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Typical physics Ph.D. admissions criteria limit access to underrepresented groups but fail to predict doctoral
Casey W Miller1, Benjamin M Zwickl2, Julie R Posselt3
1School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, 85 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA.
Science Advances
|February 13, 2019
Summary
Traditional physics Ph.D. admissions metrics like GPA and GRE scores are poor predictors of student completion. These metrics may also disadvantage underrepresented groups in physics graduate programs.
Area of Science:
- Physics Education Research
- Higher Education Admissions
Background:
- Traditional metrics for physics Ph.D. admissions include undergraduate GPA and GRE scores.
- Admissions committees often rely heavily on these metrics to predict student success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of common admissions criteria in predicting physics Ph.D. completion.
- To assess the predictive validity of undergraduate GPA and GRE scores (Quantitative, Verbal, Physics).
Main Methods:
- Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to a large dataset of physics Ph.D. students.
- Data spanned admissions from 2000 to 2010, encompassing approximately 12.5% of all physics Ph.D. students.
Main Results:
- Undergraduate GPA showed a significant association with Ph.D. completion across all models.
- GRE Quantitative scores were significant in only two of four models; GRE Verbal and Physics were not significant.
- Performance differences on GRE Quantitative scores showed minimal impact (less than 10% change in completion) across a wide performance range.
Conclusions:
- Typical admissions metrics, including GPA and GRE scores, have limited predictive power for physics Ph.D. completion.
- Overreliance on GRE scores may negatively impact the selection of underrepresented minority groups in physics graduate programs.
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