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A team of researchers led by Rochester Institute of Technology Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Casey Miller completed a multivariate statistical analysis of about one in eight physics Ph.D. students from 2000 to 2010.  They discovered that while women and underrepresented minorities tend to perform worse on the GRE Physics Subject Test, students’ performance had no bearing on Ph.D. completion. Undergraduate GPA was the most robust predictor of Ph.D. completion they found. 

Exams that US students need to take before being allowed into graduate school are not a reliable way of assessing whether those candidates will successfully complete a PhD. That is the claim of new research, which shows that the over-reliance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in PhD admissions also discriminates against under-represented groups.

...The data shows that the GRE gives us no predictive information on who will succeed in graduate school (even among men) and simultaneously acts to weed out people of color and underrepresented minorities and, as a whole, doesn’t help women applicants either.

© 2019 SPEAKING OF GEOSCIENCE

The American Chemical Society has been awarded a $2.3 million grant over five years from the National Science Foundation as part of an alliance of scientific societies to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in graduate education in the physical sciences. The Inclusive Graduate Education Network is a five-year, $10 million grant led by the American Physical Society (APS). 

APS has joined forces with four other scientific societies—the American Chemical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American Astronomical Society, and the Materials Research Society—to increase participation of underrepresented students in graduate physical science programs. The five societies make up the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN) that will be funded with a five-year $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

Rochester Institute of Technology is helping to build a national network for improving access to graduate education for underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

...AGU is one of five scientific societies that have formed the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN), which will increase the participation of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities in graduate studies in the physical sciences. 

APS has joined forces with four other scientific societies—the American Chemical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American Astronomical Society, and the Materials Research Society—to increase participation of underrepresented students in graduate physical science programs. The five societies make up the Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN) that will be funded with a five-year $10M grant from the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Catherine Mader of the Hope College physics faculty is part of a collaboration led by the American Physical Society (APS) that has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to create and administer a nationwide, five-year effort that seeks to increase participation in careers in the physical sciences by women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities by helping more pursue graduate education.

Field research and training create unique environments that can both reinforce and make invisible existing power dynamics, with the potential for abuse. In this interactive session we will discuss and practice strategies to reduce the likelihood of abusive behaviors such as bullying and harassment as well as how to respond when they do occur, with a focus on field environments. For more information visit the ADVANCEGeo resources on field work.