How to write a CV for a scholarship application
Build a scholarship CV from the call's selection criteria: grades with their scale, research, awards, tested languages and service, each dated and provable. First check whether the call wants a CV file at all, and in what form.1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
First: find out what form the call wants the CV in
Scholarship providers do not agree on what a CV is. Reading eight calls side by side on 13 October 2026 turned up four different answers, and the first job is to find out which one applies to you. A beautifully designed file is wasted on a call that only reads a web form.
| What the call wants | Example from the calls we read | What you prepare |
|---|---|---|
| A CV file in your own layout | Fulbright Türkiye asks for an up-to-date English CV; Euroculture lists a CV in its checklist | A clean PDF that matches the online form line for line |
| A CV in a set format | DAAD wants a full CV in tabular form of at most 3 pages; Copernicus Master in Digital Earth wants the English Europass template with a passport photo | The prescribed format, filled from the same facts |
| A CV generated by a database | TÜBİTAK 2214-A asks for a detailed CV taken from ARBİS, with its publication list | Clean records in that database, not a separate document |
| No CV at all | Chevening collects up to fifteen employment periods in its form; the EMLE application page lists no CV among its documents | Exact dates and titles for the form fields |
Why the form matters more than the design
Where the call fixes a format, a committee compares applicants on the same grid, and a creative layout only makes your file harder to compare. Where there is no CV, the effort goes into the form: Chevening calculates your work hours by multiplying the weeks you enter, so a wrong date costs you eligibility, not style points.
How a selection committee uses the CV
A committee scores applicants against criteria it publishes, and the CV is where most of them become visible in one place. Two calls print their weights. EMLE ranks applicants 40% on the quality of their university career, 25% on the motivation letter, 25% on affinity to law and economics and 10% on recommendation letters. TÜBİTAK 2214-A gives the research proposal 45%, the applicant's scientific competence 15%, the reason for doing the work abroad and the host's competence 25%, and career development potential 15%.
Neither weighting rewards a long list of duties. Both reward evidence that can be checked against a transcript, a publication record or a referee. That is the difference from a job CV, which argues that you can do a specific job next month.
Turn the criteria into rows
- Copy the selection criteria from the call into a list, in the call's own words.
- Under each criterion, write the CV rows that show it: a grade, a thesis, an award, a test result, a role.
- Delete rows that answer no criterion, unless the call asks for a complete history, as DAAD and university admission often do.
- Check every number against the document you will upload. Fulbright says plagiarism or fraud removes a candidate, and TÜBİTAK voids applications with false statements.
- Put the strongest criterion first on the page, which for most academic awards is education.
What eight calls say about the CV, read on 13 October 2026
This table is the reason for this page. Each row quotes or closely paraphrases the provider's own page; the deadline column gives only what that page published on the day we read it.
| Scholarship | What it says about the CV | Deadline as published |
|---|---|---|
| DAAD Study Scholarships, master's (graduates, Turkey) | Full curriculum vitae in tabular form, max. 3 pages; letter of motivation 1 to 3 pages | Updated each year in the second quarter; the call said applications were not open |
| Fulbright Master's, Türkiye (2027-2028) | English CV uploaded under Academic & Professional Information; the form guide recommends PDF and no more than 4 pages | Closed; the 2027-2028 round closed on 10 April 2026 |
| Fulbright Academic Research Grant, Türkiye (2027-2028) | English CV, next to a research proposal of at most 5 pages and 3,500 words | 13 October 2026, 23:59 |
| Copernicus Master in Digital Earth (Erasmus Mundus) | CV based on the English Europass template, including a passport photo | Call 4: 2 November 2026 to 22 January 2027, 23:59 CET |
| EMLE, European Master in Law and Economics (Erasmus Mundus) | No CV among the listed documents: degree certificates, transcripts, a one-page motivation letter, references, proof of residence | 31 December 2026 (non-European) and 15 January 2027 (European applicants) |
| Euroculture (Erasmus Mundus) | CV listed in the application checklist, next to research papers or theses if applicable | The page announced scholarships for 2027-2029 but showed no date for that window |
| Chevening (UK, 2027-28 cycle) | No CV mentioned; work history goes into up to fifteen employment periods, at least 2,800 hours after your degree | Applications close in October 2026; the exact date is on each country page |
| TÜBİTAK 2214-A, research abroad during a PhD | Detailed CV taken from ARBİS, including the publication list | 2026 call ran 20 July to 15 September 2026, now closed |
Calls are reissued every year and wording changes. Open the linked page for your round before you upload anything.
One block rewritten from a job CV into a scholarship CV
The applicant is invented: a public health graduate applying for a funded master's abroad. The left column is how her job CV read. The right column is the same fact rewritten so a committee can tie it to a criterion and a document.
| Job CV line | Scholarship CV line | Criterion and proof |
|---|---|---|
| Graduated with honours | B.Sc. Public Health, [University], 2022 to 2026; GPA 3.41/4.00 (transcript states 4.00 scale) | Academic record; transcript |
| Strong research skills | Thesis: "Vaccination uptake in two Ankara districts, 2019 to 2024", supervised by [Professor]; grade AA | Research preparation; the supervisor is a referee |
| Team player, volunteer | Volunteer, [Association], weekly literacy sessions for 14 children, 10/2023 to 06/2026 | Social engagement; a letter from the association |
| Fluent English | IELTS Academic 7.0, March 2026 | Language of instruction; test report within its validity |
| Award-winning student | Faculty high-honour list, 2024 and 2025 (dean's letter) | Academic achievement; the letter you can upload |
| Excel, SPSS | SPSS: logistic regression for the thesis data set (n = 412) | Methods the programme builds on |
Section order a committee can scan
- Education, newest first, with the grade and its scale on the same line.
- Thesis and research projects, with the supervisor's name.
- Scholarships and awards, with the year and who gave them.
- Publications and presentations, if any, in one citation style.
- Work experience and internships, dated to the month.
- Languages with the test and the date, then volunteering and service.
Fulbright's package guide shows why the CV carries this weight: certificates from courses, honour certificates and sample papers are not to be uploaded and will not be assessed. If they matter, they have to appear as CV rows and in the form's award and publication fields.
Where the facts on this page come from
- DAAD Study Scholarships call for graduates from Turkey, read 13 October 2026: the 3-page tabular CV and the 1 to 3 page letter.
- Fulbright Türkiye master's page, package guide and Slate form guide (updated January 2026), read 13 October 2026: English CV, 4-page PDF recommendation, documents not assessed.
- Fulbright Academic Research Grant page, read 13 October 2026: deadline, 5-page and 3,500-word proposal limit.
- Copernicus Master in Digital Earth, application step 1 (last updated 22 October 2025) and calls page (updated 13 October 2026).
- EMLE application page and Euroculture application page, read 13 October 2026.
- Chevening application timeline and work experience pages, read 13 October 2026; TÜBİTAK 2214-A 2026 call text, read the same day.
What we could not confirm
Chevening's pages we read did not say whether a CV can be uploaded anywhere in the form, and Euroculture's page did not describe a CV format. We left both as stated rather than guessing.
When this advice does not fit
- Formula-scored awards. TÜBİTAK's 2210-A and 2211-A domestic grants score grades, ALES, a language test and university entrance rank, and ask for no CV at application.
- Research and postdoctoral grants. The proposal carries most of the weight, and the CV mainly backs the claim that you can deliver it.
- Arts programmes. Portfolios and auditions decide; DAAD, for one, runs separate programmes for those fields.
- Job applications. A paid post wants a job CV; the guide to writing a resume covers that form.
A word on AI-written text
Copernicus Master in Digital Earth warns that generic or AI-generated statements weaken an application and that it may check for them, and TÜBİTAK makes applicants follow its generative AI guideline. Facts on a CV must be your own and provable either way.
Next steps
- Write the motivation letter from the same facts, so dates and titles agree; the motivation letter guide shows the structure.
- Ask referees early. Fulbright Türkiye wants three English letters through its system by the deadline, and EMLE will not accept letters sent by applicants.
- For a specific programme, use its own page: the DAAD, Fulbright and Erasmus Mundus guides go through each one.
- CitedCV can write the CV in English, Turkish or German from the facts you enter or upload, with each line tied to those facts. It does not know any call's rules, so the format choice above stays yours.
Questions people ask
How do I write a CV for a scholarship?
Start from the call's selection criteria and give each one a dated, provable row: grade with scale, thesis, awards, tested languages, service. Then match the format the call asks for.
How long should a scholarship CV be?
As long as the call allows, and no longer. DAAD sets a maximum of three pages; Fulbright Türkiye's form guide recommends no more than four.
Should I put my GPA on a scholarship CV?
Yes, with its scale on the same line. Committees weigh academic records heavily, and Fulbright Türkiye asks transcripts to state the 4.00 or 100 equivalent.
Do scholarships require a Europass CV?
Only some do. Copernicus Master in Digital Earth asks for the English Europass template, while DAAD asks for a tabular CV and names no template.
What is the difference between a scholarship CV and a job CV?
A scholarship CV proves academic merit and promise to a committee scoring set criteria. A job CV argues you can do one job; duties matter there, grades much less.
Should a scholarship CV have a photo?
Only when the call asks for one. Copernicus wants a passport photo on the Europass CV; Fulbright Türkiye asks for a separate photo file instead.
Should I list course certificates on a scholarship CV?
Yes, when they support a criterion. Fulbright Türkiye will not assess uploaded course certificates, so a CV row is where they count.
Can I apply for a scholarship without a CV?
Sometimes. Chevening collects employment periods in its form, and the EMLE application page lists no CV, so you prepare exact dates instead.
Sources
- DAAD: Study Scholarships, Master Studies for All Academic Disciplines (graduates, Turkey)www2.daad.de/deutschland/stipendium/datenbank/en/21148-scholarship-database/?status=3&origin=14&detail=50026200
- Fulbright Türkiye: Master's scholarship (Turkish)fulbright.org.tr/burs/3/Yüksek-Lisans-Bursu
- Fulbright Türkiye: How to fill in the online application form, January 2026 (Turkish, PDF)fulbright.org.tr/data/_files/Metin%20%C4%B0ci%20PDF%20Dosyalar%C4%B1/Form_OnlineBasvuruFormununDoldurulmasi_2026.pdf
- Fulbright Türkiye: Academic Research Grant (Turkish)fulbright.org.tr/burs/4/Fulbright-Akademik-Araştırma-Bursu
- Copernicus Master in Digital Earth: Application, step 1master-cde.eu/admission/procedures-deadlines/application-step-1/
- Copernicus Master in Digital Earth: Call 4 applicationmaster-cde.eu/admission/procedures-deadlines/calls/
- EMLE: Applicationemle.org/application-2/
- Euroculture: Applicationwww.euroculturemaster.eu/application
- Chevening: Application timelinewww.chevening.org/scholarships/application-timeline/
- Chevening: Work experiencewww.chevening.org/scholarships/who-can-apply/work-experience/
- TÜBİTAK: 2214-A call text, 2026 (Turkish, PDF)tubitak.gov.tr/sites/default/files/2026-07/2214-A_2026_Yili_Program_Cagri_Duyurusu.pdf