The college removed its GRE requirement for master’s programs to eliminate barriers
Kelsie Fox, a recent MPH-Epidemiology graduate, was apprehensive about taking the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). Between working, finding time to study and the financial burdens of learning the material, “it’s a hard situation to be a part of,” she said.
Fox graduated this spring as part of the first cohort of College of Public Health students admitted to master’s programs without having to take GRE. She has advocated for the requirement to be dropped for PhD program applicants as well.
“The GRE doesn’t predict a person’s success, it just creates new barriers,” she said. “It’s nice to know that moving forward, people will have a shot at what they want to do in life and it’s not going to be determined by a test. It’s going to be determined by the work they put in now.”
CPH eliminated admissions requirements for master’s students to submit GRE scores in 2020 as part of a broader goal to reduce barriers to higher education. After multiple successful admissions cycles, those changes are here to stay.
While the CPH effort was underway before the COVID-19 pandemic, many graduate schools across the country moved to a test-optional admissions model in 2020 in response to the pandemic. Research published last year shows that eliminating the GRE as an admissions requirement does not negatively impact student success or program performance.
Abigail Norris Turner, CPH associate dean of faculty and inclusive excellence, said there are many factors that can signal student success.
“Overreliance on standardized test scores would clearly disadvantage some students, and unnecessarily limit who can pursue their training here,” Norris Turner said. “It’s really about holistic review and making sure we look comprehensively at student profiles.”
Dawnne Wise, who manages the MPH-Program for Experienced Professionals (PEP) and works closely with prospective and current students, said the GRE requirement was often cited as a “stumbling block” for those interested in the PEP program, which is designed for working professionals. After having been out of the classroom, sometimes for decades, finding time to study for and take the GRE created “a big hinderance for them to come back.”
Feedback on the change has been overwhelmingly positive, Wise said.
Todd Thobe, director of student services and Julie Robbins, associate clinical professor, approached the Ohio State Academic Studies Governance Committee in 2019 with a proposal to eliminate the GRE requirement for MPH and MHA programs on a trial basis. Their research on GRE scores and student outcomes showed it was clear students were “capable of having success in rigorous quantitative courses” regardless of how well they performed on the GRE’s quantitative section, Thobe said.
Two years later, “there is no evidence to tell us this was an incorrect decision,” Thobe said. The move to a test-optional model was expanded to include PhD programs last year.
