BA Politics
Modules studied included:
Irish Politics
EU Politics
etc., etc.

Don't list all of your modules or classes, just list ones that you think are particularly relevant to the masters. You don't want it to be too long.

You could also include things like disserations, research projects, etc., etc. If you have an interest section, keep to academic interests that relate to the masters.

Than list your work experience, but I'd only really list it if it's relevant to the masters. So...there's not much point telling them you worked in an Off Licence if it's an MA in Chemistry.

Someone'll probably tell you different, and it does depend on the MA subject, but also, worth keeping in mind that most people heading straight/ish into an MA won't really have any more experience then you, so don't worry too much about it.

claire h

Oxless Cannibal wrote: »

So...there's not much point telling them you worked in an Off Licence if it's an MA in Chemistry.

Surely that's super-relevant? Chemistry involves alcohol, right? [also, surely a MSc in Chemistry? MA in Chemistry sounds like there might be a thesis in the postmodern implications of chemistry in society involved somehow. Which would be pretty cool, but still...]

OP, have you seen a copy of your transcript yet? May just list final marks rather than marks in each module/course, may not include even the specific modules/courses you took, or whether you did a dissertation/FYP or not, so there's plenty of room for elaborating in your CV.

Eng102

Thanks for the replies so far.

@claire h: I have seen my transcript and it has a breakdown of every course I did in each year of the degree and the marks I got. It also states that I did a final year project but doesn't go into any detail. To be honest, my project was pretty crap so I probably don't want to draw too much attention to it. I got a decent grade but did much better in my other subjects.

@Oxless Cannibal: Some of the jobs I have held in the last couple of years are relevant to the degree but most are not. Would it look weird to put down only Job A which I did in 2004 and Job B which I did in 2007, leaving gaps in between?

Regarding talking about the modules I took, I did probably 10+ modules per year and they'll see all of that on the transcript. I guess I could pull out the ones directly relevant to the course in question and list them.

@jon1981: I get the impression that it's aimed at recent grads and also those who have been working in the industry for a couple of years.

Cannibal Ox

Eng102 wrote:

@Oxless Cannibal: Some of the jobs I have held in the last couple of years are relevant to the degree but most are not. Would it look weird to put down only Job A which I did in 2004 and Job B which I did in 2007, leaving gaps in between?

I know it might look weird, but then again, so does sticking in stuff about working for Arnotts or Spar or Xtravision or what ever kids do these days. Keep it short, keep it relevant. They will only care about stuff that is relevant, and they'll probably be more concerned with your results/transcripts, so it's unlikely they'll spend to much time looking at it.

Eng102 wrote:

Regarding talking about the modules I took, I did probably 10+ modules per year and they'll see all of that on the transcript. I guess I could pull out the ones directly relevant to the course in question and list them.

That's what I do. Granted, I don't have a job now, but I am doing a Masters now, and at one stage in my life, I did have a job. I miss having a job. It was nice being paid. I don't like being a poor student anymore. I'm so hungry.

claire h wrote:

Surely that's super-relevant? Chemistry involves alcohol, right?

If I'd known that, I wouldn't have dropped chemistry.

gutenberg

Sorry to be dragging up an old thread, but it seemed better to continue a conversation rather than start a new thread altogether.

I have to do a one-page academic CV for a master's programme. Is it acceptable/normal to include specific grades & courses under the education section? For example, it's a history course & at the moment I have included third & fourth year modules that are relevant to the particular course- should I include the grade I achieved in them?

The reason I'm asking is because this CV is for a scholarship, and the department I'll be joining hasn't actually seen my fourth year results yet, as I applied during my final year. I got some pretty good results in my final exams, especially the dissertation (which is in the period of history covered on the Master's), so I'd like to include them explicitly, if that's not considered... I dunno, vulgar? Superfluous?

So at the moment I have something like this:

Education

BA History

Research Dissertation (brief explanation of thesis): 73%

• Course X: 75%
• Course Y: 77%
• Course Z: 70%

I won't be submitting a transcript to them, they only want this CV & a research proposal.