Berkeley boasts of lowered admissions standards in attempt to recruit grad students
The University of California Berkeley is using its recently lowered graduate admissions standards as a selling point in advertisements for master's degree programs.
The University of California Berkeley is using its recently lowered graduate admissions standards as a selling point in advertisements for master’s degree programs.
”No GRE Test Scores Required” boasts an online advertisement for Berkeley’s online master’s in data science program.
In September 2021, UC Berkeley announced that it would no longer require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores for admission to most of its graduate programs. Of the institution’s over 125 graduate offerings, only 13 maintained the GRE as a component of their admissions criteria.
Lisa García Bedolla, the vice provost for graduate studies and dean of the Graduate Division, indicated at the time that the decision was influenced by studies showing significant score differences in the GRE based on factors such as race, gender, and socioeconomic background.
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“I’m thrilled that so many of our departments elected to eliminate the GRE requirement in their admissions process,” said García Bedolla. “The research clearly shows that there are significant race, gender and socioeconomic disparities in GRE scores. We are looking forward to assessing how removing the GRE admissions requirement allows us to develop better assessments and improve our holistic approach to graduate admissions. It’s an exciting time to work in graduate education at UC Berkeley!”