Out of more than 125 graduate programs offered at UC Berkeley, only 13 have been elected to require the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) for this year’s admissions cycle.
The removal of the test requirement is part of a broader movement recognizing it as a weak predictor of graduate student success. Most departments have already eliminated the GRE requirement last year because of pandemic concerns.
Key Takeaways:
- Most of UC Berkeley’s graduate programs will not require the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) for this year’s admissions cycle.
- Removing the GRE test requirement has led to UC Berkeley’s most diverse student population in graduate programs.
- Graduate programs that do not require GRE have been increasing in number over the past decades.
According to Lisa García Bedolla, the vice provost for graduate studies and dean of the Graduate Division at UC Berkeley, they are looking forward to assessing how removing the GRE admissions requirement allows them to develop better assessments and improve their holistic approach to graduate admissions.
Increasing numbers of graduate programs are walking away from the GRE, a requirement over the past decade.
Julie Posselt, associate professor of higher education at the University of Southern California, noted that recent research shows weak correlations with the forms of success people care most about and GRE test scores.
While removing barriers to access such as the GRE test requirement is one step in the process that has led to the most diverse student population in master’s, doctoral, and professional programs in the campus history.
In fact, 41,359 individuals—excluding those seeking admission to Berkeley Law—applied for Berkeley’s graduate programs, an 18 percent increase from the previous year.
Abcodo is an MSM company that serves as the in-house recruitment partner of MSM Unify, a student recruitment and marketing platform that connects partner schools to top-tier agents and their students worldwide. Sign up now to get the latest updates and information on international student recruitment.
