phd notion

• Sep 29, 2020
• 10 min read

How I Use Notion as a PhD Student (With Template)

Updated: Dec 12, 2023

For the most up-to-date version of this template, click the button to head to my new website

Or check out my other PhD template – the Ultimate PhD Notion Template

Here's the YouTube video I made about this Notion setup:

I discovered Notion about a month ago, and it has honestly changed my life, both at my PhD and personally. If you don't know what Notion is, it's self-described as an "all-in-one workspace", but is basically a program / app where you create databases and pages to store any and all kinds of information. Personally, I use it to track the books I'm reading, my recipes, and I've even set up my Christmas planning in there. I also use it for organising my Instagram and blog, and keeping track of my overall career progress.

But most importantly, I now use Notion on a daily basis for my PhD. So if you're interested in how I use Notion in my PhD, then keep on reading! And if you're just interested in my template at the end, then scroll down to the bottom where I'll leave a link to it.

(For the purposes of this post I'm going to talk you through the PhD template I made instead of my own actual PhD pages, as they contain unpublished information and cannot actually be shared. However, it's important that you know they are identical to each other, just the template has the sensitive information removed!)

In a PhD, there is a lot to keep track of. Things to do and things you've done, papers to read and papers to write up. So it helps to have a space to keep track of all these things. I originally had a million and one excel spreadsheets and word documents, but once I discovered Notion, I realised how much easier it was to have it all stored in the one place! And one of the best things about Notion is it's free for students!

I start my overarching PhD page with a header of a brain, because as you all probably know, I'm studying neuroscience. Then my little emoji of choice for the page is a graduation cap. One of the things I love about Notion is the widespread use of emojis, where every page can be assigned an emoji. I then have a quote about doing a PhD which I found to be quite funny, alongside a countdown to my PhD submission date. I made this countdown using this website I found called Indify, which specialises in making free Notion widgets that you can embed into your page. I've left my countdown in the template, but if you want to use this template for yourself, you can either remove the countdown entirely, or go to Indify and create your own!

As you scroll down, I have my list of different pages, which I'll go through with you all in just a moment. But they basically cover everything you need to know or keep track of.

Scrolling down further, you reach my tasks planner. I use Google Calendar for my overall diary but I do like to just have a space for planning out my PhD tasks. First up on my tasks section is the Calendar View, where I can see everything laid out for each day. For illustrative purposes, I've put in a few example tasks that I may need to do for my PhD in the month of September so you can see what it would look like.

Next we have the "Task Inbox", which was inspired by a YouTube video I watched on creating a "Getting Things Done" (GTD) Dashboard! I did modify this a little bit from the video, but if you're interested in the original source of the idea, here's the link!

But basically, when you need to add a new task in, you click for a new item in the inbox. You then enter all the information you need in, including the due date and whether it's a high priority task, and once you assign it to a specific project in the last column, it disappears from the inbox. You won't then see that task again unless you look forward on the calendar or unless it's due that week in which case it'll show up in the "Tasks Due This Week" table.

I've added some example tasks to the week to show what it may look like when you have some tasks in your "Tasks Due This Week" section. Notice "random task 2" is missing? That's because I've ticked it as "Done", at which point it automatically removes it from the table. That way, I only see my to do list for the week with items that haven't been done yet!

At the very bottom of this front page, is a link to the master list page for the tasks, in case you want to view all the tasks you've created, past, present and future.

And that just about covers my main dashboard for my PhD template! Now onto the individual specific pages from further up the page.

First up we have "Meetings / Seminar Notes". This is a pretty self explanatory one. Every time I have an important meeting, I type up my meeting notes that I took on my iPad into Notion. I can then tag for specific meetings, the meeting date and who was in attendance. This last feature is particularly great, because I could then say for example filter for all meetings where my supervisor was or was not present.

If you go into each meeting's page, you can then take or type up your notes. I've created a few different templates for different types of meetings / seminars, but you can take this one step further. If you know a particular set of people are always in your team meeting for example, you can edit the "Team Meeting" template so that it automatically lists those people as being in attendance when you use that template.

I also need to shout out to Jacqueline Beaulieu's Youtube channel , which has talked about using Notion as a student multiple times. In particular, I want to mention the video I've linked below, which was the genius behind some of the templates in this part of my PhD workspace.

The next page is pretty self-explanatory too, in that it's where I store my various protocols. As scientists, we can use a lot of different techniques, and it's easy to lose track of the protocols for it. So I use this section to make a page per protocol, and write it up so I have them stored in one place!

Next up is the "New Papers to Read" page. I use this as a dashboard to put in new papers that have come out that I'm yet to read but need to read. I've left in two papers from my HUGE reading list, one research and one review, so that you can see what it would look like with papers inputted in. At the very end of the table is a spot for the URL, so you can easily link, but you could also make a file heading and upload the PDF instead so you already have that ready to go for later.

Following on from this is a "Publication Record" page to store all of your publications. Simply write up each citation and embed the papers beneath, and voilà , you have an easy place to find all the papers you've published! This may seem like overkill, but you don't know how many times I've searched for my own publications in Google Scholar because I needed to find something out from them...

Next is the "Thesis Figures Tracker". This might be my favourite page of the whole thing! Basically, I use this page to keep track of my figures in my thesis within each chapter. The headings for this table are: "Finished?", "Chapter", "Figure Title", "Image" (which is basically a place to upload your figure), "Data or Schematic?", "Created on?", "Date Started", "Date Completed", "Based on..." (for if you've based your figure on another papers and need to cite), "Figure Legend" (yes/no), "Scale Bar" (yes/no), and "Comments". This may sound a lot, but it really helps you keep track of what stage your figures are up to.

But the pièce de résistance is when you view the figures tracker in "Board View" rather than "Table View". This allows you to actually visualise all of your figures, as the figure images you upload become the display pictures, and you can see all the information you need beneath!

The last main page is "Literature Notes", which is exactly what it sounds like, a place to make notes on the literature. I've put in an example article so you can see what it looks like, but basically the headers are "Title", "Authors", "Year", "Journal", "Type of Article", "In vitro or in vivo", "Species", "Tissue", and "File" (so you can upload the PDF if you want to).

If you actually go into the article's page, there is a template to use, with headers for summarising the paper, noting what the key findings were, and writing down your critiques of the paper. Overall, this part of the template is great for new PhD students, but if you're already established and have written the bulk of your lit review, it may not be of much use!

Finally, we have the pages for specific papers. These are all the same as each other, so I'll just go through one of them.

Within each paper, you have a space to write the paper title, and the core aims / hypotheses. Then there are two pages within, a figures tracker and an experiments tracker.

The figures tracker is much the same as the thesis figures tracker, with the same headings and the same "Board View" effect option. This is just a way for you to keep track of the figures for each paper, so that you don't lose track.

Last but not least is the experiments tracker, which is useful for keeping track of experiments. You can go into each experiment's page and write down the information about the experiment you need, such as antibody concentrations or suppliers / manufacturers. Then when you come to write up the paper, you have all that information at hand.

My favourite thing to do is view this database in "Board View" again, so that I can just glance at it and see which experiments are at which stage in the experimental process. I've made the tags so they're applicable to my immunohistochemistry experiments, but you could change them to be whatever you need them to be!

UPDATE 16/1/21

I've now added a "word count" page to my Notion template! It's really easy to use, and it's just a way to keep yourself accountable for how much writing you've achieved each day. You can find it under the main "pages" section on the template, and it's really simple to fill out. My goal is to write 500 words a day over the rest of my PhD, as I'm now in my final year and need to be making daily progress on writing up.

In the template, I've added some example days of writing so you can see how to use the template. Basically, you put the word count for each of your papers / chapters in for each day. For example, on day 1 you had only written 100 words of your first PhD paper, but on day 2 you had a total word count of 200. Don't add in these columns the amount of words you wrote each day, just the total word count you can see for each document.

Then, at the end of the table, it will tally up your total word count across all your documents. In the next column, just write in what the word count was the day before, and then in the next column it will automatically calculate how much you've written specifically that day. Since my goal is to write 500 words a day, I've included a formula checkbox that ticks itself when I've hit my writing target.

It's important to note however that you can change that word goal if you'd like. Just go in to edit the formula, and change the "500" value to be whatever you'd like your word goal to be. Then it'll automatically tick the box when you've hit your daily target!

UPDATE 1/3/22

I've now also added two professional development pages to my Notion template - "Opportunities" and "Professional Contacts"! These pages are there to simply make your life easier when trying to optimise your CV and network connections ready for applying for work when you graduate from your postgraduate degree. Let's start by looking at the "Opportunities" page...

This page is great because it is a place for you to store all professional opportunities you encounter. I've made it to encompass volunteering and internships, although you can edit the tags to include any other opportunity types that are applicable. The opportunities are grouped into two sections, "Apply Now" and "Future Opportunity". This means that not only do you have somewhere to store opportunities that you want to actively apply for, but if you also stumble across something that would be great maybe more towards the end of your degree that you don't want to forget about, then that can also be housed here!

Inside each page, you can then also include any extra things you need to know, such as any eligibility requirements or anything you may need to apply for the opportunity, eg. your resume, cover letter, academic transcripts, etc. There is also a place to directly link to where the opportunity is being advertised, as well as attach a relevant file, eg. an advertising flyer.

The other new page in this template is the "Professional Contacts" page. This is the place to collect and store information about all of the important professional contacts you meet during your studies and beyond. This includes their name, their association, their field of work, their relationship to you, and two emails (in case you have both a professional and a personal email for certain people). There is also a checkbox that you can tick if you have connected with them on LinkedIn, as well as a checkbox that you can tick if you believe they would make a good referee for you on future job applications. Finally, there's a place to record the last date you contacted each person to ensure you don't leave it too long before reaching out, as well as a place to write a brief update from the last time you spoke.

So that's it for my Notion PhD Dashboard. I hope that me stepping through my Notion was of some use to you all! If you have any questions, or any improvements you want to suggest, definitely reach out to me! I'm always happy to talk all things Notion.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for, the template download! When you access the template, just go to the top right hand corner and click "Duplicate" to copy it into your own Notion account!

To access the most up-to-date version of this template, head over to my new website at:

Amazing explanation of Notion and such a helpful template to get me started. Thanks so much, Lily. ☺️

Thank you sooooo much for this. I am just starting my PhD and this is just brilliant. Well done you and thank you again.

• Research Advice

How to Use Notion as a Research Lab Notebook for Ph.D. Research

Notion is one of my favorite tools for organizing my research lab experiments, notes, data, and tasks! Notion is a free and premium cloud-based app that allows you to create highly customizable and visual pages and dashboards for keeping your life organized.

I first started using Notion in 2021 during my Ph.D., when I created the free Simple Graduate Student Notion Dashboard . As I learned more about using Notion , I developed this Research Lab Notebook template to keep track of all my research lab-related tasks, protocols, and notes, all while storing important information like literature reviews and data. This research lab notebook is an excellent Notion template for Ph.D., master’s, and undergraduate students engaged in research. Sign up for a Notion account here if you don’t already have an account!

This Research Lab Notebook template is only for organizing research lab experiments. I currently do not have this template integrated with any manuscript, thesis, or dissertation writing tools aside from literature review. But this template is certainly designed to be used and referenced during the writing process!

What is Notion?

Notion is freemium software that allows you to create pages, templates, and databases for organizing information. This app is more than a basic note-taking app! It allows you to customize your pages and databases to what you need to work smarter and more efficiently. Notion is available across devices, so you can always access your Notion from your phone, computer, or tablet. Notion offers several subscription levels. The free version offers all basic tools for using and creating Notion templates. The premium subscriptions provide more tools and functionality for small and large teams or even entire organizations. The free software is sufficient for individuals, but if you work on a small team, like with a research group, the Plus subscription offers features like unlimited file uploads and more!

In addition to signing up for Notion, you can add on the Notion AI tool as well. This newly launched tool integrates the power of AI into your Notion workspace. I’ve enjoyed using Notion AI for summarizing, paraphrasing, brainstorming, and organizing my thoughts. The AI tool is seamlessly integrated into Notion and works very well!

Sign up for a Notion account here !

Why do I love using Notion?

I’ve been using Notion for several years now and have found it to be one of the best (and most fun) software to use for note-taking and organizing. Firstly, it’s plain fun to organize and design your template! You can easily create your own Notion aesthetic and design pages to fit your needs. I also love how I can use it across all my devices. It’s also very affordable for students, as there is a free version. And Notion AI is well-priced at just $8 a month.

Research Lab Notebook Notion Template Features

What is included in the research lab notebook notion template.

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template includes

• Homepage with daily and weekly experiment and task trackers
• Daily lab notebook database for tracking the day’s experiments and taking notes.
• Project management database views so you can manage all your research projects in a single view
• Detailed literature review template/literature review database
• Data management plan page
• Protocols database that can be related to lab notebook tasks and entries so you never forget which protocol you used!

Research Tasks and Experiments Database – The Brain of the Notion Template

The Daily and Weekly Tasks and Experiments databases are linked copies of the “All Research Projects Tasks and Experiments” database, so I will start by explaining this database first. The “Research Projects Tasks and Experiments” database is where you can input all of your research-related tasks and experiments. Each task or experiment can be labeled with the project, the goals, the due date, and the status.

After you input this information, if the date is “Today” the tasks will populate the Today’s Tasks and Experiments Table. And if the date is “Today or within one week from today,” it will populate the This Weeks Tasks and Experiments Table! On the master Research Projects Tasks and Experiments database, you can create additional views by simply adding a view along the top of the database. I’ve included views by project, status, or the calendar view. The project view is beneficial when you want to look at everything you’ve completed for a single project.

Daily Research Lab Notebook

Now, once you’re in the lab and working, you’ll want to keep track of everything you do during the day! You can do this in the Research Lab Notebook. Here, when you create a new entry, custom template will be generated so you can begin planning and tracking your day! The “Tasks and Experiments” property allows you to link to the associated tasks you created in the Research Projects Tasks and Experiments database. This way, your tasks and lab notebook are always linked! In this column, you can link to multiple tasks and experiments in case you do multiple experiments in one day.

n the next column, you can similarly link to any protocols stored in the protocol database. And when you go back to your protocol database, you can see all the lab notebook entries that used that protocol! Cool right? Everything links together so you can easily reference your experiments, lab notebook, and protocols from multiple pages on this template. You can also use different views to visualize your lab notebook by project.

Protocols Manager

Here is a quick view of the protocol database! Create your protocol here and use the relation property to link it to any of your lab notebook entries! For each protocol entry, you can write out your methodology, take notes, and link to any associated literature.

Literature Review Template

Like the protocols database, there is a designated page for reviewing literature! This database uses properties that will guide you through your reading, offers a space for file uploads and note taking, and a property for relating your entries to lab notebook entries and protocols!

I hope this template is helpful for you to keep all of your research notes organized in Notion! Let us know in the comments what other ways you use Notion to keep your research life organized!

How can I get the Research Lab Notebook Notion Template?

This template is a premium template, so it is for sale on the She Science Gumroad Shop or Etsy Shop . Once you purchase, you have lifetime access to the template and will receive any major updates via email!

Is there a subscription cost?

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template can be used with a free Notion account.

How Much is the Research Lab Notebook Notion Template?

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template is $9.

How do I get my Notion Template?

After your purchase, you will receive a PDF eBook with a link to lifetime access to the template and a guide on how to use the template.

Are you ready to organize your research?

The Research Lab Notebook Notion Template is here to help keep your research lab notes, experiments, tasks, and data organized!

✓ Maximize your productivity

✓ Never miss an experiment ✓ Manage your projects

Learn more about She Science’s Notion Templates

• Simple grad student Notion template
• All-in-one grad student Notion template for grad school, personal life, and professional development.
• Ph.D. Degree and Dissertation Planner template

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How to Use Notion to Organize Your Research, Classes, and Grad School Life – She Sciences

July 21, 2022 at 7:13 pm

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Organize PhD Studies with a Notion Template: Research, Notes, References & Progress

New to Notion?

How to use a notion template for phd studies to organize research, notes, references, and academic progress.

As a PHD student, managing and organizing a vast amount of research material, notes, references, and tracking academic progress can be a daunting task. Fortunately, Notion, the all-in-one Workspace , provides a powerful platform to assist in streamlining these processes. With the help of Notion templates specifically designed for PHD studies, you can easily stay on top of your research and academic journey. In this article, we will guide you through the steps of using a Notion template for organizing your PHD studies effectively.

Understanding Notion templates

Notion templates serve as pre-designed structures that you can import directly into your Workspace. These templates are designed to assist users in organizing specific tasks, projects, or workflows. By utilizing a Notion template for your PHD studies, you can avoid spending excessive time on designing your own system and instead focus on your research and academic progress.

Finding a Notion Template for PHD Studies

Before diving into the usage of a Notion template, you need to find a suitable one for your specific needs. Notion provides a gallery of templates that can be accessed directly from the application itself. To find a template for PHD studies:

• Open Notion and create a new page by clicking the '+' button.
• Select the "Templates" tab located at the top of the page.
• In the search bar, type "PHD" or related keywords (e.g., research, academics, thesis) and browse through the available templates.

Additionally, you can explore online platforms like Notion's official website, template libraries, or even social media platforms, where users share their own custom templates for various purposes. Choose a template that aligns with your research needs, preferences, and academic requirements.

Importing and Customizing the Notion Template

Once you have found a suitable Notion template for your PHD studies, follow these steps to import and customize it according to your specific requirements:

• Open the selected template in Notion from either the gallery or external platform.
• Click on the "Duplicate" button located at the top-right corner of the template page.
• Choose the destination for the duplicated template within your Workspace or select "New Page" if you prefer a separate dedicated space.
• Start customizing the template by adding your own research material, notes, references, and academic progress.

Organizing Research Material and Notes

One of the most crucial aspects of a PHD is managing research material and taking comprehensive notes. Notion provides various tools and features to help you stay organized:

• Database : Utilize Notion's database feature to create structured repositories for your research material. You can create separate databases for articles, books, research papers, and other relevant sources.
• Tags and Filters : Use tags and filters to categorize and organize your research material based on keywords, topics, or themes. This allows for easy searching and navigation within your database.
• Linked Databases : Link databases together to establish associations and connections between different research sources, notes, and ideas. This assists in cross-referencing and developing a comprehensive understanding of your research.
• Markdown and Rich Text : Leverage the power of Markdown and rich text formatting within Notion to create Visually appealing and easily readable notes. Include headings, bullet points, images, tables, and code snippets as per your preference.

Managing References

Properly managing references is an essential aspect of any academic work, and Notion provides features to streamline this process:

• Bibliography Database : Create a dedicated database for managing your references. Include fields for authors, publication year, title, and other relevant information required for citations.
• Inline Citations : Utilize Notion's Functionality to directly reference your sources within your notes or research material. This helps you easily generate citations and track your references.
• Importing References : If you use reference management software like Zotero or Mendeley, you can export your references as a bibliographic file and import them into Notion. This simplifies the process of populating your bibliography database.

Tracking Academic Progress

Tracking your academic progress is crucial for staying organized and meeting deadlines. Notion facilitates this through various techniques:

• Kanban Board : Use a Kanban board to visualize and track different stages of your academic projects or tasks. Create columns for "To-Do," "In Progress," and "Completed" to effectively manage your workload.
• Task Lists and Deadlines : Create task lists with deadlines for assignments, research milestones, or other academic goals. Assign dates and Reminders to stay on track and avoid missing important deadlines.
• Progress Trackers : Utilize Notion's progress tracker feature to visually represent your progress towards completion of various tasks and goals. This motivates and encourages steady progress.

Collaborating with Peers and Advisors

Notion enables seamless collaboration and sharing, making it an ideal platform for working with peers and advisors:

• Shared Workspace : Create a shared Workspace within Notion to collaborate with your peers or advisor. This allows for a centralized location where you can collectively contribute to shared tasks, documents, and discussions.
• Comments and Mentions : Utilize comments and mentions to communicate, seek feedback, or assign tasks to specific individuals within your shared Workspace.
• Version History : Notion keeps track of version history, allowing you to revisit and restore previous changes if needed. This ensures a safe and secure collaboration environment.

Utilizing a Notion template for organizing your PHD studies can significantly simplify your research, note-taking, reference management, and academic Progress tracking . By customizing and leveraging Notion's features, you can create a streamlined workflow to navigate the complexities of your PHD journey. Remember, the key is to find a template that suits your specific needs and preferences, and then adapt it according to your requirements. With Notion's capabilities, you can focus on the essence of your research and academic growth instead of getting lost in organizational chaos.

Other Notion FAQ

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• CAREER COLUMN
• 24 October 2023

Why I use Notion to organize my PhD research

• Maya Gosztyla 0

Maya Gosztyla is a PhD student in biomedical sciences at the University of California, San Diego.

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PhD and Productivity Notion Template (BOTH PhD & Productivity Content in this version)

The Ultimate Notion Template for PhD students including planning, motivation, and how to keep track of all of your thesis and transferable skills.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: https://www.notion.so/PhD-Planning-VIEW-ONLY-195c6bd44d0d42ac8c9866c662986625

Check out a video on how my template looks and works. 

Dashboard 1.0  https://youtu.be/ze0y1vetrj0

Dashboard 2.0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtxuMlARxhM&ab_channel=PhDandProductivity

Lifetime access to the PhD and Productivity Notion Template!

Notion for Academic Research & Note-Taking

I have to write a literature review for my master’s thesis. When I wanted to start, I didn’t know how to create a list of scientific papers to read and how to manage this growing list of literature. How do I keep track of all open tabs on my browser? How to find a paper X which used such a method? How to order and classify scientific papers?

There are Mendeley and Zotero , two well-known tools for saving articles and generating bibliographies, but these are only useful for keeping a list of papers. There is little customization possible at the folder or tag level. In any case, they never met my needs. Zotero only serves me as a bank of scientific articles, nothing more.

If you want to build yourself a real list of scientific articles classified according to your needs, as in the image below, continue reading this article to discover my method!

Why use Notion for academic research?

I was looking for a tool that would allow me to create my own fields to filter out articles that I found during my literature search.

For example:

• Rating to say how interesting the article is for my research
• Reading priority
• The main subject
• Reading status: to read/read

What sets Notion apart from all competitors is that this note-taking tool offers the possibility of personalizing everything from A to Z, which allowed me to customize the tool exactly for my needs and what I needed for my literature review.

Of course, the main disadvantage of Notion is that since it is a very customizable tool, the learning curve is quite steep: it is difficult to understand how Notion works when you start.

I started using Notion with the current project I’m going to explain in this blog post, so if you have never used Notion before, you should be able to get started with this project!

Related | 14 Ways to Get Motivation to Study NOW!

How to use notion to manage literature for graduate students, first steps on notion & creating the database.

Start by creating an account on Notion . From the left menu, create a new page. Enter a title, and you can also choose an icon to represent the page! Then, select “Table” under “Database” to create a new database to start entering your scientific papers.

Now that the database is created, we need to fill it up! To do so, I used the Google Chrome extension from Notion . 

Add scientific papers with the Notion Chrome Extension

When I’m on the website with the paper or PDF, I click on Notion’s Chrome extension and then select the database I want to add the new article. That’s it! The article is then automatically added to the database with a direct link to the web page.

Then, you can delete the 3 empty rows that were entered in the database automatically.

So, after adding a few papers, you get a database in which ALL of your papers are referenced, regardless of their research subject or methodology. Later, we’ll see how to create different “views” to sort through the papers.

Adding a paper using the Notion Chrome extension is very easy!

How to get the reference of the papers in the Notion database?

I use the Google Scholar Chrome extension to get the BibTex entry for that paper. All that I need to do is to select the title of the paper before clicking on the Google Scholar icon. 

Add properties to the research papers

Now that you’ve learned how to add papers to the database, the next step is to customize the properties you want for the papers! Properties are certain fields we can create to describe the papers in the database. There are many different kinds of properties one can create:

• Select (1 choice only), Multi-Select (Multiple choices)
• Dates (Custom date, Created date, Last Updated Date)
• Files & Media 
• Tag a Person 

Now that you know what a property is, it’s time to create some! To do this, click on a paper’s title to open the page. Then click on “Add a Property” and add the properties you want. Every property you add will be added to the complete database. You can start with just a few properties that you think will be useful to you, and you can always add more later as you learn to use Notion and discover new ideas for sorting your academic literature!

Here are some ideas of properties: 

• Status: To Read, Currently Reading, Finished Reading, which is a Select
• Interesting? : 1 to 3 stars rating, using Select
• Link to the article, using an URL property
• The date that you read the article, using a Date property 

Then you can add properties that are directly related to your search. For example, as I’m working on three specific Parkinson’s disease symptoms, I added a “selection” property that lists the symptoms the paper discusses.

The following image shows the properties that I created in my main database to give you some ideas and inspire you. I have a lot ! You don’t have to create that many properties. For me, my database grew from week to week, and I added more and more properties that I found interesting for my research.

Add different views to sort your papers 

The next step is to create different views to visualize the papers. A view is a way of filtering your main database and saving the filter with a specific name so that you can return to it later. You can filter the papers according to the properties we just created. For example, I created a view that will only show me the papers that I added the tag “To-Read”:

For example, the image below shows all of the different “views” I have of my main database.

• All: The main database that will show all the papers with no filter 
• Comparison Table: A view that shows certain properties that I have selected. It’s a little bit like an Excel table for me. I use this view to compare the papers for my literature review.
• To Read:  List of papers that I identified as a priority to read for my research.
• Read: List of papers that I finished reading.
• Symptoms: 3 different views showing only papers that are related to a specific Parkinson’s Disease symptom
• Uncontrolled Env: List of studies that were done in controlled laboratory environments  
• Scripted Tasks: Again, this view is for my research, but it’s a distinction between different ways to evaluate the disease with smartwatches 

Finally, here is an example of what my Reading List looks like, listing papers I identified as absolutely wanting to read:  

And here is a screenshot of my “Comparison table” view that I use very often: 

Related | My Research Internship at Johns Hopkins University

Conclusion .

I hope this article has been useful for you and helps you build the basics of your own Notion system for managing your scientific papers! Adapt this method to your needs, and don’t hesitate to share your projects with me. I’m curious to know what you will come up with!

Marie likes to push her limits and always keep learning new things. She shares her weekly learnings because "if you can't explain it simply, it means you didn't understand it well enough".

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Thanks for this post Marie ! I recently discovered it and I am using your template to manage the papers of my Master thesis. I never truly benefited from using Zotero and because I am using Notion for everything else, it seemed like the right decision to use it too for my research.

Hello Irene! Thank you so much for your comment. I’m happy to know this was helpful! Marie

Hi I am a PhD student and working on climate change. I also work a lot with big data and just started stepping on ML too. This blog post is very useful and what I have been looking for. Thank you so much for sharing it.

Hello Kyoung, Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂 Very happy to know my post was helpful! Marie

Thank you for your helpful article! I did have a question because I tried using your template and wasn’t sure how to get it to work the way you demonstrated. When I’ve tried using the Google Chrome extension to add articles, I’ve only been able to add them as a separate page, not as an entry into the database.

Hello! Yes, that is possible. When that happens, I actually drag and drop the item afterward in the database. Best, Marie

Oh my gosh, this is one of the most helpful articles I’ve found. Why didn’t I know about this before? It makes it easier to navigate and research. Thank you so much for these tips.

Hello Miranda, I’m so glad I was able to help 🙂 Marie

Thanks for this very informative blog-post.

I have been doing some google searching and I found an idea of have two linked tables. https://www.reddit.com/r/Notion/comments/gs0f6l/template_workspace_for_machine_learning/ it says for Machine learning but it is applicable to all fields.

Just wondering if you have worked with two linked tables and if you find this idea useful ?

The only time I used a linked database is to keep some important citations. I created a “citations” database, and when I wanted to keep an argument that might be useful for my thesis, I would add it to the citations database and link it to the actual paper in my Reading List database.

But for sure, the dashboard that I’m sharing in this blog post can definitely be pushed further!

Best, Marie

Hi Marie! This is super helpful, and exactly what I was looking for. Such a sophisticated and useful way of storing research notes. I just wondered how you capture all of the details of the academic paper? Do you manually copy and paste author name, year, journal etc? I didn’t really understand the BibTex google scholar extension part? Thank you for the template! Emma

Hello Emma! I’m glad I was able to help!

Yes, at the moment, I manually copu and paste the information that I want to have in my Reading List database on Notion.

Since I published this blog post, Notion has released their API, allowing some automation to be done. I haven’t looked into it yet, but you could search around that if automation is possible now for papers information 🙂

For the BibTex Google Scholar Extension part, did you see the gif I shared about that? Basically, I downloaded the Google Scholar extension for the browser Chrome. This means that I can highlight the title of a paper, and then, when I click on the extension, I can directly get all the BibTex information.

Hope this helps! Marie

Can we make the thesis report or write a research article in notion? Many prefer latex. Can we do it in Notion?

I don’t think I would suggest writing a research article on Notion. I prefer to use Overleaf, as it supports LaTeX, version history, collaboration, comments, etc.

Notion is better for Markdown!

Hi, I was wondering is it possible to import Mendeley’s library to notion? I have a 1000+ library and I would love to use my attention pdf. How are you dealing with the annotation of pdf? Are you using any pdf file or just doi with your own annotations for the paper within notion?

Hello! I am basically using this as a way to write notes instead of annotating a PDF on my iPad most of the times. I haven’t done a workflow that does both. Since your comment, Notion has released their API, so it might be possible to import your articles from Mendeley to Notion with such a tool: https://tray.io/connectors/mendeley-notion-integrations

But I haven’t tried it! Marie

I am considering adopting Notion and your post (forwarded to me by a dear colleague) is very useful! I have a quick question to help me appreciate better the power of Notion: what would be the difference between the Notion database of articles and a spredsheet (Google sheets, Excel, OO)? Thanks!

Hello Patricia! Glad to know people are sharing my blog posts! 🙂

I would say that Notion can be like a Google Sheet, but the opposite isn’t true. In a way, Notion can be more powerful. The interface is also prettier to work with, at least in my opinion, and more instinctive!

It also allows to add “properties” to each paper, which you can’t really do on Google sheets (or would be more complicated to implement), it would mostly just be columns and rows. In Notion you can do that, but also have more information and see it from different views.

Hope that helps! Marie

OMG, this is crazy <3 , exactly what I am looking for! Thank you so much!

Glad to hear that!

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The 40 Best Notion Templates for Students in 2024 (Aesthetic & Functional)

Notion is a must-have if you’re a student in 2024. With how versatile the platform is, you can use Notion to do everything from planning out your semester, taking notes, tracking grades, organizing your extracurriculars, and more.

Starting a Notion workspace from scratch can be a time-consuming process, especially if you have a busy school schedule to begin with. To make your life easier, we’ve curated a list of the best Notion templates for students, that have already done the heavy lifting for you. Easily pick one that works best for your academic lifestyle and personal aesthetic!

Are you a teacher looking to streamline your semester in Notion? Check out our blog post featuring the best Notion teacher templates !

Looking for more productivity tips and tools? Subscribe to The Flow — our quick, snappy, value-packed focus and recharge newsletter. Also, don’t miss our several other  Notion template round-ups and guides !

• First Name First

Table of Contents

• All-in-One Notion Student Templates

Notion Study Templates

Notion student planner templates, notion class & assignment templates & trackers, notion student note-taking templates.

• Notion Templates for PhD & Grad Students
• Notion Medical School Templates
• Notion Law School Templates

Free Notion Student Templates

Aesthetic notion student templates.

Get the all-in-one Life OS template , the only Notion template you’ll ever need — with over 25 integrated templates built in.

All-in-One Notion Student Dashboard Templates

Manage every aspect of your student life with a Notion student dashboard template, where you can plan out your days, prioritize your daily to-dos , manage projects , take notes, and lots more!

For more dashboard templates, visit our roundups featuring the best Notion life OS templates and Notion dashboard templates !

Student OS: All-in-One Student Template

With over 15 templates in a centralized dashboard, Student OS by yours truly is the ultimate all-in-one workspace for everything you need for your academic career – both in and out of the classroom! Use the class planner, assignment and deliverables tracker, automatic grade calculator, study zone with flashcards, job and internship application tracker, reading tracker, and so much more to set yourself up for success for the next school year and for your whole degree.

Student OS template is available in two different themes, offering the same functionality:

• Template Available Here  [Aesthetic Edition]
• Template Available Here [Minimalist Edition]

Advanced Student Dashboard & Knowledge Base

Template Available Here

ADHD Student Daily Dashboard

Available in multiple themes!

For more templates like this, don’t miss our full round-up of ADHD-friendly Notion templates — and check out the ADHD FAQ section at the bottom of this very guide.

Template Available Here  |  Plus Version

Acadashboard: Notion Studio OS

Green University Student Notion Dashboard Hub

Academia – Academic Management System for University Students

Aesthetic University Student Productivity Hub

Notion x Student Workspace Template

Notion for University Students

Student Planner Hub

Ultimate Notion Template for College Students

Keep your focus and refine your study routine with a Notion study template. Create a healthy and efficient study routine with Notion, and ace your exams!

Tomato: The Ultimate Pomodoro Notion Template

Check out our full round-ups of Notion Pomodoro templates and Notion Pomodoro timer widgets to deck out your setup!

Notion Study Kit Template

Simple Flashcards Template

Check out our full post on Notion flashcards for more templates and a tutorial!

Notion Flashcard Template for Learning & Studying

Flocus is a free browser-based dashboard for both focus and ambience. Featuring aesthetic themes, personal greeting Pomodoro timer, and lots more! Get early access to Flocus here .

The balance between your social life, academic performance, and mental and physical wellness can be overwhelming during a busy semester. Use a Notion student planner template to help you organize your life and prioritize the things that need to be focused on first!

For more templates, check out our post rounding up the best Notion planner templates .

Notion Semester Planner & Tracker

academia – Notion School Organizer Template

Simple Notion Course & Class Schedule Template

Simple Notion Thesis Planning Template

It’s tough to keep track of all of your deliverables when you have a full class schedule and a life outside of school to balance. Thanks to these templates, you can be sure you don’t fall behind in class with Notion! Monitor your progress and stay up to date with assignments and marks with these templates.

For more templates like these, check out our full round-up of Notion assignment tracker templates !

Notion Courses Manager Template

Notion Syllabus Template

Notion Grade Calculator Template

Notion Advanced Grade Calculator Template

Notion’s beautiful UI makes it easy to jot down notes and organize your documents in databases so you can revisit information for each class easily! Depending on your note-taking style, here are some great Notion student note-taking templates that use beloved techniques such as Cornell, Zettelkasten, and more.

For more templates like this, check out our full round-up featuring the best Notion note-taking templates .

Note-Taking OS

Academic Research Hub – Notion Research Template

Zettelkasten for Notion – Personal Knowledge Management Template

Notion Cornell Note-Taking Template

FlexiNote Note-Taking Template

Simple Aesthetic Lectures & Class Notes

Smart Notes for Students

Notion Student Notes Index

Notion Spaced Repetition Notes Template

Synthetic Notes Template

Basic Notion Class Notes Template

Notion Templates for Grad & PhD Students

There are some great Notion student templates out there, and some even go as far as creating solutions specifically for grad, post-grad, PhD, and master’s students! Plan your thesis, set grad school goals, store notes, track your progress, and so much more with these grad school-ready templates.

Templates Available:

• Grad School & PhD Notion Hub
• Simple Notion Grad School Template
• Notion Academic Dashboard for PhD Students
• Minimal Notion Grad School Dashboard
• Graduate School Applications Template for Notion
• Notion Grad School Application Planner
• Academic Notion Website Template
• Academic CV Notion Template

Notion Templates for Medical Students

If you’re a med student, you know that between all the classes, resources, placements, exams, and everything else, life can get unwieldy. With the right Notion template, organize and centralize everything for your med school journey in one spot!

Check out our full round-up of the best Notion medical school templates for even more options!

• Simple Aesthetic Medical Student Template
• Medical School Dashboard Template
• Notion Medical School Student Dashboard

Notion Templates for Law Students

For the up-and-coming lawyers, these are the templates for you! Organize your law school courses, track firms you want to work at or have applied to, store the hundreds of resources and links you need as a law student, and so much more with these Notion templates for law students.

• Notion Template for Aspiring Solicitors | Video Tutorial
• Aesthetic Law Student Dashboard | Video Tutorial
• Aesthetic Notion Law Student Planner & Dashboard Template | Video Tutorial

If you’re looking to use Notion for your studies, but don’t have the extra coin to pay for templates, there are a ton of simple free Notion student templates to meet basic needs. Here are some of our favorites!

Looking for more free templates? Check out our full list of free Notion templates .

Bright & Airy Aesthetic Student Dashboard Template

Simple Notion Student Homepage

Notion Academic Dashboard Template

Aesthetic Minimal Academic Life Organizer

Notion University / College Hub Template

JaniceStudies Student Notion Dashboard

The Ultimate Notion College Hub Template

Notion Student Loan Tracker Template

Notion School Dashboard Template

Student Hub

Notion Roommate Space Template

The beauty with Notion is that you can personalize your student setup with your favorite visuals, colors, and themes! For inspo, check out these aesthetic Notion student layouts.

Interested in more aesthetic templates? Check out our detailed blog post showcasing the most aesthetic Notion templates !

Cafe Themed Student Planner

Botanical Academia

College Life Academic Planner

Uni-Verse: The Student Template

School Life Dashboard

Aesthetic Matcha Student Planner

Purple Aesthetic Notion Student Template

Sailor Moon Themed Student Dashboard for Medical Students

Notion for Students: A Quickstart Guide

New to Notion? Get to grips with this popular productivity app with our quick guide to Notion for students!

Is Notion a good tool for students?

Yes, Notion is one of the best and most popular productivity tools for students! Thousands of real students use Notion to enhance their academic experience.

Here are a few reasons why Notion is a good tool for students:

• Track every element of your student life — from your assignments and notes to extracurriculars and chores — in Notion’s powerful, connectable databases.
• Features like Notion’s toggle blocks are great for active recall and spaced repetition, helping you take study sessions to the next level.
• Notion is fully customizable, letting you create minimalist or aesthetic spaces — whatever suits your brain and keeps you motivated!
• Collab with other students in real time on Notion — ideal for group projects.
• Use third-party tools to sync your Google Calendar , access helpful widgets , and much more.

Want to learn more about how Notion works? Check out How to Use Notion as a Student: A Full Guide !

What about Notion for ADHD and neurodivergent students?

Notion is an excellent organizational and productivity tool for ADHD and neurodivergent students. On Reddit, you’ll find dozens of posts ( like this one ) from neurodivergent students looking for the best ways to use Notion.

Here are a few reasons Notion is good for ADHD and neurodivergent students:

• Storing your notes, assignments, and other essential info in Notion can prevent distractions and tab-switching.
• Filters, statuses, and other database features help combat “time blindness”, helping you better prioritize tasks.
• ADHD-friendly organization systems like Zettelkasten can be easily set up in Notion.
• To-do lists, calendars, progress bars , and databases let you break big tasks down into small steps — and organize your academic life in a way that makes sense to your brain.
• Dozens of specially-made, ADHD-friendly Notion templates make setting up your student hub quick and easy.

Is Notion free for university and college students?

Notion offers a free plan for everyone that gives you all the functionality needed to help you conquer your coursework.

Students at US-accredited higher education institutions are eligible for a free Notion Plus Plan. The Plus Plan lets you share your Notion pages with up to 100 guests, access 30 days of page revisions, and more.

Unfortunately, Notion does not offer its free Plus Plan to high school students.

You can access Notion Plus for free as long as you have access to a valid educational email address. (Notion doesn’t accept student IDs as proof.)

To redeem your Plus Plan, make sure the email address of your Notion workspace matches your student email. To change your email address, open Settings & members from your Notion sidebar, then select My account > Change email .

To learn more, visit Notion’s help center .

Is Notion AI free for students?

Notion AI is a separate paid add-on. You can test out Notion AI for free with a set number of complimentary responses.

Many students find Notion AI useful for summarizing text, creating bullet points out of class notes, and highlighting key points.

It’s worth noting you shouldn’t use Notion AI to generate essays and assignments — doing so almost certainly breaches your university’s policies on plagiarism.

Which Notion templates for students would you recommend? Are there any Notion student templates that we’re missing from the list? Let us know in the comments below!

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PhD student and Notion ambassador. Helping you make your workspaces work for you and not the other way around.

Task Management Template

Student Workspace

Organise your thesis/dissertation

Simple dashboard

Journey to Journaling

PARA system for beginners

Mindful dashboard

Monthly, weekly and daily Agenda

Simple Task Management

40 Aesthetic & Free Notion Templates for Students (2024)

If you're a student, Notion is one of the best choices to sky-rocket your academic life in 2024.

Setting up a new Notion workspace from scratch can be time-consuming, especially if you have a busy schedule. To make things easier, we have compiled a list of the best Notion Student templates.

In this list, you will find both aesthetic and free Notion templates for students, as well as all-in-one Notion student dashboards that will help you organize your class notes, track homework assignments, and classes with ease.

New to Notion? Make sure to also check our list of 75+ free Notion templates .

All-in-One Notion Student Dashboard Templates

If you're all set for your academic comeback this semester, the Notion Student Dashboard is just what you need. Though these templates might cost a bit, they're made with care and can really boost your productivity. They help you track your study assignments, take class notes, and also take care of your personal life - like managing your goals, habits, and more.

1. Student OS - Notion Student Dashboard

Looking for an all-in-one workspace for everything you need for your student life? This Notion student dashboard brings 15+ Notion student templates into a centralized dashboard! 

Once you open this student dashboard in Notion, you will instantly see:

• Upcoming exams and assignments
• Your weekly timetable
• Daily and weekly to-dos
• Page directory
• Current readings tracker
• Semester grade tracker
• Widgets, and more

Available in both an aesthetic (original) and minimal theme.

Template available here

2. Acadashboard - Notion Student Template

Everything you need for your academic life and more inside one Notion student dashboard.

Here's what you will find inside this student template:

• Task manager with deadline reminder
• Courses and subjects
• Assignment database
• Exam database
• Budget tracker
• Deep work timer

Available in 5 different aesthetics with a single purchase.

3. Notion Second Brain

While Notion Second Brain is not entirely built for students, it's the best choice for everyone who wants to organize their entire lives in a single place.

Based on P.A.R.A. and GTD methods, this Notion system is perfect for students who want to capture and organize everything in one place, ensuring no idea, task, or goal is lost.

• Dashboard for your student projects, tasks, areas, goals, and more
• Task manager with prioritization
• Effective notes manager
• Project manager with tracker
• Goal tracker
• Habit tracker
• And much more

Have won 1st place on ProductHunt as the best product of the day and 4th as the product of the month.

4. Notion Student OS Dashboard

Simple, efficient, and aesthetic Notion student dashboard created to help you manage your life as a student. With the help of this template, getting better grades becomes effortless.

• Upcoming assignments
• Repetition tracker
• Calendar for your tasks, assessments, & classes

Available in 5 different themes, built on dark mode Notion.

5. The Ultimate Notion Student Planner

Ultimate Notion student dashboard with all the important features to help you stay on track with your studies. Minimalist layout is designed to help you stay focused and productive during study sessions.

• Schoolwork tracker
• Class schedule
• Finance tracker
• To-do list and reminder
• Calendar schedule
• Reading List

Has all the important features to help you stay on track with your studies.

6. All in One Academic Notion Dashboard

Keep track of your study sessions and deadlines with a clean and efficient Notion dashboard for students.

• Exams and assignments
• Dorm room checklist

Comes with Canva templates so you can customize the design to fit your personal style.

Notion Study Templates

Level up your study game with one of our carefully picked Notion study templates. They're designed to help you improve your studying, stay on track, and ace your exams. Plus, they look pretty cool too.

7. Notion Study Templates Bundle

Are you struggling with organization? Dreaming of having everything in one place - Notion? Then you must check out this bundle of 6 Notion study templates.

Here's what you will find inside:

• Brainstorm hub for notes and idea execution.
• Learning hub for your studying.
• Creative concept hub.
• All summer planner to make the most of summer holidays.
• Moodboard to set yourself up for a great academic year.
• Weekly review template for personal growth.

8. Notion Study Planner Template

Take control of your academic life with these Notion study templates, created to help students like you manage their schedules, assignments, and goals with ease.

• Notion student dashboard
• Academic calendar
• Assignment tracker
• Grade tracker
• Time blocking
• Progress tracking

9. Notion Study Template for Planning

Take charge of your academic life and enhance your productivity with this Notion template for students who like to plan their academic life step by step.

• Student dashboard
• Daily student journal
• Exams template
• Book tracker

10. Pink Notion Study Template

This Notion template helps you take a holistic approach to organizing every aspect of your student life. A clean and minimalistic student dashboard with a slight touch of pink color will help you to focus on what is important - your studies.

• To-do timeline
• Study subjects
• Assignments tracker
• Exams tracker
• Study sessions

11. High Knowledge Notion Study Template

Ready to become the most organized and smart version of yourself? Then check out this Notion study template, which empowers you to master every class, topic, resource, and concept you've learned.

• Student daily dashboard
• Courses dashboard
• Assignments and Tasks Manager
• Resources Manager
• Concept and Knowledge base
• Flashcard Manager

12. 10-Minute Notion Student Template

Dreaming about focused and efficient study sessions? This minimalistic Notion student template is designed to help you organize your study sessions effectively using 10-minute intervals.

• Organize your study material by subjects.
• Keep track of assignments, projects, or deadlines.
• Break down your study goals.
• Place to capture study notes.
• Schedule for exams, quizzes, or assessments.
• 10-minute study sessions.

13. Daily Class Notes Notion Student Template

Are you ready for a new era of organized and efficient note-taking for your studies? This Notion Study Template will help you enhance your daily class routine and streamline your study sessions.

• Daily class notes
• Free style stud notes
• Class breakdown
• Pomodoro timer

14. Notion Student Life OS

Seamlessly manage your academic subjects, assignments, exams, notes & resources with this minimalistic Notion template for students.

• Studying subjects
• Assignments
• Learning Notes
• Studying resources

Notion Templates for Students Free

There are so many free Notion templates out there. But not all of them are designed to be comfortable to use. That's where our simple and free Notion templates for students come in. Pick as many as you want - for your tasks, habits, books, and even more, and create your own Notion student system.

15. Project Management Free Notion Template for Students

16. Planners Free Notion Templates for Students

17. Task Manager Free Notion Template for Students

18. Book Tracker Free Notion Template for Students

19. Habit Tracker Free Notion Template for Students

Free Notion Student Templates

Here are additional free Notion Student Templates designed for students that will help you take care of your class notes, homework assignments, and more in an organized way.

20. Free Notion Student Template

21. Notion Templates Aesthetic Student Free

22. Feynman Technique Notion Student Template Free

23. Free Student Assignment Tracker Template

24. Student Notion Template Free

25. Minimalist & Free Notion Student Dashboard

26. Notion Templates for Students

27. Free Notion Study Templates for Planning

Notion University Templates

Stay organized during your university studies with Notion university templates. You can even select by the field of study - there are templates specifically designed for Law or medical students. Pick one of these and build a central hub for your assignments, events, notes, and more.

28. Aesthetic Notion University Template

29. Notion University Dashboard Template

30. Notion University Template for Ph.D. Students

31. University Hub Notion Template

32. Notion Medical School Template

33. Notion Law School Template

Aesthetic Notion Student Templates

Now, if you're all about aesthetics, I've been saving this section for you. There are so many cool and aesthetic Notion student templates out there for every theme possible - from Studio Ghibli to pink aesthetic. Choose your aesthetic and get ready to crush your studies this semester.

34. Studio Ghibli Aesthetic Notion Student Template

35. Ocean Aesthetic Notion Student Template

36. Dark Academia Aesthetic Notion Student Template

37. Pink Aesthetic Notion Student Template

38. Brown Aesthetic Notion Template for Students

39. Aesthetic Notion Dashboard for Student

40. Studio Ghibli Aesthetic Notion Student Planner

Notion for Students: Guide to Get You Started

New to Notion? Here's how to begin using Notion as a student and get the most out of it for your studies. Just follow our quick guide to Notion for students.

Is Notion a good study tool?

Short answer: Yes, it's one of the best tools you can use as a student in 2024 for your studies.

Notion is an excellent tool for students who want to get more organized and efficient in both academic and personal life.

• There are hundreds of Notion templates for students that can help you track every element of your life.
• Notion is flexible, which means you can create your own sacred studying place in any aesthetic you like + add Notion widgets , to make it more enjoyable to use.
• You can use Notion for students as a complex all-in-one system or just a simple place for your study notes - you decide.

How to use Notion for students?

The simplest and easiest way to use Notion for students is to get a pre-made Notion template. It not only saves you time building a workspace on your own, but also allows you to make the most out of Notion for your studies instantly:

• Have a perfect Notion student dashboard: Instantly see all the upcoming assignments and exams, store your class notes and more.
• Organize your courses materials: Create databases for each course, where you can store lecture notes, readings, and assignments.
• Set your goals: Write down your academic goals for the semester in Notion and track your progress.
• Become better at task management: Make the most out of Notion's to-do lists and Kanban boards to keep track of deadlines and prioritize tasks more efficiently.
• Collaborate with your classmates: Share study materials with classmates, work on group projects together, or even collaborate on shared notes in real-time.
• Start building your own personal portfolio: Showcase your projects, skills, and achievements by creating a personal portfolio in Notion to impress potential employers or educational institutions.

Can students use Notion for free?

Notion has a free plan that includes all the necessary features you might need for academic success.

If you're a student at a US-accredited higher education institution, you can also take advantage of the Notion Plus Plan for free. This allows you to share your Notion pages with up to 100 guests, access 30 days of page revisions, and more.

The Free Notion Plus Plan is only available for higher education students, not high school students, unfortunately.

For higher education students, you just need to use a valid educational email address (student IDs are not accepted as verification). To claim your Plus Plan, make sure the email address associated with your Notion workspace matches your student email. To update your email, go to Settings & members in your Notion sidebar, then My account > Change email.

You can find more information on Notion's help center .

Is Notion AI free for students?

Notion AI is an extra paid feature. But you can try it for free with a limited number of responses.

It's handy for students with messy notes: it can summarize your text, make bullet points from your class notes, highlight important parts, and more.

Avoid using Notion AI to write your essays or assignments, as this certainly violates your university's policies on plagiarism.

We hope you've already found Notion student template that fits your needs! If you're looking for more aesthetic Notion templates, make sure to check our full list .

Frequently asked questions

Can you use notion as a student.

Absolutely! Notion is fantastic for students as it helps you manage assignments, take notes, and keep your study life organized digitally and flexibly. Here are our favorite ways to use Notion as a student:

• Task management
• Finance tracking
• Knowledge management
• Studying in intervals
• Book tracking
• Daily, weekly, and monthly planning

The best part? It's incredibly easy to get started using Notion as a student, especially since there are plenty of free Notion student templates available (check out our top picks).

What's the top Notion template for students?

Among the numerous options, we'd recommend the "Notion Second Brain." It's an excellent choice as it lets you capture, organize tasks, notes, projects, resources, and goals in one streamlined system. This is a game-changer for students aiming for top grades while avoiding burnout.