Msc. in Gifted Education
Master of science in Gifted Education
Program Overview
The Master in Gifted Education Program is carefully designed to: (1) prepare educators who wish to become researchers and administrators in gifted education, and (2) to prepare K-12 teachers who wish to become gifted and talented specialists in government and private schools. The Master in Gifted Education Program has a long history of success since the 1990s and it has been revised several times to ensure that the plan of study reflects the rapid changes in the field of gifted education.
The Programs’ courses are distributed across two semesters where candidates learn about: (a) main theories of giftedness, (b) best practices in assessing and identifying gifted and talented learners according to the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) pre-K-Grade 12 programming standards, (c) gifted selection criteria based on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) definition of giftedness, (d) designing and developing curriculum and enrichment units that meet the cognitive needs of academically and intellectually gifted students, (e) social and emotional needs of gifted and talented learners, and (f) methods of evaluating the impact and the added-value of programs and services provided for gifted students in K-12 education.
After three decades of the establishment of the master’s Program in Gifted Education at the Department of Gifted Education, we are proud of graduating more than 300 master’s holders who are taking lead in different positions in K-12 education as well as higher education institutes. Last but not least, we are proud of our partnerships with leading institutes and centers in the Arab Gulf Region such as Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity, and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States.
Vision
The Master in Gifted Education Program will strengthen the science and practice of gifted education in K-12 and higher education institutes in the GCC countries through innovative and up-to-date methods of preparing researchers and specialists in gifted education.
Mission
The Master in Gifted Education Program is dedicated to providing rich and extraordinary learning experiences to prepare future researchers and practitioners in gifted education through evidence-based research and practices.
Program’s Objectives
- To provide state of the art graduate teaching based on the highest standards for higher education quality assurance.
- To conduct cutting-edge research that addresses different topics related to gifted education in the GCC countries.
- To prepare distinguished future researchers in the field of gifted education.
- To prepare distinguished gifted specialists in gifted and creative education.
Methods of Assessment
Methods of assessment vary from formative assessment where instructors examine students’ knowledge and skills at the beginning of the program, to criterion-reference assessment where students performance is being assessed based on the learning outcomes specified in each course. As we believe that there are individual differences between students, the formative assessment allows each instructor to modify the course content based on the level of each student.
Another kind of assessment employed in the Master Program in gifted education is summative assessment. Summative assessment method is used in the middle and at the end of each course through variety of methods including weekly assignment, projects, and quizzes and exams. The fourth kind of assessment is a field visit for practicum course. Our faculty schedule 16 visits in the second semester for all students to monitor their performance in teaching gifted and talented students.
Finally, the overall performance of all students is assessed at the end of the program through comparing their overall performance with the Program Learning Outcomes.
Admission Criteria
All applicants for the Master Program at the Department of Gifted Education should meet the following criteria:
- A minimum of 3.00 out of 4.00 Grade Point Average (GPA) in the bachelor’s degree from an accredited higher education institute
- Official transcripts from all institutions attended
- Successfully passing the interview with the Department faculty
- Successfully passing the three admission exams: 1) an exam in gifted education, 2) English proficiency test, and 3) a mathematics test.
Graduation Requirements
- Successfully complete 36 credit hours including course work and master thesis
- Successfully pass master thesis defense
- Obtain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 out of 4.00 points.