The UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) has stopped requiring graduate program applicants to submit Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores. SILS implemented the change over the summer, so students matriculating in January will be the first cohort admitted under the revised standards.

The policy extends to all of the school’s graduate-level offerings, including the:
Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS)
Master of Science in Information Science (MSIS)
Professional Science Master’s (PSM) in Digital Curation and Management
Doctor of Philosophy in Information and Library Sciences (PhD)

“We were very pleased when the UNC Graduate School gave us the option to remove this requirement,” said Brian Sturm, Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at SILS. “The majority of SILS faculty did not believe the test scores were a good predictor of student success, and we were concerned that the test was an unnecessary barrier, especially for applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, first-generation college students, and people returning to school after a long break.”

The UNC Graduate School is allowing professional schools and academic departments at Carolina to suspend the GRE requirement through at least 2024, during which time they will collect data on the change’s impact.

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Related Programs: Doctoral, Masters