Major Explorer Template: Making Your Specialism a Skill

The Major Explorer template is for anyone building a profile around their academic specialism: a senior student, or an applicant to a training programme or scholarship. It shows the courses taken and projects delivered to prove the specialism is an acquired skill, not a line on a certificate.

The steps

1. Write one line naming your specialism and the skills it gave you
2. List the courses most connected to working practice, not the full transcript
3. Add course projects and state the skill each one demonstrated
4. Add the tools and software you learned through the specialism
5. Add any related internship or volunteering, however short

Practical tips

• Do not list every course you took; keep six to ten that serve the target
• Tie each project to a practical skill — otherwise it stays a school description
• Use it for scholarships and training programmes, which read the profile closely

Common mistakes to avoid

• Listing course titles with no skills attached, which reads as a transcript
• Omitting the practical skills the specialism gave you, which employers care about most

Frequently asked questions

Who is it for?

Senior students, applicants to training programmes or scholarships, and anyone wanting to present their academic specialism as an operational skill.

Should I list every course?

No. Keep six to ten relevant to the target field and note the skill each one added.

Links for this guide

• See the Major Explorer template
• Use the template in the editor