Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE
Using analysis of variance on a sample consisting of 1,499 US students across 21 US PhD programs, we show that there is no significant difference in the time it takes US male and female physics PhD students to complete their degree programs. This result comes in spite of a statistically significant 18 percentile point gap in median GRE-P scores between genders. Additional analyses reveal that there is no statistical difference between US students reported as White, Black/Hispanic/Multiracial/Native American, and Asian. Expanding our sample to also include 1,143 Non-US students, we find a small but significant effect of citizenship status on time to PhD completion where the average time for Non-US students to complete a physics PhD is about two months less than their US student counterparts. These results show that in spite of known gaps in standardized admissions exams between genders, these differences are not reflected in subsequent graduate school performance. Our findings reinforce the need for graduate admissions committees to go beyond quantitative metrics and conduct a holistic assessment of an applicant's potential to perform research effectively and to earn a PhD.
Physics Education Research Conference 2021
Part of the PER Conference series Virtual Conference: August 4-5, 2021 Pages 414-419
ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!
![]() <a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=15790">Verostek, M, C. Miller, and B. Zwickl. "Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021.</a>
![]() M. Verostek, C. Miller, and B. Zwickl, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15790&DocID=5519).
![]() M. Verostek, C. Miller, and B. Zwickl, Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, 2021, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15790&DocID=5519>.
![]() Verostek, M., Miller, C., & Zwickl, B. (2021, August 4-5). Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference. Retrieved May 4, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15790&DocID=5519
![]() Verostek, M, C. Miller, and B. Zwickl. "Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2021, Virtual Conference, August 4-5, 2021. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15790&DocID=5519 (accessed 4 May 2025).
![]() Verostek, Michael, Casey Miller, and Benjamin Zwickl. "Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE." Physics Education Research Conference 2021. Virtual Conference: 2021. 414-419 of PER Conference. 4 May 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15790&DocID=5519>.
![]() @inproceedings{
Author = "Michael Verostek and Casey Miller and Benjamin Zwickl",
Title = {Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE},
BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2021},
Pages = {414-419},
Address = {Virtual Conference},
Series = {PER Conference},
Month = {August 4-5},
Year = {2021}
}
![]() %A Michael Verostek %A Casey Miller %A Benjamin Zwickl %T Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE %S PER Conference %D August 4-5 2021 %P 414-419 %C Virtual Conference %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15790&DocID=5519 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %O August 4-5 %O application/pdf ![]() %0 Conference Proceedings %A Verostek, Michael %A Miller, Casey %A Zwickl, Benjamin %D August 4-5 2021 %T Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE %B Physics Education Research Conference 2021 %C Virtual Conference %P 414-419 %S PER Conference %8 August 4-5 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=15790&DocID=5519 Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.
Citation Source Information
The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual. The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References. The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation. The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ. Time to PhD completion is no different between men and women despite score gap on physics GRE:Know of another related resource? Login to relate this resource to it. |
ContributeRelated MaterialsSimilar Materials |