Your education section is doing one of two jobs, and it can only do one at a time. Early in your career it is your headline evidence, so it goes near the top with detail. A few years in it becomes a footnote that confirms a requirement, so it drops to the bottom in two clean lines. The mistake most people make is freezing it in the wrong position and never moving it.
Place it by career stage, not habit
A recent graduate or student should put education right under the header, above any thin work history. A degree, relevant modules, and a strong grade are the best proof you have, so lead with them. Once you have two or three years of real work, recruiters care about what you have done since, and education moves below your experience. Keep it, but stop it from crowding out the roles that now matter more.
Include what earns its space
List the institution, the qualification, and the dates. Beyond that, add detail only when it argues for the specific job.
- Grade or classification: include it when it is strong or when the field expects it, and leave it off quietly when it is weak.
- Relevant modules: name three or four that map to the role, not the full transcript.
- Academic projects or a thesis: worth a line when they show a skill the job needs and your work history does not.
- Honours and scholarships: short, factual, and only the ones a stranger would find impressive.
Keep the formatting scannable
Use reverse chronological order, one entry per qualification, and consistent date formatting throughout. Skip secondary school once you hold a degree unless a role specifically asks. A parser reads plain headings far better than a two-column design, so keep this section simple and let the content do the work.
When you are ready, our CV guide covers the full structure, the resume checker flags an education section that is too heavy or badly placed, and the ATS checker confirms a scanner can read it. Students building a first CV will find fitted layouts on the student page.