Gifted Education, MSEd

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Residential

Master of Science in Education (MSEd) in Educational Studies

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Purdue’s internationally recognized gifted education program attracts talented graduate students from across the country and from around the world. Through experiences such as research, teaching, and P-12 engagement, our graduates are well-prepared to enter research and teaching positions at universities, as well as leadership positions in local, state and federal agencies and schools.

To learn how to apply to this program, review the information in the Admissions tab.

What degree is conferred upon satisfactory completion of this program?

Master of Science in Education (MSEd) in Educational Studies with a concentration of Gifted Education. This information will be listed on the transcript, and the diploma states the degree objective.

34-37+

Credit Program

Admission Terms Application Deadlines

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Courses

Students can choose the thesis or non-thesis option for their degree. Students intending to pursue a PhD should select the thesis option. Both programs require at least 15 graduate-level credit hours in education at Purdue University. Graduate students in Educational Psychology or Gifted Education cannot include on their plan of study courses in which they earned a grade lower than a “B”.

The thesis option normally requires a minimum of 24 credit hours of graduate courses, plus 6 credit hours of graduate thesis work. This includes departmental foundations (3 hours), primary area core requirements (13 hours), a specialization (9 hours), a related area (6 hours), and 6-12 hours of thesis credit. Areas of specialization and related areas are planned cooperatively by the student, the advisor, and the advisory committee.

I. Departmental Foundation Requirement

EDPS 53300 – Introduction to Educational Research I: Methodology (3)

II. Primary Area Core Requirements

One of the following courses in Educational Psychology (3)

EDPS 53000 – Advanced Educational Psychology
EDPS 53600 – Achievement, Motivation, and Performance

One course in measurement (3):

EDPS 50500 – Foundations Of Career Development And Assessment
EDPS 53100 – Introduction to Measurement and Instrument Design

Four credits of enrollment in one or more of the following variable credit seminars (4):

EDPS 63100 – Applied Educational Research Design Seminar
EDPS 63200 – Seminar in Research Procedures in Education
EDPS 63300 – Seminar in Educational Psychology

One of the following two statistics courses (3):

PSY 60000 – Statistical Inference
STAT 50100 – Experimental Statistics I

III. Primary Area Specialization

Three (3) Gifted, Creative, and Talented courses (9)

EDPS 54000 – Gifted, Creative, and Talented Children
EDPS 54200 – Curriculum and Program Development in Gifted Education
EDPS 54500 – Social and Affective Development of Gifted Children

IV. Related Area

Two electives by advisement from an area of study outside of educational psychology (6)

V. Thesis Credits

Multiple enrollments in EDPS 69800 (Research MS Thesis) are expected while working on the thesis. Typically, students take 6-12 hours of EDPS 69800 credit for a masters degree. (6+)

Total Credits: 37+

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Supplemental Program Information

The culmination of a thesis master’s involves completion of a research project under the guidance of a faculty committee. Generally, this phase of the program takes 1-2 years. The first step in the thesis process is the development of a written research proposal in consultation with the advisor and committee members. The thesis committee must include at least four members, and more than 50% must be from the West Lafayette campus. The thesis proposal consists of a critical review of the literature providing a theoretical rationale for the study, research questions/hypotheses, and proposed methodology for investigating those questions/hypotheses. The student submits drafts of the thesis proposal to his/her advisor and the advisor determines when the proposal is ready to present to the committee. At that time, the student schedules a proposal meeting with all committee members. The purpose of the proposal meeting is for the student to (a) present his/her thesis proposal, (b) provide a rationale for the study, (c) engage in a discussion with the committee members, and (d) obtain an agreement with the committee about the final study. All committee members participate in the proposal discussion. If a member cannot be present at the meeting, he/she provides feedback to the student’s major advisor. The approved thesis proposal, with a cover sheet signed by all committee members, is filed in the Graduate Studies Office, School of Education. After the proposal is approved, students complete their research and write their thesis in consultation with their advisor and committee members. After the advisor determines the written thesis is ready to present to the committee, the student must appoint an examining committee (usually the same as the advisory committee) and schedule a thesis defense. Prior to submitting the formal request for appointment of the examining committee, students must have received formal approval for their thesis. Also, note that students must be enrolled during the session in which an examination is held. The final examining committee must be composed of at least four members of the graduate faculty and may be identical to the advisory committee. More than 50% of the committee members must be from the West Lafayette campus. To schedule the thesis defense, the major advisor submits a Request for Appointment of Examining Committee Form at least three (3) weeks prior to the desired examination date.

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Admissions

This program reviews applications for three start terms per year: fall, spring, and summer. Please carefully review the information in each section below, specifically the information regarding the Application Deadlines, to ensure that your graduate application is complete with the application fee paid before the deadlines.

Semester	Application Deadlines
Fall	April 1
Spring	October 1
Summer	February 1

Applications are considered complete and ready for admission consideration if the application is submitted (including all required materials) and the application fee is paid by 11:59PM EST on the day of the application deadline.

We encourage prospective students to submit an application and pay the application fee a minimum of 7 business days in advance of the deadline, even if not all required materials are uploaded. Our office will begin processing applications only after the application fee is paid. Incomplete applications or those submitted after the deadline may be considered, upon completion, for admission to a future term.

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Licensure Information

This program does not lead to licensure in the state of Indiana or elsewhere. Contact the College of Education Office of Teacher Education and Licensure (OTEL) before continuing with the program application if you have questions regarding licensure or contact your state Department of Education about how this program may translate to licensure in your state of residence.

program FACULTY

Learn From the Experts

Explore how Purdue’s faculty for the residential MSEd in Gifted Education can prepare you to help all students learn.

Alissa Cress

Clinical Assistant Professor

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Benna Haas

Clinical Assistant Professor

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F. Richard Olenchak

Professor

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Nielsen Pereira

Associate Professor

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Kristen Seward

Clinical Professor

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Gifted Education

OVERVIEW

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Supplemental Info

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program FACULTY

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Alissa Cress

Benna Haas

F. Richard Olenchak

Nielsen Pereira

Kristen Seward

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Creating an Advisory Committee

Completing the Thesis and Establishing an Examining Committee (Thesis Option)

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program FACULTY

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Alissa Cress

Benna Haas

F. Richard Olenchak

Nielsen Pereira

Kristen Seward

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