Scholarship CV Example and Template: What to Include in 2026
Use a scholarship CV example and fill-in structure to present education, awards, research, work, leadership, projects, service, skills, and measurable results.
By Prime Scholarship Alerts Editorial
Scholarship CV example structure
Use this order as a starting point, then move the sections that best prove the scholarship criteria closer to the top.
Name and contact
Chanda Example
Lusaka, Zambia · applicant@example.com · +260 000 000 000
LinkedIn or portfolio: include only if current and relevant
Do not title the document “Curriculum Vitae” in large text when your name can be the main heading. You usually do not need a photograph, date of birth, marital status, national identity number, or full street address unless the provider specifically requests it.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health — Example University, 2022–2026
Expected classification: Distinction
Relevant modules: Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Water Quality
Final-year project: Household water-storage practices and diarrhoeal risk in peri-urban communities
Selected achievements
- Dean's merit award, 2025: placed in the top 5% of the cohort.
- Student research grant, 2024: secured ZMW 6,000 for field data collection.
- Public-health case competition finalist, 2024: developed the monitoring plan for a four-person team.
Research or project experience
Student Researcher — Example University, Jan–Jun 2026
- Designed a structured survey with input from two academic supervisors.
- Coordinated data collection across 120 households and maintained consent records.
- Cleaned the dataset and produced descriptive analysis in R.
- Presented findings to faculty and community-health representatives.
Leadership and service
Volunteer Coordinator — Community Reading Project, 2024–2025
- Scheduled 12 volunteers across weekly sessions serving 80 learners.
- Introduced an attendance and book-lending tracker that reduced missing records.
- Prepared a two-page handover guide so the programme could continue after graduation.
Skills
- Research: survey design, literature review, research ethics, qualitative interviewing
- Data: Excel, R, data cleaning, descriptive statistics
- Languages: English (fluent), Bemba (fluent)
This fictional example demonstrates structure and evidence. Replace every detail with your own truthful experience.
Fill-in scholarship CV template
- Full name and contact: city and country, professional email, phone, relevant profile link.
- Short profile (optional): two or three lines naming your field, strongest evidence, and next academic goal.
- Education: qualification, institution, dates, result, relevant project or modules.
- Awards and scholarships: award name, provider, year, and why it was awarded when useful.
- Research and projects: question or goal, your action, methods or tools, and output.
- Work experience: role, organisation, dates, responsibilities, and measurable results.
- Leadership and volunteering: scale, action, people served, change made, or result.
- Publications and presentations: use a consistent citation style and label work in progress accurately.
- Skills: include only skills you can demonstrate and group them by type.
- Professional memberships or training: include relevant, verifiable items.
- References: list them only when requested; otherwise write “Available on request” or omit the section.
Write achievement bullets with evidence
Use a simple pattern: action + scope + result.
Weak: “Responsible for helping students.”
Stronger: “Mentored 18 first-year students through six study-planning sessions; 15 completed the semester in good standing.”
Weak: “Worked on a research project.”
Stronger: “Coded 35 interview transcripts using the project framework and summarised recurring themes for the research team.”
Not every result needs a number. A method, output, decision, or improvement can also be specific: “Mapped the application process and wrote the checklist used to train three new volunteers.” Never invent a metric to make a bullet sound stronger.
Tailor the CV to the scholarship criteria
Read the eligibility rules and selection criteria before changing the order. A research award may need education, methods, projects, publications, and technical skills near the top. A leadership scholarship may need work, service, team responsibility, and community results. A professional fellowship may value employment, policy contribution, and practical impact.
Tailoring does not mean changing facts. It means selecting and arranging the evidence most relevant to the award. Keep a complete master CV, then save a separate version for each application.
Scholarship CV vs job resume
A job resume often prioritises recent employment and role-specific skills. A scholarship CV may give more space to education, research, academic awards, leadership, community service, projects, publications, and future study relevance.
The requested name matters less than the instructions. If the provider asks for a two-page resume, do not send a six-page academic CV. If it provides a form or Europass-style template, use that format.
Format and length
Follow the provider's page limit first. When no limit is given, many early-career applicants can present relevant evidence in two pages. A longer academic record may justify more space, but extra length should contain useful evidence rather than repeated descriptions.
Use one readable font, consistent dates, clear headings, and enough white space. Avoid progress bars for skills, decorative icons that replace labels, and tables that become unreadable on mobile or in applicant-tracking systems. Export to PDF only if the portal accepts PDF, and open the final file to check page breaks.
Use filenames such as Firstname-Lastname-CV-ScholarshipName.pdf. The scholarship documents checklist covers scanning, naming, certification, translations, and upload checks.
What not to include
- Unsupported claims such as “excellent leader” without evidence
- Skills you could not demonstrate in an interview
- Primary-school information when later qualifications make it irrelevant
- Sensitive identity information not requested by the provider
- Unexplained abbreviations that an international reviewer may not know
- A publication that does not exist or a submitted paper described as published
- Referees who have not agreed to be contacted
Final scholarship CV checklist
- The name matches the passport or application form.
- Email and phone number are current.
- Dates do not conflict with the form or statement.
- The most relevant evidence appears on the first page.
- Every bullet starts with a clear action or contribution.
- Results are specific and truthful.
- Formatting, tense, punctuation, and date style are consistent.
- The document fits the requested page and file limits.
- The filename identifies you and the correct scholarship.
- A second person has checked spelling and clarity.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a scholarship CV be?
Follow the provider's limit. If none is given, two pages is often enough for students and early-career applicants, while an established academic record may need more. Keep only evidence relevant to the scholarship.
Should a scholarship CV include a photo?
Include one only when the official instructions require it. Otherwise, a photo can consume space and introduce information unrelated to merit.
Can I use the same CV for every scholarship?
Keep one master CV, but tailor the order and selected evidence for each award. Do not change facts; emphasise the education, research, leadership, service, or work that matches the published criteria.
Should I list referees on the CV?
List referees only when requested and ask their permission first. Many applications collect referee details in a separate form, so the CV can use the space for evidence.