Selcuk Acar

Selcuk Acar, Ph.D., is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of North Texas. He earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, with an emphasis in Gifted and Creative Education, from the University of Georgia. His research centers on divergent thinking, creativity assessment, and the education of gifted and talented students. Prior to joining UNT, he worked at the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development at the University of Georgia and the Center for Applied Imagination at SUNY Buffalo State. Dr. Acar has authored numerous book chapters and encyclopedia entries and has published more than 85 peer-reviewed articles, primarily in creativity research. He previously served as Principal Investigator on a creativity measurement grant funded by the Institute of Education Sciences to develop a new measure of original thinking (MOTES). He is currently co-leading a National Science Foundation–funded project focused on human–AI collaboration for creativity development. He serves as Co-Editor of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts and serves on the editorial boards of Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal of Creative Behavior, Journal of Advanced Academics, and Creativity Research Journal. Dr. Acar is the recipient of the American Psychological Association Division 10 2022 Berlyne Award for outstanding research by an early-career scholar and the University of Georgia’s 2026 Alumni Award in the Mid-Career Researcher category.