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Mundus Masterplan

Document guide

CV or résumé

A structured summary of your education, experience and skills, often in Europass format and often with a strict page limit.

What it is

A short structured document summarising your education, work and research experience, skills, languages and relevant activities.

Why programmes ask for it

To see your profile at a glance, check relevant experience, and find evidence for what your motivation letter claims.

Who issues it

You.

What it usually contains

  • Contact details (no need for a photo unless asked).
  • Education, most recent first, with grades.
  • Research experience, thesis, projects.
  • Work experience and internships with dates and responsibilities.
  • Publications, presentations, awards.
  • Languages with levels (CEFR where possible) and test scores.
  • Technical and digital skills.
  • Relevant volunteering or leadership.

How to prepare it

  1. Check the format. Europass is common (IMBRSea, IPCVai, M3EP, MATHS-DISC, GloFor); others say "European format" (BIOREF, emPLANT+) or recommend Europass (JMPMB, SPACEMED). ESWOCHY uses its own CV form.
  2. Check the length. AquaH, EMAI, LASCALA and SERP+ set two pages; HYGIEIA allows up to five. EMAI warns that over-length CVs lead to automatic rejection.
  3. Lead with what matters to the programme: for research programmes, research experience; for professional programmes, relevant work.
  4. Quantify where possible (size of dataset, number of participants, budget, results).
  5. Make every date, title and grade consistent with your transcripts and application form.
  6. Tailor the order and emphasis for each programme; keep a master version with everything.

Common mistakes

  • Ignoring a page limit.
  • Listing duties without results.
  • Inconsistent dates between CV and application form.
  • Language levels without evidence ("fluent") when a CEFR level or test score is available.

Quality-control checklist

  • Correct format and within the page limit.
  • Dates, titles and grades match other documents.
  • Most relevant experience first.
  • No spelling errors; checked by another person.
  • Exported to PDF with a clear file name.

Lead time (planning estimate)

One to two weeks for a strong master version; one to two hours per tailored version.

Commonly useful or programme-dependent?

Commonly useful. A CV appears as mandatory in most of the document lists we captured from official pages. Format and length are programme-dependent.