The Governor's Program for Gifted Children

GPGC 2024 | JUNE 9 – JULY 20

Senior Division

Selection and Progress of Students

Students currently enrolled in the ninth grade are eligible for the Senior Division, also known as the Graduate Program. Students who have not previously participated in the Governor’s Program, but who are currently enrolled in the ninth grade, may apply for admission. All applicants must receive a recommendation from their schools and demonstrate their intellectual abilities through both academic achievement and performance on standardized intelligence tests. Students who have successfully completed the Junior Division of the Governor’s Program or have enrolled as eighth graders under the Senior Division diploma track may be invited to participate in the Senior Division. If a student is admitted to the GPGC and does satisfactory work, that student will be invited back for the following summer. An eighth grader who successfully completes one summer in the Junior Division and two in the Senior Division will be awarded a diploma at the commencement ceremony.

Curriculum

Senior Division classes are taught on the college level. Unlike the Junior Division, the curriculum is not set from year to year. Rather, the Governor’s Program offers two to three classes to Senior Division students based on the availability of McNeese faculty. The courses are selected from the following areas: humanities, mathematics, psychology, chemistry, biology, and logic. The ideals and philosophy that shape the approach to the curriculum of the Senior Division are the same as those that shape the curriculum of the Junior Division. The idea is to help the students learn to think more clearly and precisely and learn more about the world in which they live. Before one can get answers, one must learn what questions to ask and how to ask them.

Past Senior Division Course Offerings:

Philosophy
Psychology
Logic
Scientific Reasoning
Astronomy
Physics
History of Math
Creative Writing
International Relations
Comparative Politics
Music Theory

One of the best parts of the program


for me was, for once, it allowed me to be one of the "normal" kids, instead of the "brainiac" nerd. I cherish that gift.


– George A., Alumnus