UB Graduate School of Education waives GRE requirement for non-licensure programs

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education will not require applicants to submit Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores for admission to academic programs that do not require professional licensure for the next two years.

By waiving the requirement, the school will remove a barrier to admission that disproportionately affects talented students facing financial hardships and applicants from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. GRE tests are expensive – costing students hundreds of dollars. Time-consuming and costly test preparation services and materials add to the financial burden.

“There is plenty of research that suggests the GRE is not necessarily a good predictor of academic success. At a time where access to the test is even more challenging, due to COVID-19, and at a time when GSE has gone on the record as trying to actively challenge systems of oppressions, removing this barrier just makes good sense,” says Suzanne Rosenblith, PhD, dean and professor of the UB Graduate School of Education.

“In two years, we will reflect on this pause and, at that time determine, whether to make the waiver permanent.”

The new admissions requirements affect 14 programs in the Graduate School of Education:

• All nine doctoral degree programs;
• Master’s program in educational psychology and quantitative methods;
• Master’s program in information and library science;
• Master’s program in mental health counseling;
• Master’s program in school counseling;
• Master’s program in school psychology.

The school will continue to require the GRE for admission into programs that lead to teacher certification or certification in school librarianship from the New York State Education Department. The Graduate School of Education will work individually with applicants who have difficulty accessing GRE testing for these programs.