How to list education on a resume: degrees, GPA, high school, examples

The education section is usually short, and for most experienced people it should be. It still trips people up: how to write the degree itself, whether to include a grade, what to do with a degree you have not finished, whether high school belongs on the page, how to list a bootcamp.

The basic format

Every education entry needs the same four things:

1. Degree and subject, for example “BSc Computer Science” or “Bachelor of Arts in Economics”
2. School (university, college or institute)
3. City and country, or just the country if the school is well known
4. Dates, either start and end year or only the graduation year

BSc Mechanical Engineering · Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul · 2016 – 2020

That is enough for most people. Everything else is optional and should earn its place.

Before: Istanbul Technical Uni. - Mech. Eng. (2016-2020) GPA 2.9

After: BSc Mechanical Engineering · Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul · 2016 – 2020

The before version abbreviates the school and the subject, which neither an international reader nor a parser may recognise, and shows a middling grade with no scale. The after version spells everything out and drops the grade.

Start and end year, or just graduation?

Both are fine. Students and recent graduates usually show the full range, because it shows when they will finish. People with many years of experience often show only the graduation year, or no year at all for very old degrees. Leaving the year off is your choice, though many recruiters will be able to estimate your age from your work history anyway.

Use the degree name the reader will recognise

Write the degree the way it appears on your diploma, then make sure an international reader can understand it. If you studied abroad or your degree has a local name, add a short equivalent in brackets:

Licence en Droit (Bachelor of Laws) · Université de Lyon · 2019

Do not translate a degree into a different level. A three-year bachelor’s degree is not a master’s, even if your country’s system is different.

How to write your degree

Name the degree and the subject together. “Bachelor’s degree” on its own leaves out the part the reader cares about. You can write the degree in full or abbreviate it; both are correct, and the full name is what you would see on the diploma.

Degree	Written in full	Abbreviated
Associate degree	Associate of Applied Science in Nursing	AAS Nursing
Bachelor of Arts	Bachelor of Arts in History	BA History, or B.A. in History
Bachelor of Science	Bachelor of Science in Biology	BSc Biology, or B.S. in Biology
Master of Science	Master of Science in Data Science	MSc Data Science, or M.S. in Data Science
Master of Business Administration	Master of Business Administration	MBA
Doctorate	Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry	PhD Chemistry, or Ph.D. in Chemistry

A few rules keep it clean:

• Pick one style and use it for every entry. “Bachelor of Arts in History” above “MSc Data Science” looks unfinished. With or without full stops (B.A. or BA) is a matter of habit; UK and European resumes usually leave them out, US ones use both.
• The full name is the safer choice for less common degrees. Everyone knows “MBA”. Fewer readers know “BEng” or “BBA”, and someone searching resumes for “Bachelor of Engineering” may not find the short form.
• Majors and minors go in the same line: “BA Economics, minor in Spanish”. A double major can be “BA in Economics and Political Science”.
• Latin honours go after the degree: “BS Biology, magna cum laude”. Other honours go on a second line, as in the examples below.
• Capital letters for the name of a degree, not for the word “degree”. “Bachelor of Science” as a title, but “a bachelor’s degree in biology” in a sentence, for example in your summary.

Where the section goes

You are…	Put education…
A student or recent graduate	Near the top, right after your profile
Switching careers through a new degree	Near the top, if the new degree is your main qualification
Applying for academic, research or teaching roles	Near the top, often with more detail
Working with two or more years of relevant experience	After experience

Put your strongest evidence first. For a graduate that is usually the degree. After a few years in work, it is what you have done since. Our guide on resume formats explains how section order changes with each layout.

Order of entries

List degrees in reverse chronological order, with the most recent or highest first. A master’s goes above a bachelor’s. A PhD goes above both.

GPA and grades

Grades matter most at the start of a career and fade quickly after that. A common rule of thumb:

• If you are a student or graduated in the last few years and the grade is strong, include it.
• If it is average or weak, leave it out. If an application form asks for it, answer there.
• Once you have a few years of experience, drop it, whatever it was.

What counts as “strong” depends on the country and the employer. Some graduate programmes state a minimum in the job ad. If they do, and you meet it, include your grade.

Always show the scale

A number on its own is ambiguous. Different countries use different systems, so give the reader the scale:

System	How to write it
US-style GPA	GPA 3.7/4.0
UK degree classification	First-class honours, or Upper second-class honours (2:1)
German grading (1.0 is the best grade)	Final grade 1.7 (German scale, 1.0 best)
100-point scale	Average 86/100

If you are applying abroad, do not convert your grade to another system yourself unless an official conversion exists. Show it on its original scale and let the employer interpret it, or follow any instructions in the application form.

Major GPA

If your overall GPA is average but your grades in your major subject are strong, you can show the major GPA instead, clearly labelled: “Major GPA 3.8/4.0”. Do not present a major GPA as your overall GPA.

Honours, awards and scholarships

Academic honours belong in the education entry, not in a separate awards section, unless you have several.

BA Economics · University of Manchester · 2021 – 2024
First-class honours · Dean’s List 2022, 2023

BS Biology, magna cum laude · University of Texas at Austin · 2020 – 2024

Scholarships are worth listing when they were competitive, such as a merit scholarship or an exchange grant.

Thesis, final project and relevant courses

These help most when you are early in your career or when they connect directly to the job.

• Thesis or final project: one line with the title or topic, and the result if there is one.
• Relevant coursework: three to five courses that match the job, not every module. A rule of thumb: list a course only if its name contains a word from the job ad, or you could talk about it for two minutes in an interview.

MSc Data Science · University of Amsterdam · 2023 – 2024
Thesis: Forecasting bike-share demand with weather data (grade 8/10)
Relevant courses: Machine Learning, Applied Statistics, Data Engineering

Once you have a few years of experience, this detail can go.

Ongoing degrees

If you are still studying, say so clearly and give the expected completion date.

BSc Business Administration · University of Vienna · 2023 – Jun 2027 (expected)

Avoid “2023 – present” for a degree, because it hides when you finish, which is exactly what an employer hiring interns or graduates wants to know.

If you are doing a part-time degree alongside work, list it the same way. It shows you are building skills, and employers usually do not mind that it is unfinished.

If you have finished your exams but are still waiting for results or the diploma, say exactly where you stand:

BSc Economics · University of Leeds · 2022 – 2026 (final results expected Jul 2026)

A degree that took longer than usual

If your four-year degree took six years because you worked, changed subjects or took time out, you don’t have to explain it on the resume. You can show only the graduation year, which is common anyway. If an interviewer asks, one sentence is enough: “I worked part time through most of my degree, so I took it at a slower pace.”

Unfinished degrees

You left a degree before finishing? You can still list it, as long as it is clear you did not graduate. Show what you completed:

Coursework toward BSc Computer Science · University of Leeds · 2018 – 2020
Completed two of three years, including Algorithms, Databases and Software Engineering.

or

Computer Science (120 ECTS completed) · Technical University of Munich · 2017 – 2019

Never imply that you hold a degree you did not finish. Degrees are easy to verify, and this is one of the things employers check.

If the unfinished degree has nothing to do with the job and you have since built a career, you can also leave it out.

Should you put high school on your resume?

Usually only if it is your highest qualification. Once you have a university degree or a professional qualification, high school comes off the page: the degree says you finished school, and the line is better spent on something else. Keep it if:

• It is your highest qualification. Then it belongs on the resume, as your education section.
• You are in your first year or two of college and applying for internships or part-time work with little else to show. Most people drop it once a degree is well under way.
• The school itself is relevant, such as a specialist science, arts or vocational school, or the job ad names it.
• You started a degree but did not finish it. List high school as your completed qualification and the university as coursework, as shown under unfinished degrees above.

A job ad that asks for “a high school diploma or equivalent” is not a reason to add it when you have a degree. The degree covers it, and application forms usually ask about it directly.

How to list high school

The same pattern as any other entry: the qualification, the school, the place and the year.

High School Diploma · Lincoln High School, Portland, OR · 2025

If you are still at school, give the expected graduation date, and add a strong GPA or honours while they are the best evidence you have:

High School Diploma (expected Jun 2027) · Lincoln High School, Portland, OR
GPA 3.8/4.0 · National Honor Society

A high school equivalency credential is listed the same way, under its official name, for example “GED” or “High School Equivalency Diploma”, with the state or country that issued it and the year. You don’t need to explain it.

For students whose whole resume is still built around school, our guide to a high school student resume covers the other sections: activities, volunteering, part-time jobs and skills.

Study abroad and exchanges

An exchange semester can go as a line under the main degree:

BA International Relations · Ankara University · 2020 – 2024
Erasmus exchange semester, University of Warsaw, 2023

It is useful for international roles, because it shows you have lived and studied in another country and language.

Bootcamps, online courses and certifications

Where these go depends on what they are:

• A long, intensive programme (for example a 12-week coding bootcamp) can go in education, listed like a degree with the provider and dates.
• A professional certification with an exam and an issuing body, such as a cloud or project management certification, usually belongs in a certifications section. See how to list certifications on a resume.
• Short online courses go in a courses section, or in certifications if you keep them few. Five relevant courses say more than twenty.

Examples

Student or recent graduate

BSc Economics · Boğaziçi University, Istanbul · 2022 – Jun 2026 (expected)
GPA 3.52/4.00 · High honour list (4 semesters)
Final project: Inflation expectations and household savings in Turkey
Relevant courses: Econometrics, Financial Economics, Data Analysis with R

Education sits at the top here, just under the profile. For more on building the rest of a first resume, see writing a resume with no experience.

Experienced professional

MBA · IE Business School, Madrid · 2017
BSc Industrial Engineering · Middle East Technical University, Ankara · 2012

Two lines, no grades, no courses. The experience section above does the work.

Career changer

UX Design Diploma · Northside Design School (12-week full-time programme) · 2025
BA English Literature · University of Bristol · 2016

The new qualification goes first because it is most relevant to the role, even though the older degree is higher in level. If you have a portfolio, link to it in your header.

Common mistakes

• Listing every course. Three to five relevant ones are enough.
• A grade without a scale. “3.4” means very different things in different countries; write “GPA 3.4/4.0”.
• “Present” for a degree. Use an expected completion date.
• Implying you finished. Write “coursework toward” or the credits completed.
• Too much detail later in a career. Thesis titles and coursework rarely help after a few years in work.
• Abbreviations only the locals know. “METU” or “Mech. Eng.” may mean nothing to the reader; write the full name.
• Inconsistent format. Each entry should follow the same order: degree, school, place, dates.

FAQ

Should I include my GPA?

Include it while you are a student or recent graduate if it is strong for your country’s scale, and always with the scale. Drop it after a few years of work.

Do I need to include the dates?

Dates help readers understand your timeline, and recruiters expect them for recent degrees. For degrees from long ago, many people show only the graduation year, or leave the year out.

Should I put high school on my resume if I have a college degree?

No, in almost every case. A degree shows you finished school. Keep high school only when it is your highest completed qualification or the school itself matters for the job.

Should I write “Bachelor of Science” or “BS”?

Either. Use the full name if the abbreviation is not widely known in the country you are applying in, and use the same style for every degree on the page.

How do I list two degrees from the same university?

Use one university line and list both degrees underneath with their own dates, or write two separate entries. Either is fine; pick whichever looks cleaner on your page.

Should I list an online degree differently?

No. A degree is a degree. Use the same format and the official name of the school. There is no need to mark it as online.

What if my degree is in a different field from the job?

List it normally and keep it short. Put the emphasis on the skills, courses or certifications that connect to the new field.

Quick checklist

• Degree, school, city or country and dates for each entry
• Most recent or highest degree first
• Education above experience only if it is your strongest evidence
• Grade shown with its scale, or left out
• Ongoing degrees with an expected completion date
• Unfinished degrees clearly marked as unfinished
• The degree and subject written the same way in every entry
• High school removed once you have a degree
• The same format for every entry

AlderCV’s education section has fields for degree, school, location and dates, plus a description for grades, honours or courses, so every entry follows the same pattern in whichever template you choose. For the rest of your resume, read how to write a resume.