How to Include an Anticipated Graduation Date on Your Resume

There are plenty of times you might need a resume when you’re still attending school, whether you’re looking for an internship or starting to apply for entry level jobs. 

Like any resume, you’ll highlight your relevant skills, experiences, coursework, certifications, and other qualifications. But then you get to your education section and realize: you haven’t graduated yet. 

How do you make it clear to potential employers that, while you don’t yet have your diploma in hand, you have a plan in place for when you’ll complete your education?

That’s when listing an anticipated graduation date is helpful. This guide covers how to determine your graduation date, when to include it on a resume, and how best to list your expected graduation (with examples to reference).‍

Graduating soon and ready to create your resume? Make a free resume with Teal today.

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What does anticipated graduation date mean?

Your anticipated graduation date, or also known as expected graduation date, is the date you expect to finish your education at your university and graduate.

In most cases, the expected graduation on your resume will refer to the date you plan to finish college. However, if you need a resume while you’re a high school student, you can also use this approach to list when you’ll graduate high school.

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Should you put an anticipated graduation date on your resume?

If you’re currently in school, the short answer is yes. Current students should always include an expected graduation date on their resumes.

When you officially graduate, you’ll change your expected graduation date to your actual graduation date—the month and year you officially earned your diploma.

But while you’re still in school, including your planned graduation date (both month and year) on your resume helps employers in a few different ways:

• Clarifies your career stage: It makes it clear that you’re still in school while also providing important information such as the university you’re attending, the type of degree you’re pursuing, and of course, when you plan to finish.
• Implies earliest start date: It helps employers understand when you’re available to start, which is especially important if you’re applying for your first full-time, entry level job out of college.
• Gives insight into interview availability: It gives employers an idea of your level of flexibility for scheduling interviews and other next steps in the hiring process. Your class schedule and other educational commitments will need to be considered.

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How to find your anticipated graduation date

You likely started school with a rough idea of how long the process would take. Most people understand it typically takes four years to get a bachelor degree.

But in reality, the actual amount of time it takes to finish a degree can vary greatly depending on several factors:

• Are you attending full time or part time? 
• Were specific courses available when you needed them? 
• Did you take a gap year or do a study abroad experience for a term?

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How long does it take to graduate?

As one study from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows, while a bachelor’s degree takes 5.7 years on average, there are students who graduate “on time” in four years, and even more who complete their degree in closer to six years. For instance, students with an associate degree takes 8.2 years to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, on average.

What type of institution plays a big part in determining anticipated graduation dates. For instance, those who graduate with a bachelors from a non-profit, four-year private college are likely to graduate in less time than those who attend public four-year colleges. However, those who earn a bachelor’s from a for-profit university are likely to take longer than both public and non-profit private institutions.

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How to determine your expected graduation date

With such huge fluctuations, how can you correctly figure out when you’ll wrap up? Some simple math will give you your best estimate:

• Look at your registration or other degree resources to see how many credits are required for your degree. In general, associate’s degrees require 60 semester credits and bachelor’s degrees require 120 semester credits. But that can vary, so confirm the information for your specific degree and program of study.
• Determine how many credits you’ve finished so far. You can request your transcript and see how many you’ve completed.
• Do some simple subtraction to see how many credits you have remaining. For example, if your degree requires 120 credits and you’ve completed 90, you have 30 credits left to graduate.
• Plot those remaining credits over the upcoming semesters. With 30 credits left, you can take 15 credits over the next two semesters and be done within a year. Of course, you can adjust the timeline by taking a higher or lower credit load or enrolling in courses over summer and winter break.

Feeling confused? A school counselor can help you plan your credits and get a clearer idea of your anticipated graduation date.

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How to put expected graduation date on a resume

Once you know your anticipated or expected graduation date, it’s time to write it clearly on your resume along with the information about the state and city you’re attending school and the degree type you’re pursuing. Here’s where and how to write anticipated graduation date on resume:

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1. Understand where this date goes

Fortunately, figuring out where to put your anticipated graduation date on your resume is easy: it goes in your education section, along with the information about where you’re attending school and the degree type you’re pursuing.

Learn more about the ins and outs of your education in this guide about how to list education on a resume.

Teal Tip: The order of your resume sections depends on your experience. If you’re still in school or a recent graduate, your education section will have more weight (which means putting it closer to the top of your document) because you have less formal experience under your belt. 

It can be tough to write a resume when you’re short on formal work experience. If you need some help, read this guide about how to make a resume with no experience.

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2. Decide on your language

Next up, determine whether you want to list your upcoming graduation date as “expected” or anticipated.” Both are completely acceptable—ultimately, it’s a matter of personal preference.

If you can’t make your choice, take another look at the job description to see if the employer uses certain language when talking about experience and graduation dates. You can mirror that language on your document. 

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3. Choose your graduation date format

A date itself seems pretty straightforward, but there are several different ways you can format dates on your resume:

• Numbers: 01/2025
• Short name: Jan 2025
• Long name: January 2025

Again, making your choice is a matter of personal preference. However, consistency matters. Stick with the same date format across your entire resume.

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Pro-tip: It’s easy to set this using Design Mode in Teal’s Resume Builder. Navigate to the Design Tab and then select your desired date format from the dropdown menu. That will automatically apply that format across your resume.

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4. List your expected graduate date

All that’s left to do is list your expected graduation date with your other education information.

Here are a few accepted ways to write your anticipated graduation date on your resume:

• July 2024 (Expected)
• Expected July 2024
• Expected 07/2024
• Expected Graduation: July 2024
• July 2024 (Anticipated)
• Anticipated July 2024
• Anticipated 07/2024
• Anticipated Graduation: July 2024

In Teal’s Resume Builder, you can set a start date and end date for each educational experience. But just selecting an end date will list that date without the “expected” or “anticipated” label. 

So, if you’re still in school, skip selecting a start or end date and instead write “Anticipated Graduation: Jan 2025” (using whatever date format you prefer, as long as it’s consistent) in the “Additional Information” section.

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When you do so, your finished section on your resume will look like this:

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Anticipated graduation date on resume examples

Want to see a sample resume with an expected graduation date included? Here are three resume examples, all with differently-formatted dates.

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1. Numbers format

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2. Short name format

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3. Long name format

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3 mistakes to avoid when adding anticipated graduation date to a resume

Listing your expected graduation date is surprisingly straightforward, but here are three common mistakes to look out for when adding your graduation date.

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1. Vague language

The point of your expected graduation date is to give companies a clear idea of when you’ll be done and when you’re officially ready and able to work. For that reason, specificity matters.

Avoid broad dates (like “Summer 2025”) and don’t just give employers a year (“2025”). Instead,  include both the month and the year you plan to finish your schooling.

Of course, things happen and plans change. But more clarity means you and a potential employer are more likely to be on the same page.

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2. Inconsistent date formatting

Are the dates included with your previous positions written with numbers while your expected graduation date is spelled out with the full name of the month?

While it might seem like a trivial detail, inconsistent formatting makes your resume look sloppy. As you proofread your resume, confirm your date format is consistent across your entire document.

TIP: Set your preferred date format in Teal’s Resume Builder and you can rest assured that all of your resume dates will use a consistent format.

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3. Update your graduation date on your resume

Once you graduate, remember to go in and remove your expected graduation date and replace it with your actual graduation date. When you’ve finished your education, your resume should reflect that. 

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Prepare for post-school success with Teal

In the grand scheme of your resume, your expected graduation date is just one line—making it seem like an inconsequential detail.

But in reality, an anticipated graduation date provides an employer with crucial information they need when assessing their hiring options.

Much like any other part of your resume, clarity and consistency carry a lot of weight. Keep the above tips in mind and put Teal’s Resume Builder to work to create a resume that shows employers why you deserve to move to the next step of the hiring process.

Ready to write your most impressive resume? Get started with Teal’s free AI Resume Builder.