Subject Tests are designed to test the fundamental knowledge that is most important for successful graduate study in a particular subject area. To do well on a GRE Subject Test, you must have an extensive background in the particular subject area—the sort of background you would be expected to have if you had majored in the subject. Subject Tests enable admissions officers to compare students from different colleges with different standards and curricula. Not every graduate school or program requires Subject Tests, so check admissions requirements at those schools in which you’re interested.
All Subject Tests are administered in paper-based format and consist exclusively of multiple-choice questions that are designed to assess knowledge of the areas of the subject that are included in the typical undergraduate curriculum.
On Subject Tests, you’ll earn one point for each multiple-choice question that you answer correctly, but you’ll lose one-quarter of a point for each incorrectly answered question. Unanswered questions aren’t counted in the scoring. Your raw score is then converted into a scaled score, which can range from 200–990. The range varies from test to test.
Some Subject Tests also contain subtests, which provide more specific information about your strengths and weaknesses. The same questions that contribute to your subtest scores also contribute to your overall score. Subtest scores, which range from 20–99, are reported along with the overall score. For further information on scoring, you should consult the relevant Subject Test Descriptive Booklet, available from ETS. Subject Tests are offered three times a year: in April, September, and October. Note that not all of the Subject Tests are offered on every test date; consult www.ets.org/gre for upcoming test dates and registration deadlines.
Currently, six Subject Tests are offered.
This test consists of about 190 questions divided among three subscore areas: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution.
This test consists of about 130 questions. There are no subscores, and the questions cover the following topics: analytical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry.
This test consists of about 230 questions on literature in the English language. There are two basic types of questions: factual questions that test your knowledge of writers and literary or critical movements typically covered in the undergraduate curriculum, and analytical questions that test your ability to read various types of literature critically.
This test consists of about 66 questions on the content of various undergraduate courses in mathematics. Most of the test assesses your knowledge of calculus, linear algebra, abstract algebra, and number theory.
This test consists of approximately 100 questions covering mostly material from the first three years of undergraduate physics. Topics include classical mechanics, electromagnetism, atomic physics, optics and wave phenomena, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, special relativity, and laboratory methods. About 9 percent of the test covers advanced topics, such as nuclear and particle physics, condensed matter physics, and astrophysics.
This test consists of approximately 205 questions drawn from courses most commonly included in the undergraduate curriculum. In addition to a total score, there are also six subscores corresponding with these sections: biological, cognitive, social, developmental, clinical, and measurement and methodology.
For more information, consult ETS’s Subject Test section at www.ets.org/gre.