How to List Relevant Coursework on a Resume

If you’ve completed a course in a topic or field related to the job you’re applying for, it may be a relevant credential you can list on your resume. While listing relevant coursework on your resume isn’t always the best use of the limited space a resume provides, it can be evidence of your skills when you’re a recent graduate or have an unfinished degree. Once you start building relevant job-related experiences, you can remove details, such as coursework, from your resume to make space for more recent experiences. 

Learn more about how to decide when to add relevant coursework to your resume, including examples of how to include this information. 

What is relevant coursework?

Relevant coursework for your resume includes classes and other educational experiences you’ve completed that speak to the transferable or technical skills you may need to be successful in your role. You can often identify this information from job postings, although you may need to conduct additional research. In addition, you can match the skills a candidate needs for a position with your transcript and coursework to find classes that illustrate your ability to perform those skills. 

Not all the classes you take while completing your degree will be relevant to the job you want. Many degrees require students to take various required courses regardless of their major or career goals. Since your resume has limited space, stick to the classes that most clearly demonstrate why you’re qualified for the particular role. 

When to list relevant coursework on a resume 

In some cases, listing relevant coursework on your resume can help demonstrate your qualifications for a job. Three instances where you might decide to list relevant coursework on your resume include when you’re writing a CV, when you’re a recent graduate, or when the courses you’ve taken play a role in how qualified you are for the job. 

• When writing a CV: A curriculum vitae (CV) is similar to a resume and lists your education, skills, and other essential credentials. A resume is a tool you can use to give someone an at-a-glance view of your most relevant qualifications, while a CV is a longer, more comprehensive document you can use to detail the finer points of your education, experience, and skills. You can include relevant coursework, class projects or research papers, leadership experience, athletic involvement, or volunteer experiences when writing a CV. 

• When you’re a recent graduate or have an unfinished degree: Relevant coursework can help demonstrate your skills through learning experiences when you don’t yet have relevant on-the-job experience. If you recently graduated or haven’t finished just yet, listing coursework can help show potential employers your educational background. Challenging courses also demonstrate your ability to work hard and overcome complex subjects. 

• When your coursework plays a direct role in the position's requirements: If you’re applying for a job not directly related to your field, you can add relevant coursework to demonstrate why your unique skills are a good match for the role. You can also add relevant coursework to demonstrate that you’re proficient with technical skills you haven’t yet had the opportunity to use in your professional experience. 

When should I remove relevant coursework from a resume?

Your relevant coursework helps demonstrate the experience you’ve earned and why you’re a strong candidate for a job, but they aren’t as powerful as job experience. Once you start building professional experiences outside of school, you can remove relevant coursework and other academic information like GPA and replace it with more current professional experience. You can also consider removing relevant coursework when it's no longer directly related to the position you’re applying for, such as a course you took on a technology the industry no longer uses. 

How do you list relevant coursework on a resume?

To list relevant coursework on your resume, choose three to six of the most relevant courses you’ve completed. You can list them in the education section on your resume in a bullet point under your degree or create a dedicated section to list courses. Creating a designated section may be helpful if you want to list courses you took outside of your degree program or online courses. 

In either case, you can summarize the learning objectives to clarify what skills you learned in the class. This is particularly helpful for courses with vague names. You can also choose to alter the course's name to clarify why the class is relevant to the reader. For example, some class titles have associated numbers, which is less interesting to your potential employer than a title that correctly identifies the course topic. 

Relevant coursework resume examples

It can be helpful to look at some examples of resume sections that include relevant coursework. Explore examples from computer science and business administration degrees.

Relevant coursework resume: Computer science

Computer science is a broad field, and a computer science degree is relevant to many different careers. You may find it helpful to list relevant courses to specify what area of computer science you plan to work in before gaining experience in the field. 

For example, this format may work for an applicant with a bachelor’s degree in computer science applying for a position as an AI developer: 

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science 

Harvard University, 2019 to 2024

Coursework: 

Artificial Intelligence with Python

AI Essentials for Business

AI in Business: Creating Value with Machine Learning

A computer science degree would also be relevant for a software developer. Consider this example of an applicant for a front-end developer position: 

Bachelor of Science, Computer Science 

Mid-State Technical College, 2018 to 2023

Coursework: 

User Experience Design 

Collaborative Application Development

Introduction to Psychology

Object Oriented Programming

Relevant coursework for a business administration resume

Consider an example of adding relevant coursework to the resume of an applicant with a bachelor’s degree in business administration applying for a position as a health services manager: 

Bachelor of Science, Healthcare Administration

Western Governers University, 2018 to 2023

Coursework: 

Emerging Trends in Health Care Administration

Health Care Policy and Governance 

Health Care Leadership and Community Engagement 

Explore relevant coursework on Coursera

Adding relevant coursework to your resume can effectively demonstrate your skills before you build real-world job experience. Enrolling in online courses in your specific field of study, such as the Google Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Professional Certificate on Coursera, can give you even more coursework to enhance your resume and strengthen your skill set.