Career · 2026-08-22 · 11 min read
Undergraduate and master’s theses on a CV: how to list them
How to include your bachelor’s or master’s thesis on a résumé: education vs projects, grade, ATS-friendly bullets, and what not to copy from the academic PDF.
A bachelor’s or master’s thesis on a CV is project proof, not a chapter of the dissertation. If you are leaving the degree or entering internships you have little else: a well-described capstone differentiates. If you already have two jobs: one line under the degree, or nothing if it does not help the role. Do not paste an 800-word abstract or a 5.0/10 grade. This guide fits the block into the file you already have. Junior context: first job, internships, no experience.
ClarCV does not write your thesis. It leaves title, university, and bullets on an A4 template. Free: 3 analyses and 2 downloads / 30 days, no card. Pro €7/month.
The committee already read the dissertation. HR wants problem, method, result, and stack or sector if they apply.
Education or Projects (pick one)
If the thesis is the closest thing to a real case, put it under Projects with the context “BSc thesis, University X, 2025”. If it is just a degree requirement, leave it under Education: BSc in… — Thesis: “Route optimisation (Python, 40 pages, notable).” Duplicating it in both sections is noise. A practice-based master’s (company) is described as a project with the company name if they allow it; if there is an NDA, the sector and the deliverable.
- Thesis title in one line (the real one, not invented SEO).
- Year, school, supervisor only if the name opens doors in that sector.
- 2–3 bullets: goal, tools, outcome (prototype, paper, simulated saving).
- Grade: yes if it is high and the role is analytical/academic; no if it is a bare pass.
- Link to the public university repository if it exists; do not upload the full dissertation to the job board.
Before and after on the PDF
Before: “Thesis on marketing.” After: “BSc thesis (UCM, 2025): churn analysis for a 12k-customer telco (SQL + Python); retention playbook presented to a company supervisor.” ATS catches Python, SQL, churn. The human understands scope. If the work is Fine Arts, the deliverable (show, catalogue) replaces the stack. Relation to side projects: GitHub and projects.
What to leave off
Not the exam-board ID, not the committee signatures, not “outstanding by unanimous vote” if it was not. Not an embargoed company project as if it were a public paper. For a master’s application they sometimes want the dissertation separately: the CV stays short. In ClarCV you trim. You do not inflate the grade; the model must not invent a 9.8.
FAQ
Does a thesis count as work experience?
Not as a job. Yes as an academic project. Do not date it as if you were on payroll.
Should I list a thesis from ten years ago?
Only if the topic is the job (a dissertation that is still your specialty). Otherwise the degree title is enough.
What about a vocational capstone (FP in Spain)?
Same recipe: project + tools + outcome. In Spain it is a useful keyword on technician ads.
Does ClarCV read my dissertation?
No. It formats the CV. You write the thesis summary.