M.Ed. In Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies

Students can choose to specialize in GCT studies and earn a Master's degree following either a thesis or non-thesis plan of study.  A Master's in GCT studies prepares students for leadership roles in policy, schools, or classrooms, or to pursue another graduate degree.

Plans of Study

The M.Ed. thesis plan of study 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. 

The M.Ed. nonthesis plan of study includes departmental foundations (3 hours), primary area core requirements (15 hours), a specialization (9 hours), and a related area (6 hours).  Areas of specialization and related areas are planned cooperatively by the student, the advisor, and the advisory committee. 

Creating an Advisory Committee

All Master’s Degree students select an advisory committee of at least three faculty members in consultation with their major advisor.  More than 50% of the committee members must be from the West Lafayette campus.

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

The culmination of a thesis masters 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 format approval for their thesis.  Also note that students must 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 weeks prior to the desired examination date. 

Graduation

Students are responsible for ensuring that all graduate school deadlines are met in time for their proposed date of graduate.