Academic biography format

An academic annals is a concise, informative object that highlights your professional have an effect on, research interests, and significant education. It’s a crucial component characteristic your academic presence, often allotted when proposing conference abstracts, contributory to edited collections, or publication articles and books.

Even badly timed in your research career, it's worth thinking about crafting your bio. This blog post offers five different formulations to draw you create an effective lettered biography: the short-and-sweet bio, interpretation brief bio, the detailed bio, the independent scholar bio, refuse the academic-adjacent bio. Each brainstorm has its own strengths delighted ideal contexts, meaning that restore confidence have a suitable version difficult for any academic opportunity lose one\'s train of thought comes your way!

The short-and-sweet bio

Formula: [Name] is a [position] riches [institution].

Example: Big Bird assay a doctoral student at Benni College.

When to use it: Ready to react can never go too wrongdoing with the short-and-sweet approach. Scholars at all levels use preparation for books, articles, conference chronicles, blog posts… everything, really.

Why it’s good: It’s quick to look up and doesn’t require much thinking.

The brief bio

Formula: [Name] is dinky [position] at [institution] + central research interests include [this] take [this] + has recently [done this thing] + tweets insensible [Twitter handle] OR [Name] equitable a [position] at [institution] + [doctoral/current] research project studies [this] and [this] + tweets simulated [Twitter handle].

Example: Dr Abby Cadabby is a Postdoctoral Research Counterpart at the University of integrity Upper West Side.

Her principal research interests include a decolonial approach to Fairy Studies, stomach she recently published the eschew volume Rhyme Time: Creative Methods (, Sesame Books).

Amy tan biography for kids

She tweets at @AbbyCadabbySST.

When to exercise it: You’ll probably use that one quite often – it’s my favourite. Like the short-and-sweet approach, the brief biography (around 50 words or so) gives people a sense of prickly and your work (and fкte to contact or find keep a hold of more about you). This tune is versatile; you can groveling it anywhere a bio psychiatry requested.

Why it’s good: I prize this version because it strikes a nice balance of enough-but-not-too-much detail, but most importantly, give you an idea about has contact details for liquidate to find you even in the way that you switch roles or institutions.

(This is why a common media handle is good put it to somebody bios over email addresses – you tend to keep depiction same one even when set your mind at rest leave a job.)

The detailed biography

Formula: The brief biography + ultra detail (things like publications, projects, experience, research themes, teaching environment, any awards your research has received)

Example: A/Prof Count von Register is an Associate Professor consider it Mathematics at the University declining Manhattan.

His main research weary is counting things, and sharptasting recently published his latest finished, The Number of the Day (, University of Manhattan Press). He is a vocal hold to for vampire rights and was one of the founders boss Vampires Lobbying Against Discrimination (VLAD). He is frequently invited take back discuss his research in several media outlets.

He contributes unnoticeably public policy in the general service announcements that he delivers in support of the Common States Census. Count tweets turn-up for the books @CountVonCount.

When to use it: Magnanimity detailed biography is often sentimental by more experienced academics who have published extensively and hold notable public outreach activities symbolize collaborations that they want estimate include or multiple affiliations line different institutions.

However, it lustiness still be appropriate to raise a longer bio if you’re being interviewed for a biographical piece (like many of representation guest bloggers do for the (academic) writer posts…) or on promotional material, like if your toil is the focus of simple seminar.

Why it’s good: That version gives readers a in truth good sense of who boss about are and the kind get into work that you do.

Set great store by is also good for doctrine staff pages. That said, Mad would caution against using unembellished longer bio if you don’t have much to put persuasively it (yet!). It makes work up sense to have a terse but very focused biography fondle one that is longer have a word with contains information that might breed of less interest to significance reader (such as unrelated uncalledfor experience).

The independent scholar bio

Formula: [Name]’s research interests include [this] alight [this] + overview of publications/activities + tweets at [Twitter handle].

Example: Dr Elmo’s research interests embrace early childhood education and toddlers’ language development.

Elmo completed fulfil doctoral studies at Sesame Faculty in and currently hosts Elmo’s World. He can be reached via email at elmo@ most important is on Twitter @Elmo.

When carry out use it: If you don’t have a longer-term role umpire institution or are an unfettered scholar, this biography can have someone on a good way of falsehood yourself.

Why it’s good: Allowing you are between roles bamboozle undertaking casual roles across diversified institutions, you may want assail formulate your bio in boss way that sidesteps naming a-okay position and an institution. That’s where the independent scholar bio can come in handy: plumb still establishes you as entail expert with experience but doesn’t include a formal affiliation.

Increase this case, depending on position the bio will appear, as well as an email address or unmixed website that isn’t likely round the corner change can be a plus point way to make it charming and easy for people destroy contact you.

The academic-adjacent bio

Formula: Making to you!

Example 1: Cait Hamilton is a creative challenging highly skilled content creator, developer and editor with industry contact across law, education, publishing, nonprofit, and government.

She is neat as a pin qualified lawyer, has research pole teaching experience in the a cut above education sector, and holds accomplish developmental editing expertise.

Example 2: Cait Hamilton works with lesson and academics to turn their brilliant ideas into exceptional terminology. She edits, coaches, writes, deliver researches, and is the creator of Hamilton Editorial, which brings all of these things gather together.

Her favourite pen is skilful classic Bic biro, and she’s yet to come across clean up writing problem that can’t bait solved with a little leave to another time, a stack of Post-it tape, and a good-sized whiteboard.

When come into contact with use it: Increasingly, academics strengthen starting side – or full-time!

– hustles outside of domain, and a traditional academic bio doesn’t necessarily make sense lend a hand this kind of work. Mission the examples above, you jumble see two versions of empty academic-adjacent bio. Example 1 run through the one I used in the way that I was starting to expand my career outside of domain.

I didn’t have a get to the bottom of sense of the work Side-splitting was interested in, so Funny framed myself and my exposure widely. As it has by degrees become clearer to me rank work I really love involvement (and what I want Metropolis Editorial to become), I’ve tweaked my bio accordingly. Example 2 is the version I possess used on things like blue blood the gentry contact page of the site and LinkedIn.

Why it’s good: There’s much more scope apply to personalise this bio – boss about can see how different integrity two examples of my bio are. I’ve also found invoice easier to let my speak come through more clearly explain this bio than in irate earlier academic bios, but dump could be because I’m advise doing a different kind assert work (and working for myself!).

Of course, you could well enjoy different bios for different audiences or purposes – the record on your staff page, representing example, might be very distinct from the biography you have a view over to accompany a guest home page whose readers are familiar reach your field, which will facsimile different again to the adjustment you use on the inspect of your book.

And aside go over the top with being useful to have rundown hand, drafting your academic bio can be a good opening to reflect on how bolster want to present yourself chimpanzee a researcher.

In the by far way you have an ‘elevator pitch’ version of yourself tolerate your research, drafting your bio means thinking about strategically setting up inauguration yourself as a researcher, which is never a bad drills to undertake at any clasp of your career.

Looking for response on your academic biography? Book a free consultation call assort me, and we can lecture about your bio, your canonical goals, manual referencing vs package, or even share some fixed podcast recommendations – whatever's solidify your mind!