Publications and Awards

[bigdgp]

I will be applying to PhD programs this fall and I'm a little nervous about my CV. I'm particularly afraid of the fact that I have no publications to list and that, as I have not attended schools that give departmental awards for papers, I have no writing awards either. Can anybody speak to the necessity, or lack of necessity, of having publications to list on a PhD application? I will be entering a program already having completed an MA, if that makes a difference

[strokeofmidnight]

Neither will hurt you. Ad-comms care about the quality of your writing and ideas, whether or not you were decorated/published for your previous work. At best, a publication or fancy-schamy award will nudge them to take a closer look, but if they don't like what they see in your SoP or WS, nothing on your CV will persuade them to let you in. Conversely, if your CV is empty (as mine was), but your WS and SoP are compelling, you will still do quite well (provided that you choose your schools wisely, of course).

For what it's worth, it's not common for graduate students to publish early. I attend a top-5 PhD program...and my impression is most of my pre-dissertating peers (first through third, sometimes fourth years) have not yet published. If anything, the strong indication that I receive from my advisers is (as inafuturelife suggested) I should hold out for strong publications...which might mean revising and sending out my work over multiple rounds...which can literally take years. [note: the advice, from what I gather, changes if one is closer to the job market...but I'm a long ways off]. My sense is that most (probably all) of my peers would be published if we were willing to submit our work anywhere (even if we restrict submissions to peer-reviewed journals)...but it's more important to have strong publications than rack up multiple lines on the CV. (More specifically, the emphasis on on being ABLE to produce the sort of strong work that will be accepted by the top journals...the "prestige" of the journal becomes a benchmark for our work, and an indication of how far we still have to go).

So obviously, few of us came in with publications...and for those that did, I would guess that it's the *quality* of the writing sample (published or not) that got them in, not the line on the CV. In this respect, I think my experience was typical: I had no awards, no publications, no impressive resume...and was accepted over candidates (in my field, thus competing for the same spots) who had all of the above. My "arsenal" was a strong WS, and an SoP that was a very good fit for the programs that I applied for. (which, I should note, isn't necessary the same as specifically articulating my fit. I targeted the wrong professors at two schools...but was still accepted. The ad-comm figured out from my proposed research that their program would be good for me....even if I didn't know exactly how, yet).

[Gingermick]

What did you guys put on your CV if you had no publications and awards? Most schools still ask for one, but should you pad it with relevant courses taken and work experience (even if it's unrelated)? I feel like mine will be very short.

[strokeofmidnight]

What did you guys put on your CV if you had no publications and awards? Most schools still ask for one, but should you pad it with relevant courses taken and work experience (even if it's unrelated)? I feel like mine will be very short.

At the risk of being redundant, it isn't what your application package looks like, it's how strong it actually is that counts. While this is somewhat subjective and will vary from program to program, most ad-comms are very good at discerning the difference. Ad-comms will notice padding in any part of your application (Hell, even I notice padding!), and while some will (at best) simply ignore it, you do risk pissing people off...especially when they have to read dozens or hundred of apps. You're not expected to have an extensive CV. A half-page CV at this point is just fine. A 2 page padded CV will perhaps earn you a few eyerolls alongside leeway for being unfamiliar with academic protocols. At worst (especially if the rest of the application has not yet caught the reviewer's eye), it'll exasperate the patience of your reader and land your app in the "reject" pile.

I left off all non-academic work experience (including teaching experience outside of a university setting). Someone who has taught high school English for several years might want to add that on their CV, though. [if you taught a high school non-English subject that is relevant to your field...say, mathematics if your research is on the history of mathematics and literature--you'd want to include that as well]. I left off all coursework except for grad-level classes. I didn't include the "freebie" awards, like dean'slist (it's a semi-freebie at least at my university).

Honestly, most of the programs that accepted me didn't even LOOK at my CV. (one program apparently ignored my transcripts and my LoR's as well). I wasn't kidding or exaggerating when I say that it's the writing sample and SoP that counts.

Edited June 10, 2010 by strokeofmidnight

[bigdgp]

This is all very helpful. Thank you!

[strokeofmidnight]

Hm, now you have me thinking about this one on my own CV. I was advised to keep my experience teaching in France on there as it's something to help set me apart from the masses (theoretically) and French IS relevant, almost necessary, to my area, but I taught 3-10 year olds. What's people's perspectives on having this on my CV?

I think you may be overthinking this one. A padded CV only becomes problematic when it's either intentional or blatant (since the two characteristics are usually related). If it's close enough to pass muster, vaguely related to your work (if I recall correctly, fluency in French is quite important for your particular field, n'est pas?), and doesn't take up a lot of space, I wouldn't worry about it either way. Actually, if it's the *French* experience that is critical...have you considered putting that in the "languages" section rather than the teaching section? Noting that you know French well enough to teach it would be a good way to highlight your command over that language, without potentially implying (not that you actually intent this, of course) that teaching grade school kids is somewhat akin to working with college students.

For what it's worth, I keep a separate non-academic resume. The *only* thing in common on these two pieces of my "work" history is my education, my contact info, and my TA work [for this last bit, the description/presentation for the two documents are totally different]. My tutoring experiences only go on my resume--I would actually be really embarrassed to put it on my CV. I'm not quite sure how to explain why (certainly, many grad students tutored before grad school and continue to do so on the side quite openly), but it's not the sort of thing that one would flaunt in a CV, and seems to dilute the academic focus.

Personally, I think the advice to "set yourself off from the masses" is a bit overdone. It's your *work* that needs to set you off, but that's all part and parcel of being a good (if fledgling) academic. I don't think anyone on the ad-comm particularly cares if your life history is specular or boring...unless, of course, it's related to your work (which is true of many fields, particularly in the 20th century). An unusual history may raise a few eyebrows for better or for worse (usually to both effects), but I don't think it will get you in...unless you can make a compelling (and usually self-evident) case for why that personal history is related to your research.

The PS (which several schools required--in some form--in addition to an SoP) would be the place to discuss that sort of semi-relevant personal history. I think it would be more effective than to narrativize (?) that connection, rather than simply putting it on the CV (or more specifically, highlighting this history on your CV).

Edited June 10, 2010 by strokeofmidnight

[augustquail]

Someone mentioned "Dean's List" awards as being irrelevant...what about departmental awards or honor societies like phi beta kapa? worth putting on there?

[eucalyptus]

Someone mentioned "Dean's List" awards as being irrelevant...what about departmental awards or honor societies like phi beta kapa? worth putting on there?

I think it's up to you. I had Dean's List and a couple of small awards on my CV. I also had tutoring and other science education stuff under "teaching experience". I didn't include any information about classes or GPA since that seems like padding to me, but this is all really subjective. Some people might consider my just-over-2-page CV to be "padded"; however, I think of a CV as being the place to list all your relevant experience, and all this stuff seemed very relevant. If your CV is well-organized, it's easy for people to skip to the parts they're interested in anyway (research experience, presentations, whatever), and they'll just skim over everything else. They don't actually toss applications just for things like "CV is slightly too long" (or at least, not often)!

[augustquail]

About presentations/conferences....I didn't do any as an MA student, but as an undergrad i presented at an undergrad research conference. the topic isn't really relevant to my current interests....is it worth mentioning?