An academic-first Typst CV template: one serif family, one accent colour, a restrained type scale, and simple content helpers.

• cv is the single entry point. It is the best default for long documents, printing, accessibility, and applicant tracking systems (ATS).
• cv(columns: 2, ...) is a compact one-page variant for human readers. Multi-column PDF extraction can interleave content, so do not use it when ATS parsing matters.

The examples use fictional people, institutions, publications, and awards.

For a matching letter and statement template, see modernpro-coverletter. The two packages share a design system and take the same profile shape, so a CV, a cover letter, and a research statement read as one application. Each starter keeps that dictionary inline so the document remains self-contained.

Preview

Canonical academic CV

Compact two-column CV

Choose a layout

When in doubt, use the single-column version. Keep the two-column version to one page and do not rely on it when automated PDF extraction matters.

Quick start

Create and compile a project with the Typst CLI:

typst init @preview/modernpro-cv:2.0.0
cd modernpro-cv
typst compile cv-single.typ

The starter contains:

modernpro-cv/
├── bib.bib
├── cv-double.typ
└── cv-single.typ

During editing, rebuild automatically with:

typst watch cv-single.typ

You can also select modernpro-cv from the template gallery in the Typst web app.

First edit checklist

1. Replace the placeholder identity at the top of cv-single.typ.
2. Open cv-single.typ and delete any sections that do not apply.
3. Replace every fictional appointment, degree, publication, date, and claim.
4. Compile the document and check page breaks, contact wrapping, and the final line of each page.
5. Use cv-double.typ only if you also need a compact one-page version.

The repository examples intentionally use reserved domains, an all-zero ORCID, and fictional people and institutions. Put real information only in your own downstream document, not in a public template fork.

Minimal academic CV

profile is the only argument a typical CV needs. Define it at the top of the same file so identity, content, and presentation stay together:

#import "@preview/modernpro-cv:2.0.0": *

#let profile = (
  name: [Dr. Maya Chen],
  role: [Lecturer in Computational Social Science],
  address: [Edinburgh, United Kingdom],
  contacts: (
    (text: [maya\@northbridge.example], link: "mailto:maya@northbridge.example"),
    (text: [maya.example.org], link: "https://maya.example.org"),
    (text: [ORCID~0000-0000-0000-0000], link: "https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000"),
  ),
)

#show: cv.with(profile: profile)

#section("Research Profile")
#summary[
  Computational social scientist studying how public institutions evaluate
  data-intensive systems.
]
#section-gap

#section("Academic Appointments")
#experience(
  title: "Lecturer in Computational Social Science",
  institution: [Northbridge University],
  location: "Edinburgh, UK",
  date: "2023-present",
)
#section-gap

#section("Education")
#education(
  institution: [University of Wessex],
  major: [PhD in Information Studies],
  date: "2016-2020",
  location: "Bristol, UK",
)
#section-gap

#section("Selected Publications")
#entry(
  title: [Governing high-stakes models through public audit],
  right: "2025",
  meta: [M. Chen and A. Rahman, Journal of Responsible Data 8(2)],
)

Sections render in source order. Move a section to move it in the CV; delete it to hide it.

Recommended content workflow

Keep presentation decisions in the #show: cv.with(...) call and keep application content below it:

• Put identity and contacts immediately above the #show rule in the same file.
• Use one #section(...) for each academic category.
• Use semantic helpers such as experience, education, and entry instead of manually aligning dates.
• Write dates as short strings such as "2023-present" so the right rail stays compact.
• Add #section-gap once after a complete section; entry helpers already manage spacing between records.

For a long CV, begin with the default preset and let it flow to another page. Use the compact preset only after removing redundant content.

The four settings

Everything beyond profile is optional:

#show: cv.with(
  profile: profile,
  preset: "compact",
  accent: rgb("#1e3a5f"),
)

• "default" is the academic baseline: clear section hierarchy, comfortable entry spacing, a compact identity header.
• "compact" is for unusually long CVs or strict page limits.
• "relaxed" suits shorter dossiers and presentation copies.

A preset coordinates header rows, section-to-content spacing, entry rows, descriptions, body leading, and list spacing at once. Choose a preset rather than tuning gaps individually.

Design system

The same tokens drive modernpro-cv and modernpro-coverletter.

Entry layout is a left content block and a right date rail: the title and its institution sit on the left, the date alone occupies the right, and location joins the institution line. The right edge therefore stays a single clean column, and there is no zig-zag reading path.

Hierarchy comes from weight, case, italics, colour, and position — not from extra type sizes. Section headings are body-size, uppercase, bold, tracked, and followed by a rule; that is enough separation without introducing another step in the ladder.

Contacts

Contacts are plain text by default, keeping the header quiet and PDF extraction clean. A contact can be linked or unlinked:

contacts: (
  (text: [maya\@northbridge.example], link: "mailto:maya@northbridge.example"),
  (text: [maya.example.org], link: "https://maya.example.org"),
  [Edinburgh, United Kingdom],
)

Escape @ as \@ inside Typst content. Two or three concise contacts usually fit best; email, a personal or institutional website, and ORCID are good academic defaults.

For a human-facing version, add an optional icon field. The template accepts any Typst content and keeps the icon in a small fixed column, so the labels stay aligned and remain fully searchable:

#import "@preview/fontawesome:0.6.2": fa-icon

contacts: (
  (
    icon: fa-icon("envelope", solid: true, top-edge: "baseline"),
    text: [maya\@northbridge.example],
    link: "mailto:maya@northbridge.example",
  ),
  (
    icon: fa-icon("orcid", top-edge: "baseline"),
    text: [ORCID~0000-0000-0000-0000],
    link: "https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000",
  ),
)

The core template does not import an icon library. The example above uses Font Awesome for Typst and requires the corresponding Font Awesome desktop fonts. Omit icon for the lowest-friction, ATS-first setup. Icons should supplement familiar labels, not replace them.

Academic content helpers

Use one small helper for each kind of content:

In every entry helper, date (or right) goes to the date rail, and institution/meta and location are joined on the line below the title.

experience, education, and entry add their own spacing after each entry. Do not insert #item-gap between these helpers. #item-gap remains available for custom content that is not produced by an entry helper.

A common academic sequence is:

1. Research Profile
2. Academic Appointments
3. Education
4. Publications
5. Research Funding
6. Teaching and Supervision
7. Service
8. Awards
9. References

Use only the sections that strengthen the document.

Compact two-column variant

columns: 2 uses the same fonts, colour tokens, and content helpers as the canonical CV. Only the page structure changes.

#import "@preview/modernpro-cv:2.0.0": *

#let profile = (
  name: [Dr. Maya Chen],
  role: [Lecturer in Computational Social Science],
  address: [Edinburgh, United Kingdom],
  contacts: (
    (text: [maya\@northbridge.example], link: "mailto:maya@northbridge.example"),
    (text: [maya.example.org], link: "https://maya.example.org"),
  ),
)

#show: cv.with(
  profile: profile,
  columns: 2,
  left: [
    #section("Research Focus")
    #summary[Algorithmic accountability and digital government.]
    #section-gap

    #section("Methods")
    #detail-line(title: "Methods", content: [causal inference, audit studies])
  ],
  right: [
    #section("Academic Appointments")
    #experience(
      title: "Lecturer in Computational Social Science",
      institution: [Northbridge University],
      location: "Edinburgh, UK",
      date: "2023-present",
    )
  ],
)

Keep this variant concise and preferably to one page. The left and right columns are visually independent, but text extraction and screen readers may not preserve the intended reading order.

Common recipes

Hide the footer date

#show: cv.with(
  profile: profile,
  options: (last-updated: false),
)

Use inline contacts

#show: cv.with(
  profile: profile,
  layout: (contact-layout: "inline"),
)

Disable continuation headers

#show: cv.with(
  profile: profile,
  layout: (continue-header: false),
)

Continuation headers are useful for an academic CV that runs beyond one page. They repeat only the candidate name, document label, and page count—not the full contact block.

Advanced configuration

Most documents never need this section. When you do need a specific override, the grouped API keeps optional settings separate from content:

#show: cv.with(
  profile: profile,
  theme: (
    font: "Libertinus Serif",
    accent: rgb("#1e3a5f"),
  ),
  layout: (
    preset: "default",
    margin: (left: 1.7cm, right: 1.7cm, top: 1.5cm, bottom: 1.5cm),
    continue-header: false,
  ),
  options: (
    last-updated: true,
    page-count: true,
    date: "2026-07-09",
  ),
)

For exceptional cases, the rhythm gaps map directly to the visual hierarchy: section-content-gap separates a section heading from its first block, entry-row-gap separates a bold entry title from its institution line, description-gap separates that line from a description or bullet list, and item-gap separates complete entries. The default preset intentionally leaves more space inside a block than the compact preset so dense academic content still scans as a sequence of distinct records.

continue-header defaults to true for cv and cv-single. The full identity header appears only on the first page; later pages receive a compact header with the candidate name, “Curriculum vitae”, and page count instead of repeating contact details. cv-double keeps the historical false default because it is intended as a one-page summary.

Optional section ordering

Direct source order is the simplest approach. If a generated workflow needs to reorder or conditionally hide sections, use section-block and render-sections:

#let sections = (
  section-block("profile", title: "Research Profile")[
    #summary[Research summary.]
  ],
  section-block("education", title: "Education")[
    #education(
      institution: [University of Wessex],
      major: [PhD in Information Studies],
      date: "2016-2020",
      location: "Bristol, UK",
    )
  ],
)

#render-sections(
  sections: sections,
  order: ("profile", "education"),
  include-remaining: false,
)

This is an advanced option; it is not required for an ordinary CV.

BibTeX publications

For a short selected-publications section, entry is usually easiest. To cite records from bib.bib, list the citation keys and keep the hidden bibliography at the end of the document:

#section("Publications")
+ @article-key
+ @another-key

#show bibliography: none
#bibliography("bib.bib", style: "chicago-author-date")

Legacy API

Nothing from 1.x was removed. cv-single and cv-double still work, as do the flat arguments font-type, name, address, contacts, continue-header, lastupdated, and pagecount, including string booleans such as "true". layout: (density: ...) remains an accepted spelling of preset.

Older helper names are aliases:

• descript -> summary
• job -> experience
• twoline-item -> entry
• oneline-title-item, skill-line -> detail-line
• references -> reference-list
• sectionsep -> section-gap
• subsectionsep -> item-gap

Use cv, the four settings, and the semantic helper names for new documents.

Upgrading from 1.x

Your existing documents keep compiling. They will look different: 2.0.0 replaces the PT Sans / PT Serif pairing with a single serif family, rebuilds the size ladder, moves location out of the bottom-right corner, and widens the page margins to 2.2cm to match the letter template. To modernise a 1.x document, replace cv-single.with with cv.with and layout: (density: "balanced") with nothing at all — "default" is the default.

Troubleshooting

• The email causes a syntax error: escape @ as \@ inside Typst content.
• Font Awesome icons do not render: install the corresponding desktop fonts or remove the optional icon fields.
• The CV feels too dense: try preset: "relaxed" before changing individual spacing tokens.
• The CV exceeds a page limit: remove low-value detail first, then use preset: "compact".
• Copied PDF text is out of order: submit the single-column layout.
• A font is unavailable: use theme: (font: "Libertinus Serif") for a broadly available serif fallback.

Local development

Compile the repository examples against the working template:

typst compile example_single.typ
typst compile example_double.typ

The single-column example is the visual and behavioural reference for the academic design. The double-column example demonstrates the compact variant.

Release notes

See the changelog for version history and migration notes.

License

This template is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE.