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Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are commonly required in applications to graduate school in mathematics. We examine undergraduate mathematics majors’ knowledge of the GRE and their perceptions of the GRE as a barrier to applying to these programs as part of a larger project studying student knowledge of the graduate school application process and how it contributes to lack of diversity in graduate mathematics programs. We found that there was an association by gender, and that women were less likely to report that they had heard of the GRE General and Subject Tests. Similarly, women were more likely to report that the GRE tests were a potential barrier to their decision to apply to graduate mathematics programs.
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Physics GRE Requirements Create Uneven Playing Field for Graduate Applicants
The use of the Physics GRE in graduate admissions has gained considerable attention in recent years. While studies have shown the problematic nature of the exam quantitatively, it is time that student experiences were also included in the discussion. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 69 current graduate physics and astronomy students about their process of deciding where to apply to graduate school. Physics GRE requirements played a substantial role in this decision, with 48 students mentioning the test as part of their process to narrow programs down to a personalized short-list. Participants discussed potential barriers (e.g., financial and travel) that affected some students, but not others, which created an unequal playing field for grad school applicants. Secondly, while the participants noticed a shift towards more departments having "optional'' GRE language, female student participants still felt the need to take and submit their Physics GRE scores, while male student participants truly saw "optional'' as optional. These results suggest that graduate programs requiring the Physics GRE are doing more than asking prospective graduate students to simply take a physics test, and that the use of 'optional' requirement language may be inadvertently disadvantaging the very students that they are trying to recruit.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1633275
- PAR ID:
- 10310048
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Physics Education Research Conference 2020
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2020.pr.Owens
