Psychology of Excellence
print


Breadcrumb Navigation


Content

History

The international M.A. study program “Psychology of Excellence” started in 1998 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) in Munich, sponsored by DAAD. The curriculum of  the program focused on the mental, social and institutional conditions of giftedness and talent, developing expertise and excellent performance, particularly in schools and at the work place. For this purpose, psychological, personal, social and organisational conditions for promoting excellence were taken into account as well as pedagogical, didactical, sociological and philosophical aspects linked to excellence. The study program conveyed fundamental skills and knowledge from educational and organisational psychology with a clear focus on excellence.

Founding director of “Psychology of Excellence” is Prof Dr. Kurt Heller, a prominent researcher in the area of Giftedness, best known for his Munich Model of Giftedness. In the following years under the directorship of Prof. Dr. Heinz Neber the program developed into one of the most well-known and successful Psychology master’s programs in Germany, taught entirely in English, chosen as Best-Practice example by DAAD. In 2005 the new director Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wegge  drove a major change in the program to reflect its interdisciplinary content, in result of which the title was extended to “Psychology of Excellence in Business and Education" and the module system as well as credit point distribution was improved.  During the directorships of Prof. Detlef Urhahne, Prof. Ingo Kollar and Prof. Maximilian Sailer the program continued to attract excellent students from around the world and initiated and hosted the international conferences “Creativity and Talent Development” in 2008, “Creativity in Business and Education: Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Aspects” in 2010 and the Symposium “Excellence in Business and Education: Trends and Conclusions” in 2013.

In 2011 the study of Psychology of Excellence was integrated as specialization module in the new "Psychology Master’s Program in the Learning Sciences" within the Munich Center of the Learning Sciences (MCLS) in LMU. The last students in  “Psychology of Excellence in Business and Education” graduated in 2013, when the program was officially closed.