Resume guide · Updated October 2026
Professor Resume Example and Writing Guide (Plus Academic CV Tips)
Short answer
A professor resume or academic CV should list your education first (PhD, institution, dissertation title), then teaching experience with courses and enrollment, research with publications and grants, and service such as committees and advising. Put research or teaching first depending on the institution, and keep a two-page resume for industry or administrative roles.
| Median pay (May 2025) | $85,330 per year |
|---|---|
| Job outlook, 2025-35 | 7% (Much faster than average) |
| Number of jobs | 1,378,200 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Postsecondary Teachers, checked 27 October 2026.
Professor resume example
Below is a full professor resume for Lauren Whitfield, a fictional associate Professor of Biology, Freshwater Ecology in Spokane, WA. Keep the section order, then replace each line with your own work and results.
Lauren Whitfield, PhD
Associate Professor of Biology, Freshwater Ecology
Spokane, WA · lauren.whitfield@example.com · (555) 011-7724 · linkedin.com/in/laurenwhitfieldphd
Summary
Associate professor of biology with 9 years of teaching and research at a regional comprehensive university. Teaches 3 courses a semester, including a 180-student introductory lecture, and runs an undergraduate research lab in freshwater ecology funded by state and federal grants. 14 peer-reviewed articles; chair of the department curriculum committee.
Experience
Associate Professor of Biology (tenured 2023), Eastern Cascade University
Aug 2023 to present
Spokane, WA
- Teach 3 courses per semester, including Introductory Biology (180 students, 4 lab sections) and an upper-division Limnology course with a field lab (24 students).
- Principal investigator on a 3-year, $412,000 state water quality grant; employ 6 undergraduate researchers each year.
- Chair the curriculum committee that redesigned the biology core; the DFW rate in the intro sequence fell from 31% to 22% in two years.
- Supervised 21 undergraduate theses; 9 students presented at regional conferences and 5 entered graduate programs.
Assistant Professor of Biology, Eastern Cascade University
Aug 2017 to Jul 2023
Spokane, WA
- Built a freshwater ecology lab from start-up funds and published 8 peer-reviewed articles with 11 student coauthors.
- Developed 2 new courses, Aquatic Ecology and Data Analysis in R for Biologists, approved by the faculty senate.
- Received the college teaching award in 2021 after redesigning lab sections around student-led field projects.
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Northern Plains University
Sep 2015 to Jul 2017
Fargo, ND
- Analyzed 10 years of lake monitoring data in R and coauthored 4 papers on nutrient loading.
- Co-taught a graduate statistics seminar and supervised 3 summer field technicians.
- Wrote the methods and data management plan for a funded federal research proposal.
Selected publications (sample entries)
- Whitfield L, Ortiz M*, Chen J*. 2025. Winter nutrient release in shallow lakes. Journal of Freshwater Systems 12(3): 44-58. (*undergraduate coauthor)
- Whitfield L, Amos R. 2022. Long-term phosphorus trends in regional reservoirs. Lake and Reservoir Studies 8(1): 101-117.
Education
PhD, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Prairie Hills University · Dissertation: Nutrient cycling in prairie pothole wetlands
2015
BS, Biology, Coastal Ridge College
2009
Skills
Course design and assessment · Large-lecture teaching · Laboratory and field instruction · Grant writing · Statistical analysis in R · Water chemistry methods · Undergraduate research mentoring · Canvas
Professor resume summary examples
3 professor summaries, one each for new PhD (first faculty job), tenured professor (research university) and community college (teaching focus). Pick the closest and rewrite it with your own title, years and one real result.
Ecology PhD (May 2026) with 4 semesters as instructor of record for introductory biology labs and 3 first-author publications. Seeking a tenure-track assistant professor role at a teaching-focused institution; completed a campus certificate in evidence-based teaching.
Professor of mechanical engineering with 15 years of externally funded research in additive manufacturing, $6.8 million in grants as PI or co-PI and 60 journal articles. Advised 12 PhD students to completion; teaches graduate courses in materials processing.
English instructor with 8 years at a community college teaching 5 sections a semester of composition and developmental reading. Coordinates the co-requisite writing program, trains adjunct faculty and teaches online in Canvas with Quality Matters reviewed courses.
Professor resume objective examples
Use an objective instead of a summary for industry professional moving into teaching, phD candidate and professor moving into industry situations: one or two sentences on what you bring and the professor job you want.
Data engineer with 10 years of industry experience and an MS in computer science, seeking an adjunct or lecturer role teaching database and Python courses, bringing real project examples and 3 years of corporate training.
PhD candidate in history, with the defense scheduled for April 2027, seeking a visiting assistant professor position after teaching 6 courses as instructor of record.
Tenured associate professor of psychology moving into UX research, bringing 12 years of study design, survey methods and statistics, plus experience presenting findings to non-specialists.
Professor resume bullet points
Bullets grouped by teaching and course design, research, publications and grants, mentoring and advising and service and leadership. The numbers are illustrations; put in your own.
Teaching and course design
- Teach 4 courses a semester, including a 200-student introductory psychology lecture with 4 teaching assistants.
- Redesigned Calculus I with weekly active-learning workshops; the DFW rate fell from 34% to 24% over 3 years.
- Developed 3 online courses in Canvas reviewed against Quality Matters standards.
Research, publications and grants
- Published 14 peer-reviewed articles, 9 with undergraduate coauthors, on freshwater ecology and water quality.
- Principal investigator on a 3-year, $412,000 state grant studying winter nutrient release in shallow lakes.
- Co-PI on a $1.2 million federal training grant supporting 18 graduate fellows.
Mentoring and advising
- Advised 8 PhD students to completion; 5 now hold faculty or postdoctoral positions.
- Advise 35 undergraduate majors each year on course planning, internships and graduate school applications.
- Supervised 21 undergraduate honors theses, 9 of them presented at regional conferences.
Service and leadership
- Chair the department curriculum committee, leading a redesign of the major core approved by the faculty senate.
- Led the department self-study for regional accreditation, compiling assessment data for 6 programs.
- Serve as associate editor for a regional ecology journal, handling 30 manuscripts a year.
Skills for a professor resume
16 skills employers list in professor postings. Include the ones the posting asks for and that your bullets prove.
| Type | Skills |
|---|---|
| Hard skills | Course design and syllabus development, Learning outcomes assessment, Lecture, lab and seminar teaching, Online and hybrid course delivery, Grant writing and management, Research design, Statistical analysis, Academic publishing and peer review, Student advising and mentoring, Accreditation reporting |
| Soft skills | Public speaking, Clear academic writing, Mentorship, Collaboration across departments, Balancing teaching, research and service, Openness to feedback |
| Tools and software | Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Zoom, R, SPSS, NVivo, Zotero, LaTeX |
Do professors need a resume or an academic CV?
For faculty jobs, send a CV. MIT's career office describes the CV as a comprehensive scholarly record used for teaching, research, fellowship, grant and tenure decisions, while a resume is a brief, tailored document of 1 to 2 pages for industry and other non-academic roles.
Professors need a true resume in a few situations: academic administration and staff roles, adjunct openings that ask for one, consulting, and moves into industry. In those cases, translate research and teaching into skills and results, and cut the publication list to a few highlights.
What order should sections go in on a professor CV?
Start with contact details and education: PhD, institution, year, dissertation title and advisor. After that, put first what the institution values most: research and publications for research universities, teaching for liberal arts colleges, regional universities and community colleges. MIT CAPD gives the same advice: decide what matters most to the reader and put that section first.
List appointments with rank and dates and note tenure ("tenured 2023"). The BLS notes that reaching tenure can take up to 7 years of moving through the assistant, associate and full professor ranks, so search committees read rank and dates closely. A common order for a research-focused CV:
- Education
- Academic appointments
- Publications (peer-reviewed first)
- Grants and fellowships
- Teaching experience
- Mentoring and advising
- Presentations and invited talks
- Service to the department, university and profession
- Professional memberships and references
How long should a professor CV or resume be?
A CV has no page limit and grows with your record. Berkeley's career center says 3 to 5 pages is the norm for most ABDs and recent PhDs, and MIT CAPD suggests about 2 to 4 pages early in a career and 4 to 7 pages for people with more experience.
A professor's resume for a non-academic or administrative job should be 2 pages. Keep the complete CV as your master document and build each shorter resume from it.
How should you describe teaching on a professor resume?
List each course by title and level, how many times you taught it, enrollment and format (lecture, lab, seminar, online). Say whether you were instructor of record or a teaching assistant, because search committees read those very differently.
Show teaching results you can document: courses you designed or redesigned, changes in pass rates, student research outcomes, teaching awards or a teaching certificate. Mention evaluation scores only if they are strong and the institution emphasizes teaching, and save your philosophy for the teaching statement.
How do you list publications and grants?
Use the citation style of your field, list items in reverse chronological order and separate peer-reviewed articles from book chapters, reviews and works in progress. Label manuscripts "under review" or "in press" only when that is their actual status, and mark student coauthors with an asterisk if your discipline does.
For grants, give the funder, project title, your role (PI, co-PI or senior personnel), amount and dates. Include unfunded proposals only early in your career, labelled as submitted.
ATS keywords for a professor resume
Terms that show up in professor job postings. Mirror the exact wording of the posting you apply to, but only for work you have done.
- Professor
- Assistant Professor
- Associate Professor
- faculty
- PhD
- tenure-track
- curriculum development
- course design
- instructor of record
- research
- peer-reviewed publications
- grant writing
- principal investigator
- student advising
- mentoring
- assessment
- Canvas
- committee service
- accreditation
- online teaching
Mistakes to avoid on a professor resume
- Sending a one-page resume to a faculty search. Committees expect a full CV with publications, teaching and service.
- Sending a 15-page CV for an industry job. Cut it to a two-page resume that turns research into skills and results.
- Hiding the teaching. Teaching-focused institutions want course titles, enrollments and new courses near the top.
- Overstating publication status. Do not list a manuscript as "forthcoming" or "in press" before it is accepted.
- One CV for every institution. The same order rarely fits both a research university and a community college.
Frequently asked questions
What should a professor put on a resume?
Education with your PhD and dissertation, teaching experience with courses and enrollment, research with publications and grants, mentoring and service. For non-academic jobs, turn that into a two-page resume that shows skills and results instead of a full publication list.
Do professors use a resume or a CV?
Faculty applications use a CV, a complete record of teaching, research and service. A resume is used for industry, administrative, consulting and some adjunct roles.
How long should a professor CV be?
There is no limit. University career centers suggest 3 to 5 pages for recent PhDs and longer for experienced faculty, while a resume for non-academic jobs should stay at 2 pages.
How do I write a resume for an adjunct professor position?
Lead with your highest degree and teaching experience, list the courses you can teach, and show professional experience that makes you useful in the classroom. Include course design, online teaching and LMS experience such as Canvas or Blackboard.
How much do professors make?
The BLS reports a median pay of $85,330 per year for postsecondary teachers in May 2025. Pay differs by field, rank and type of institution.
How do I turn an academic CV into an industry resume?
Cut it to two pages, replace the publication list with 3 to 5 results-focused bullets per role, and translate academic work into skills: study design, statistics, writing, budgets and training others. Add a summary that names the target job.
Should I include teaching evaluations on my CV?
Only short, strong results, such as a mean score or a teaching award, and mainly for teaching-focused institutions. Put detailed evaluations in a teaching portfolio if the application asks for one.
Related guides
Sources, checked 27 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Postsecondary Teachers (median pay, outlook, number of jobs, tenure and degree requirements)
- MIT Career Advising & Professional Development: Curricula vitae (CVs) (CV versus resume, CV sections and order, CV length)
- UC Berkeley Career Engagement: The CV, Part 1: Overview (CV length for ABDs and recent PhDs; tailoring by position)