Department of Medical Sciences & Education, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Department of Health Systems Management, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
PLoS One. 2018 Apr 3;13(4):e0193901. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193901. eCollection 2018.
The goal of this study was to investigate associations between admissions criteria and performance in Ph.D. programs at Boston University School of Medicine. The initial phase of this project examined student performance in the classroom component of a newly established curriculum named "Foundations in Biomedical Sciences (FiBS)". Quantitative measures including undergraduate grade point average (GPA), graduate record examination (GRE; a standardized, computer-based test) scores for the verbal (assessment of test takers' ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information and concepts provided in writing) and quantitative (assessment of test takers' problem-solving ability) components of the examination, previous research experience, and competitiveness of previous research institution were used in the study. These criteria were compared with competencies in the program defined as students who pass the curriculum as well as students categorized as High Performers. These data indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between FiBS performance and undergraduate GPA, GRE scores, and competitiveness of undergraduate institution. No significant correlations were found between FiBS performance and research background. By taking a data-driven approach to examine admissions and performance, we hope to refine our admissions criteria to facilitate an unbiased approach to recruitment of students in the life sciences and to share our strategy to support similar goals at other institutions.
本研究旨在探讨波士顿大学医学院博士课程入学标准与表现之间的关联。该项目的初始阶段考察了新设立的“生物医学基础课程”（FiBS）课堂教学部分学生的表现。采用了包括本科平均绩点（GPA）、研究生入学考试（GRE；一种标准化的计算机化考试）语言部分（评估考生分析、评估和综合书面提供的信息和概念的能力）和定量部分（评估考生解决问题的能力）成绩、先前的研究经验以及先前研究机构的竞争力等定量衡量标准。将这些标准与作为课程通过者的学生以及被归类为“高绩效者”的学生的课程能力进行了比较。这些数据表明，FiBS 表现与本科 GPA、GRE 分数以及本科院校竞争力之间存在显著正相关。FiBS 表现与研究背景之间没有显著相关性。通过采用数据驱动的方法来检查入学和表现，我们希望能够改进我们的入学标准，以便在生命科学领域中公平地招募学生，并分享我们在其他机构支持类似目标的策略。
