Physical sciences more popular than engineering among GRE test-takers in India

Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is the standardised test for the students from foreign countries to get admission to various courses offered by the graduate schools at different universities in the United States. Engineering has been the most popular choice of degree among Indian students preparing to pursue graduate studies in the US for a long time. However, recent reports suggest that engineering is no longer the most popular choice of degree among Indian students preparing to take the GRE.

Physical sciences, which include physics, chemistry and earth sciences, is now the preferred option for Indian students taking the GRE test, reported the Indian Express.

GRE is conducted by Educational Testing Services (ETS) which is headquartered in the US. According to the data released by ETS, there has been a significant decline in the percentage of candidates keen on studying engineering in the US. In the testing year 2012-13, 34 percent of GRE test-takers were planning to pursue graduate studies in engineering. But, in 2021-22, only 17 percent of test-takers were interested in engineering. On the other hand, GRE candidates willing to pursue a master’s degree in physical sciences increased from 27 percent to 37 percent over the same period.

The data trend can be explained by the fact that physical sciences graduate programmes in the US are more likely to ask for GRE scores than engineering. Some premier universities like UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) require a GRE score for physics and chemistry graduate programmes. At the same time, these universities do not mandatorily require a GRE score for engineering majors like mechanical and computer engineering.

Furthermore, reports suggest that GRE test-takers in India have doubled over the past decade and that the country has almost caught up with the US in the number of students taking the standardised test for pursuing a master’s degree or doctorate in American Universities.

The GRE is a nearly 4-hour online test of multiple-choice and written questions that assesses proficiency in quantitative, verbal, and writing skills.

Interestingly, Indians make up the second-largest cohort of international students at US universities. In 2021-22, as many as 1,99,182 Indian students travelled to the US for studies, an increase of 18.9 percent from the previous year.