Step 7: Education

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

​The education section is a significant element to include in your resume. 

What information should I put in the Education section?
If you have a degree or certificate from an accredited school, you should certainly put it on your resume. You should list each degree and certificate starting with the latest in descending order. Start with the institution and its location where you received your degree/certificate. The degree information – such as Bachelor of Sciences in Business Management - should go on the next line along with the date your received your degree. Your GPA (grade point average) will go on the third line; you may include both your major GPA and your cumulative GPA. (You may want to skip the GPA line if your GPA falls below a 3.0.)

Add in any honors or points of interest (e.g., studying abroad) on the next line if you feel this is beneficial for the position that you are applying for. Usually it is! On that note, you may want to add on the final line any related or relevant coursework to the position that you are applying for especially if the position is outside of the realm of your degree. Do this for each degree that you have. Don’t worry about putting college information pertaining to coursework you did before you transferred to a different school. Use only the schools where you got the official degree.

Where does the Education section go?
Immediately after the objective for:

• Current undergraduate students pursuing a summer job, internship, fellowship, or co-op position
• Graduates who are pursuing their first professional position 
• Advanced degree graduates who need the credentials for their advancement in the career that they are pursuing

After the experience section when:

• Seeking advancement within the career field and it has been a few years since the degree was completed 
• Using the functional resume style which involves listing experiences within skill areas related to the sought-after career, followed by the degree field which is not closely related to the career being pursued
• Having already acquired substantial professional experience in the field - even if the advanced degree is also related to the field.  Professional experience will carry more weight while the advanced degree will support the advancement

What else should you include in the Education section?
Don’t sweat it if you do not have a college degree or certificate. You may add any college courses you have taken even if it didn’t lead to a degree or certificate. If you don’t have any college experience at all, put in your high school information – where you went to high school, date graduated, and of course, put in any classes you took that may apply to the job you are applying for. For example, I took several business classes during my high school years. Before I had my college degree, I put my high school information in the education section along with a list of the classes I took – accounting, business management, etc. However, I would not include your high school information if you already have a college degree.

Reflect on the training that you have acquired during your work life that can be included in this section. Most jobs provide training that you can include here. Also, don’t forget to include adult education classes, YMCA classes, military training, specialty schools such as vocational training, and any other classes you may have taken to advance yourself whether it is for a hobby or work. Please include only relevant classes to the job you are applying for. Remember you can tailor each resume to the prospective job. Don’t forget to include any certifications in this section such as real estate licenses. Label this training as Professional Development. If you have specific training for the prospective job, you may want to put it in its own section. For instance, in the below example, there is a special section devoted to writing training. This is what I put in my writer’s resume. Every time you take a class, get a certificate or a new degree, add it to the resume. I bet you didn’t realize how much education you really have!

Here is an example to use as a template:

The Pennsylvania State University – University Park, PA
Bachelor of Arts in Letters, Arts and Science        December 2011
     Major GPA:  3.96              Cumulative GPA:  3.83
         Dean’s List, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Penn State Pi Delta Chi Chapter of Alpha
         Sigma Lambda, National Society of Collegiate Scholars

Associate of Arts in Letters, Arts and Science    December 2008
     GPA:  4.0
         Dean’s List

Certificate in Writing for Social Commentary        December 2008
       Relevant Courses:  Critical Thinking, Rhetoric and Composition, Effective Writing:
                                      Writing in Social Sciences, Article Writing, Magazine Writing,
                                      Creative Writing

Professional Development:
Theater of Arts, Los Angeles, CA, Major:  Theater, Movie, TV Production
Jan Nagy Modeling and Finishing School, Allentown, PA (Etiquette, Public Speaking, Protocol)

Writing Training:
Effective Writing Skills, Foundations of Grammar, Communication/Interpersonal Skills Training, High-Impact Business Writing Workshop, Presentation Skills