A 2022 study has found that the academic advantage often associated with physical attractiveness—particularly among female students—largely disappeared when teaching shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Titled “Student Beauty and Grades Under In-Person and Remote Teaching,” the research examined how facial attractiveness influenced academic performance across different teaching environments. The study focused on engineering students at Lund University, using the transition to remote learning on March 17, 2020, as a natural comparison point between in-person and online instruction.
The findings revealed that in traditional classroom settings, students perceived as more attractive were more likely to receive higher grades in non-quantitative subjects such as business, marketing, and economics. These courses typically involve greater interaction between students and lecturers through seminars, presentations, and group assignments.
According to the study, “beauty is positively related to academic outcomes” in such interactive environments, where evaluation may extend beyond written exams. The effect was observed among both male and female students during face-to-face teaching.
However, this pattern did not extend to quantitative subjects like mathematics and physics, where assessment relies heavily on written examinations and involves minimal direct interaction. In these courses, attractiveness appeared to have little to no impact on grades.
A notable shift occurred when teaching moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that the grades of attractive female students declined in non-quantitative courses once classes became virtual. It noted that their performance “deteriorated in non-quantitative courses,” suggesting that the earlier advantage observed in physical classrooms diminished in remote settings.
For male students, the results differed. The research found that attractive male students continued to enjoy a grade advantage even after the transition to online learning. The paper stated that “the beauty premium persisted for males,” indicating that the effect for men may not depend solely on physical visibility in classroom interactions.
Researchers suggested that this sustained advantage among male students could be linked to traits often associated with attractiveness, such as confidence, persistence, and social influence—qualities that may still play a role in group-based or interactive coursework, even in virtual environments.
To arrive at its conclusions, the study analysed data from 307 students across five cohorts within the engineering programme. Facial attractiveness was rated by 74 independent assessors using publicly available student photographs, while grades were standardised for consistency. The analysis also controlled for factors such as age, gender, parental income, home municipality income, and instructor gender to better isolate the role of appearance.
The study further highlighted the structural differences between course types: non-quantitative subjects rely more on interaction-based assessments, while quantitative disciplines are primarily exam-driven. This distinction, researchers noted, helps explain why attractiveness appeared to matter more in certain academic contexts.
Importantly, the shift to online learning provided a unique opportunity to isolate the effect of appearance, as course content and structure remained largely unchanged while the mode of delivery shifted.
The paper ultimately concluded that the earlier advantage observed among attractive female students in physical classrooms may have been driven largely by bias. It stated that “the return to facial beauty is likely to be primarily due to discrimination for females,” raising broader questions about fairness and evaluation in traditional academic settings.