How to List Education on a CV (With Examples)

List your education on a CV in reverse-chronological order: newest qualification first, and for each one write the qualification and subject, the institution and its location, and the dates you studied. Reverse-chronological simply means the most recent thing goes at the top. That single pattern covers almost every situation, from a fresh graduate to someone twenty years into a career.

What changes is how much detail you give and where the section sits. Get those two decisions right and your education section does its job in a few clean lines.

The standard format for each entry

Every entry in your education section should follow the same shape, in this order:

1. Qualification and subject — for example, BSc Computer Science or A-Levels.
2. Institution and location — the university, college, or school, plus the city.
3. Dates — the years you studied, or your graduation year.
4. Optional extras — grade, relevant modules, thesis title, or an award.

Keep the formatting identical for every entry: same order, same font, dates in the same place. That consistency helps a person skim the section, and it helps an ATS (applicant tracking system, the software many employers use to scan CVs before a human reads them) pick out your qualification correctly.

Here is a straightforward entry for a recent graduate:

BSc (Hons) Computer Science — 2:1 University of Manchester, Manchester 2022 – 2025 Relevant modules: Data Structures, Machine Learning, Software Engineering Final project: a route-planning app built in Python

Where does the education section go on a CV?

It depends on how much work experience you have.

If you are a student, a recent graduate, or someone who has just retrained, put education near the top, right after your personal statement. Your qualification is the strongest evidence you have, so the reader should hit it in the first few seconds.

If you have more than a couple of years of relevant work, move education below your work experience, towards the end. Employers now care far more about what you have done than where you studied, and your qualification needs only a line or two.

There is one exception. Where the qualification is the licence to practise — medicine, law, teaching, accountancy — keep education high on the page however experienced you are, because it is the first thing a recruiter checks.

For a fuller picture of how the sections fit together, see our guide on how to write a CV.

How much detail should you include?

The rule is simple: the further you are from graduation, the shorter the entry gets.

• Still studying or fresh out of university — include your grade, relevant modules, your final project or dissertation, and any academic awards.
• One to five years of experience — keep the qualification, institution, and dates, plus your grade if it was strong.
• Five or more years of experience — one line per qualification is plenty. Drop the modules, projects, and school-level results.

An experienced professional's education section can be as short as this:

MA Marketing — University of Leeds, 2014 BA Business Management — University of Sheffield, 2012

That is enough. It confirms the qualifications without stealing space from the achievements that win the interview.

Should you include your grades or GPA?

Include grades when they help you and leave them out when they do not.

Show them if the grade is good, if you graduated recently, or if the job advert asks for a minimum result, which is common in graduate schemes and some regulated professions. A strong result is evidence, so let it be seen.

Leave grades off if they were average, if you graduated a long time ago, or if the employer has not asked. Nobody expects a 2010 graduate to list their marks. What you must never do is round up, guess, or describe a result as better than it was, because qualifications are one of the easiest things for an employer to check.

How do you list an unfinished or in-progress degree?

Be clear and be honest. Both situations are common, and neither is a problem when it is presented plainly.

If you are still studying, list the course as normal and add the expected completion date. If you left before finishing, give the institution and dates, then say what you actually completed: the years, credits, or modules. Never put the qualification on its own line as though you were awarded it.

BA English Literature (In progress, expected June 2027) University of Birmingham, Birmingham 2024 – Present Current average: 68%

And for study that was not completed:

Studied BSc Economics — University of Bristol, 2019 – 2021 Completed two years of a three-year degree before leaving for a full-time role Modules included Microeconomics, Statistics, and Econometrics

The second example turns a gap into a fact: it shows what you learned, accounts for two years of your history, and overstates nothing. If your CV is light on paid work too, our guide on how to write a CV with no experience shows how to build the rest of the page around what you do have.

High school versus university qualifications

Once you hold a degree, your school results usually stop earning their place. List them only if school is your highest level of education, if you are applying for your first job, or if the employer explicitly asks.

When you do include them, summarise rather than listing every subject. A single line such as "A-Levels: Maths (A), Economics (B), History (B) — Kingsway College, 2021" tells the reader everything they need. There is no need to itemise a dozen GCSEs or their equivalents.

Where do online courses and certifications go?

Short online courses, bootcamps, and professional certificates are worth including when they are relevant. Put them in a separate section headed "Certifications" or "Professional Development", just after education, so a long list of courses does not crowd out your degree. Give the course name, the provider, and the year you finished, and skip anything outdated, unrelated, or too short to say much about your ability.

Vocational and trade qualifications are different: they are formal training, so they belong in the education section itself.

Level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installation (City & Guilds) Newcastle College, Newcastle 2021 – 2023 Completed alongside a two-year apprenticeship with Harker Electrical

How do you list international qualifications?

Write the qualification exactly as it was awarded, then add a short note in plain English explaining its level. Something like "Licenciatura en Administración (four-year degree, comparable to a UK bachelor's degree)" is clear without overclaiming. Name the country alongside the institution too, so the reader is not left guessing.

If an official recognition body in the country you are applying to has formally assessed your qualification, mention that assessment — but only if you actually hold it. Do not translate your qualification into a local equivalent that nobody has confirmed.

Key takeaways

• List education in reverse-chronological order: qualification and subject, institution and location, then dates.
• Put education near the top if you are a student or recent graduate, and below work experience once you have a few years behind you.
• Include grades when they are strong or recent, or when the employer asks; otherwise leave them off.
• Show in-progress study with an expected date, and describe unfinished study by what you actually completed.
• Keep online courses in a separate certifications section, and explain international qualifications in plain terms.

Your education section rarely wins the job on its own, but a vague or messy one costs you credibility. Set it out in the same clean pattern every time, be straight about grades and unfinished study, and give it the space your stage of career deserves. Ready to put it together? Build your CV free with CVify AI and get a clear, ATS-ready CV you can download as a PDF in minutes.