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I’m not from the US and I'm applying to US grad schools for a PhD in Math and I'd like to share my academic website containing details about six of my favourite courses that I took in my masters and around 30 or so PDFs of solutions to challenging problems, assignments, tests etc. that I did during my program. This could be seen as evidence that I made efforts to solve problems beyond the syllabus and that I'm genuinely interested in researching those areas.

I usually share a link in the contact information section of my CV but in case a CV is not requested, what's the best place to share this link? I could add a line in my SOP and include a link in the footer but that's usually discouraged.

Will also including information about my extracurricular activities and some photos be considered okay? What else could I include in this website to give further evidence of my preparedness for a PhD program? (I do not have any publications or master's thesis yet)

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    You write "in case a CV is not requested" - have you actually encountered examples of this, or is it just a hypothetical? Second, if a school has trimmed down their application process so far that they don't even want a CV that often fits on one or two pages for a PhD applicant, why should they be going on to view personal websites of students?
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Commented Dec 26, 2022 at 21:28
  • @BryanKrause Stony Brook University (math.stonybrook.edu/applying-phd-program) has no option to upload a cv or any additional material. UCLA (ww3.math.ucla.edu/admissions) does not ask for a cv though I think I uploaded it in the additional documents section. There was one more school that I can't remember the name of. They have sections for research experience, awards, publications, employment history in the application so most of the important stuff from the cv is already covered I suppose. Still, it might not hurt to leave a link to your website but I'm not sure where.
    – ZSMJ
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 2:00
  • If they have an application form that effectively contains the elements of a CV, that looks to me like an effort to a) make sure CVs have the right information, and b) avoid CVs that have extra information. I think they definitely do not want to see your 30 PDFs of challenging problems. They're likely going to have hundreds of applications, how many additional pages per student do you think it's reasonable that they consider?
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 2:36

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I have never seen a PhD programme which you can apply without a CV. Also, I am not sure whether your CV is the best place to showcase your efforts. The committee will definitely require a research proposal from you. This is where you state your goals and ambitions.

Explaining your research goals with evidence is never a bad idea, and in fact it's a really good structure if you highlighted your website and encouraged the committee members to go and check it for the coursework you've completed etc.

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The SoP, not the CV, is the place to state your goals, both for study and thereafter. So, focus there on the area(s) that you want to study. Use past accomplishments only in brief statements (phrases) that support those goals.

I'm also surprised that you aren't asked for a CV, though it might be permitted to supply one anyway. The reason for this is that most doctoral programs in the US don't require anything beyond the bachelors so the opportunity to develop a meaningful CV is minimal for most students. Other places (Germany...) where a masters is usually required probably would want a CV or similar.

And a link to an academic website might not even be followed in a US application. It would be a bit strange to refer to it from the SoP which should be future focused, not detailing past accomplishments.

See: How does the admissions process work for Ph.D. programs in Country X?

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