What to Include in the Education Section of a Resume

What to Include in the Education Section of a ResumeWhat to Include in the Education Section of a ResumeWhats the best way to include youreducation on your resume? In the education section of your resume, list the schools you attended, the degrees you attained, your GPA if you are a student or a recent graduate, and any special awards and honors you earned. You should tailor the education section of your resume to fit your circumstances, including whether or not you are still a student, how much work experience you have, and how many academic achievements you have. By including the right information in the education section of your resume, you can impress your employer and secure an interview. What to Include in the Education Section of Your Resume The essential information to include in the education section is your degree(s) and the schools you attended. You can also give more specific information, including your major and minor. You can also include the year you graduated, alt hough that is not required. Include your grade point average (GPA) if you are currently a student or are 1-2 years out of school, and if your GPA is strong (about a 3.5 or higher). Also, include any honors or awards you have received in school. These can range from Latin honors (such as cum laude or magna cum laude) to Deans List to other awards. You can also include extracurricular clubs, charitable groups, or Greek organizations where you were active and/or held a leadership role. Also, include any professional development courses and certifications. You can also list any licenses you have unless you have a separate section of your resume where you include this information. Where to Put the Education Section of Your Resume Current students or recent college graduates will likely want to put the education section towards the top of the resume. This is because students typically have limited work experience. In this case, you want to highlight your academic successes. If you hav e been out of school for at least a couple years, you might move this section towards the bottom of your resume. By this time, you have enough work experience to highlight that you dont need to rely on your education. Tips for the Education Section of Your Resume Consider subsections. If you have a lot of information to include in the education section of your resume, consider breaking this section into subsections. The main section might include your schools and degrees, and then you can have other sections such as Awards and Honors, Certifications, and Professional Development. If you held a leadership role in a school-affiliated organization (such as a club, sport, or Greek organization), you can list that below the Awards and Honors line. Provide specifics (if useful). If the sub-college of your university is well known and relevant (e.g., say you graduated from the hospitality school of your university and are applying for a job in hospitality) you can include that before y ou include your university name. For example, you could say School of Hospitality, XYZ College. You can leave out your GPA. If you are a student or recent graduate and your GPA wasnt great, but you have other accolades, just leave the GPA out and put something else, like XYZ Award Recipient. Once you are out of school for a couple years, you should take your GPA out of your resume no matter what. You can leave out high school (after a while). Once you have been in college for a year or so (or once you are in some other sort of continuing education), you can leave your high school degree and GPA out of your resume. However, you should mention your high school diploma (or GED) if it is your highest degree. Tell the truth. It is very easy for an employer to confirm whether or not the education information in your resume is true or not. He or she can simply check your transcript. Therefore, be honest. For example, if you are not happy with your GPA, leave it out, but dont make it up. Resume Education Section Template You can use the following vorlage to help structure the education section of your resume. Keep in mind that you can change and remove any of this information to fit your own circumstances and the job for which you are applying. EDUCATION SECTION College NameYear of graduationDegree, Major, and MinorGPA Awards and HonorsInclude any academic achievements here, including Latin honors, honors within your major, and more. CertificationsInclude any professional or educational certifications you have received. Professional DevelopmentInclude any professional development experiences, including courses (both online and in person) and seminars. You might also mention here if you are a member of any relevant professional organizations. If you hold a position within the organization, mention that as well. Education Section Examples Resume Education Section Example 1 (Text Version) Huntown CollegeMay 20XXBachelor of Arts in English, Department honors3.8 GP A ExpandResume Education Section Example 2 (Text Version) EDUCATIONXYZ CollegeBachelor of Arts in JournalismAwards and HonorsSumma cum laudeABC Award for outstanding journalism majorCertificationsLevel 1 Strategic Communication CertificationProfessional DevelopmentConference Coordinator, XYZ Journalism Association of America Expand