Faculty eliminates GRE as admission requirement

Colorado State University’s Department of Atmospheric Science will no longer consider Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores for admission to the program. Faculty voted unanimously at their Friday meeting to remove the requirement based on their determination that the GRE is not an accurate measure of the skills needed to be a good scientist in the field.

“We anticipate this decision will lead to a higher number of strong applicants and a more diverse and representative applicant pool,” said Professor and Associate Department Head Eric Maloney, who led the effort to remove the requirement.

Prior to the vote, faculty reviewed information on which measures determine graduate school success, including resources from the American Geophysical Union and American Geosciences Institute. They found the GRE is not a good predictor of Ph.D. completion or student publication rate. The GRE, a standardized test used for graduate admissions since the 1950s, also has proven to be biased against women and people of color.

Read the full Source article, “Atmospheric Science graduate program eliminates GRE as admission requirement.”