Resume·July 27, 2026·4 min read
How to List Education on Your Resume
Where education goes, what to include, whether to list your GPA, and how to handle an unfinished or older degree.
The education section is simple — but small mistakes make it look off. Here's how to get it right for any stage of your career.
What to include
- Degree and field: "B.S. in Mechanical Engineering."
- School name and, optionally, location.
- Graduation year. You can omit it if your degree is decades old and you'd rather not signal age — but a missing date can read as evasive, so use judgment.
Where it goes
- Students and recent grads: put education near the top, above experience. It's your strongest asset.
- Everyone else: put it at the bottom. Your work experience matters more now.
Should you list your GPA?
- Include it only if it's 3.5 or higher and you're within a few years of graduating.
- After a few years of experience, drop it entirely. No one is asking.
Handling special cases
- Unfinished degree: list it honestly — "Completed 90 credits toward B.A. in History" — or the years attended. Don't imply you graduated.
- Certifications and bootcamps: these can go in education or a dedicated section. Name the provider and completion date.
- Multiple degrees: list most recent first.
What to cut
High school (once you have any college or work history), irrelevant coursework padding, and clubs that don't support the job. Keep it clean and factual.
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