Education Section of a Resume

Most people list their education near the bottom of a resume, but some start out by leading with it. Employers want it easy to find.

If you are still in school or graduated in the last year or two, education probably belongs near the top, because it is your strongest qualification. Once you have a few years of work under your belt, a short entry near the bottom is enough, and the space goes to your experience.

What to include in each entry

Each entry needs the same four facts, in the same order every time. Anything beyond them is optional and should earn its space.

• The degree or credential, written out or abbreviated the same way throughout, such as Bachelor of Science or B.S.
• Your major, plus your minor if it matters for the job
• The school's name, city and state
• Your graduation year, or the month and year you expect to finish

GPA, honors and coursework

These extras help most in the first year or two after school, when your academic record is the best evidence you have and an employer has little else to judge you by. With experience, they matter less and can come off to make room.

Show a GPA only if it helps. If your GPA in your major beats your overall figure, you can show that one instead, labeled as a major GPA. Latin honors, dean's list terms and scholarships can share a line under the degree. Relevant coursework earns a line when it fills a gap your work history leaves, such as statistics classes for a data job or a design studio for an architecture internship.

Degrees in progress and unfinished study

If you are still studying, write Expected with the month and year you plan to finish. That shows when you can start.

An unfinished degree still counts. Name the school, the field and the credits or years you completed, and leave out anything that suggests you graduated, such as a bare degree title or a graduation date. It's possible to list it without saying why you stopped. If the subject comes up in an interview, a short, plain answer is enough.

High school, GED and other training

Leave high school off once you have a college degree or another credential beyond it. Until then, list your diploma or GED with the school name and year, especially in a first resume, where it may be your main qualification for the job.

Training counts too. Certificates, apprenticeships, bootcamps and online courses can sit in this section when they relate to the job. A license or certification you must hold to do the work, such as a commercial driver's license or a nursing license, usually gets its own Licenses and Certifications section so a recruiter can spot it at a glance.

Order, dates and a few special cases

List degrees with the most recent first. If you worry that an old graduation year invites guesses about your age, you can leave the year off degrees you earned long ago, as long as you treat every entry the same way.

Study abroad, honors programs and thesis titles belong under the degree they are part of. For a degree earned outside the US, give the name of the degree as it was awarded, and add its US equivalent only if a credential evaluation has confirmed it.