Research on CV?

[Epaphroditus]

I know it's common for those in the hard sciences to list research experience on their CVs, but does this apply for those in religious studies? I'm working on my CV now for PhD apps this fall and I'm wondering whether such a section is necessary. For example, would I list the different major papers I've written with a brief summary in a section on my CV? Or is that best left for the SOP?

[marXian]

It depends on what you mean by "research experience." In the hard sciences, people typically list experience they have working in particular labs. Those labs are directed by professors who have funding from the university, government, etc, and it's often competitive to be able to work in one as an undergrad. If you worked on a specific research project with a professor and that professor had funding for that project, it wouldn't hurt to list it. For example, if someone were interested in NT studies or ANE and went on a dig that was led by a professor who had funding, that might be worth listing. If you did a significant amount of archival research for a funded project directed by a professor, and you anticipate your proposed project for PhD apps will require significant archival research, then that would be a good thing to list. If you did that kind of research on your own, I wouldn't list that on a CV, but I would definitely mention it in your SOP, e.g. you had to write a thesis for a master's degree and did a lot of archival research for that.

Don't list papers on a CV unless they've been published or presented at a conference--and even then, I would vett that section a bit, making sure any publications listed are in reputable journals, or in books/encyclopedias published by reputable presses and that any conferences were those you had to submit a proposal to and be accepted. I also wouldn't summarize anything like publications or conference papers in the CV. As tough as it may be, adcoms don't really care about the content of those papers--only that you published or presented something. I also wouldn't spend too much time talking in great detail about past papers you've written in the SOP, unless it was a thesis for an MA/ThM/etc. If you're trying to demonstrate your competency in a particular area, it's enough to say that you've taken many courses in the field, name particular professors if you're 100% certain they're well-known, and then let your writing sample do the talking. 

[_kita]

My CV is actually a bit different than that. I took the opinion that anything field related was in my CV, but my resume is condensed a lot more.

 I have a section describing "Research Experience" I worked in and then another one for "Professional Presentations and Publications." My research experience section highlight the lab work I have done. Under presentations and publications, I do no describe any of them. Furthermore, the only papers listed are 1) published or presented or 2) from an independent study/thesis. I list mine in APA format. As marXian mentioned, they only care that you presented and published, not what the papers actually say! If they're that curious, they'll ask during the interview.

As for the SOP, everything should highlight your professional growth. Unless a project was particularly meaningful to your professional development, highlighting a specific paper is unnecessary. Honestly, it looks like filling the page because you have nothing meaningful to say otherwise.

 

[marXian]

On 8/15/2017 at 10:07 AM, _kita said:

As for the SOP, everything should highlight your professional growth. Unless a project was particularly meaningful to your professional development, highlighting a specific paper is unnecessary. Honestly, it looks like filling the page because you have nothing meaningful to say otherwise.

This might be true for professional degree programs, but for research degrees, especially in the humanities, you need to show that you have the background via your studies to be able to carry out the research you're proposing. y00nsk or anyone else doesn't need to list every relevant course--those are on your transcript. Instead, though, the SOP can be used to tie the elements of your whole application package together so that the adcom gets a clear picture of who you are as a developing scholar and gets the clear sense that you're able to write a dissertation in the field you're interested in. E.g. "As my transcripts indicate, I've taken many courses in ______, which has provided me a strong background in ___________" etc. There are more elegant ways to do this, of course, but you get the idea.

[_kita]

19 minutes ago, marXian said:

This might be true for professional degree programs, but for research degrees, especially in the humanities, you need to show that you have the background via your studies to be able to carry out the research you're proposing. y00nsk or anyone else doesn't need to list every relevant course--those are on your transcript. Instead, though, the SOP can be used to tie the elements of your whole application package together so that the adcom gets a clear picture of who you are as a developing scholar and gets the clear sense that you're able to write a dissertation in the field you're interested in. E.g. "As my transcripts indicate, I've taken many courses in ______, which has provided me a strong background in ___________" etc. There are more elegant ways to do this, of course, but you get the idea.

 

I think we may be saying something similar in different ways.

In my SOP I did discuss specific classes/projects, but selectively. For instance, I would discuss a practicum experience, my independent research study and thesis project - but I didn't discuss a psychopathology paper. The psychopathology paper tied into my thesis, but mentioning it again would have been unnecessary since there are other skills to highlight as well. I kept the anecdote succinct so that I had more room to discuss other skills (i.e. teaching). 

[ShewantsthePhD101]

I'm super late to this party, but I've got a few suggestions. 1) Look up the CV of the head of the programs you're applying to and see what they have done. That should give you a fair idea of what is expected. 2) Definitely have a publications section if any of those papers have been published 3) Consider a "scholarship in progress" section for papers you are planning to submit to conferences or competitions or for publication.

I definitely wouldn't list class papers that haven't been published on your cv.