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Professor CV example

An academic CV for a full professor with 18 years on the faculty, used for an endowed chair or leadership application. At this stage, the challenge is selection: the reader wants the arc of a career, the most important work, sustained funding, trainees placed and leadership, without wading through every entry.

Professor resume example, page 1 of 2BEATRIZ LACERDAProfessor of Ecologybeatriz.lacerda@example.com | (970) 555-0124 | Fort Collins, CO | lacerdalab.example.comEDUCATIONPh.D. in Ecology2001 – 2006Duke UniversityDurham, NCB.S. in Biological Sciences1996 – 2000University of São PauloSão Paulo, BrazilRESEARCH INTERESTSHow grassland plant communities and their soils respond to drought, grazing and a warming climate, and how that knowledge can guiderangeland management. My group runs long-term field experiments across the western Great Plains and builds models that ranchers andland agencies use.ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTSProfessor, Department of BiologyJul 2019 – PresentColorado State UniversityFort Collins, CO•Director, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology (2022 to present), 140 students across 8 departments.Associate Professor, Department of BiologyJul 2013 – Jun 2019Colorado State UniversityFort Collins, COAssistant Professor, Department of BiologyAug 2008 – Jun 2013Colorado State UniversityFort Collins, COPostdoctoral Researcher2006 – 2008Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado BoulderBoulder, COSELECTED PUBLICATIONS (OF 96; H-INDEX 48)Two decades of experimental drought reveal thresholds in grassland recovery2025Science•M. Okafor-Reyes, D. Tsosie, B. LacerdaGrazing timing buffers forage production against drought across the western Great Plains2024Ecological Applications•H. Lindqvist, B. LacerdaSoil microbial legacies of drought shape plant community reassembly2022Ecology Letters•R. Amari, B. Lacerda, J. WhitcombeA coordinated global network of drought experiments2020Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences•K. Halvorsen, B. Lacerda, and 60 network membersPrecipitation variability, not totals, predicts productivity in semiarid grasslands2016Ecology•B. Lacerda, P. NakamuraRangeland drought decision tool: a model for ranchers and land managers2014Rangeland Ecology & Management•B. Lacerda, T. Okonjo, S. HartBeatriz Lacerda · 1 / 2
Professor resume example, page 2 of 2GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPSLong-Term Ecological Research site renewal (lead PI)2024National Science Foundation•$7.2 million, 2024 to 2030.Drought resilience of working rangelands (PI)2022USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture•$1.1 million, 2022 to 2026.Research Coordination Network on drought experiments (co-PI)2018National Science Foundation•$500,000, 2018 to 2023.Fellow2021Ecological Society of AmericaTEACHING AND MENTORING•Undergraduate Ecology, 150 to 220 students, taught annually since 2009; department teaching award, 2017.•Graduate Field Methods in Ecology, 15 students, every other summer.•Advised 14 Ph.D. and 9 M.S. students to completion and 11 postdocs; 9 former trainees hold faculty positions.SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP•Associate editor, Ecological Applications (2018 to 2023); NSF review panels (12 since 2010).•Advisory board, a state rangeland management working group (2019 to present).•University promotion and tenure committee (2023 to 2025).INVITED TALKS•Plenary, Ecological Society of America annual meeting, 2024; more than 45 invited seminars in 9 countries.Beatriz Lacerda · 2 / 2
ProfessorUse this CV

What recruiters look for

  • Influential work: the papers and contributions that shaped the field, not only the count.
  • Sustained funding: long-running and large grants, with your role on each.
  • Trainees placed: Ph.D. students and postdocs supervised and where they are now.
  • Leadership: programs directed, editorial roles, national committees, society fellowships.
  • Impact beyond academia: tools, policy and practice your work informs.

Writing the summary

Research interests should state the long-term question of your program and its reach beyond your discipline. At this level, one sentence on how your work is used outside academia adds real weight.

The summary in this example

How grassland plant communities and their soils respond to drought, grazing and a warming climate, and how that knowledge can guide rangeland management. My group runs long-term field experiments across the western Great Plains and builds models that ranchers and land agencies use.

Professor applying for a department chair

I study the genetics of host-pathogen coevolution in wild plants. Over 20 years I have built a research group, a graduate training grant and a field station partnership, and I now want to lead a department that keeps research, teaching and community engagement in balance.

Professor in physics or engineering

My group develops quantum sensors based on defects in diamond, from fundamental spin physics to devices used in geology and neuroscience. We have trained 25 Ph.D. students and work with 4 companies to take sensors out of the lab.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

  • Led a 30-site international research network that produced 25 papers and a shared open dataset used in 200 studies.
  • Secured $14 million in external funding over 18 years as PI or co-PI.
  • Directed a graduate program of 140 students and raised its 6-year completion rate from 68% to 81%.
  • Placed 9 former trainees in faculty positions and 12 in government and industry science roles.
  • Served 5 years as associate editor, handling about 60 manuscripts a year.
  • Co-developed a drought planning tool used by ranchers on 2 million acres.
  • Testified twice before a state legislative committee on rangeland drought policy.
  • Designed a field course taken by 300 graduate students over 15 years.

Skills to list

Hard skills

  • Long-term research program leadership
  • Large grant and network management
  • Graduate program administration
  • Editorial and peer review leadership
  • Mentoring trainees to independent careers
  • Translating research for policy and practice
  • Course and curriculum design
  • Field station and facility management

Soft skills

  • Academic leadership
  • Building consensus among faculty
  • Sponsoring early-career colleagues
  • Public communication

Certifications and licenses worth listing

  • Not applicable for a professor’s CV. Society fellowships and honors belong under Grants and fellowships or a separate Honors section.

Length and format

A complete CV at this stage can run 15 pages or more; this example is the condensed version many institutions ask for in leadership searches and award nominations. Keep a full CV for promotion and annual review, and a two to four page version with selected publications and a one-line summary of totals (papers, h-index, funding, trainees) for everything else.

Common mistakes

  • Sending a 20-page CV when a call asks for a short one. Read the instructions and use selection.
  • Listing grants without your role (PI, co-PI, senior personnel) or the total amount.
  • Leaving out trainee outcomes, one of the strongest indicators of a senior academic’s impact.
  • Out-of-date sections. Senior CVs often carry old committees and finished roles marked as current.
  • No sign of impact beyond citations when the work has real-world uses.

Questions and answers

How long should a full professor’s CV be?

The full version is as long as the record. For leadership searches, awards and many grant applications, a short version of two to four pages with selected publications is expected. Keep both up to date.

Should I list my h-index or citation counts?

Many fields accept a single line with total publications and an h-index, especially in condensed CVs. Do not let it replace a selection of your most important papers.

Should old early-career awards stay on a senior CV?

In the full CV, yes. In a short version, keep major ones (an early career award, a society fellowship) and drop minor student prizes.

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