Curriculum

PhD, Developmental Psychology

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PhD, Developmental Psychology

The 39- to 51-credit PhD in Developmental Psychology provides you with the training in developmental theories and research skills required to advance scientific understandings of development in context. Training emphasizes the intersection of biology, culture, and context across domains of social, cognitive, language, and emotional development. You will apply a variety of methods (e.g., physiological, experimental, observational, and interviews) to study individual and environmental influences on development, preparing them to conquer a career in research settings such as academia, foundations, think tanks, industry, and interventions and programs that serve children and families. 

Core Course Sequence

The curriculum for the PhD program in Developmental Psychology provides you with opportunities to take courses in developmental theory and research, gain strong training in research methods, and acquire professional development skills necessary for building and being part of a broader scientific community. The course curriculum includes coverage of developmental content areas, research methods, research practicum, and participation in colloquia. The program of study provides you with opportunities to gain expertise in a programmatic research area and to acquire the skills for professional growth and development. 

Sample Electives

You will have the opportunity to take several electives in research methods and multivariate analysis, equipping them with the skills needed to engage in rigorous developmental science and contribute to the field. Electives include topics such as cross-cultural research methods, case study and ethnographic inquiry, methods for analysis of change, and supervised and unsupervised machine learning. 

Culminating Experience

The PhD in Developmental Psychology culminates in a doctoral dissertation that combines the theoretical and empirical contributions/findings you generated during your research in the program over your years of doctoral study. You will submit a three-paper dissertation, which includes at least two empirical data-based original studies (the third paper is often a conceptual or theoretical paper such as a synthesis and extension of the literature on a topic of expertise), a brief overview, and conclusions. After passing the methods comprehensive exam, successfully defending the comprehensive paper, and filing a doctoral candidacy form, students turn to incorporate the knowledge and skills they gained throughout the program into the preparation and completion of the dissertation.

Program Requirements

Students holding a master's degree or graduate credits in developmental psychology or related field complete 39-51 credits; the total required credits are determined on admission based on alignment of previous coursework with program curriculum. Students admitted with a BA/BS must complete 51 credits.

Course Title Credits
Foundations (6 credits)6
APSY-GE 3009
Departmental Seminar: Theories of Change in Applied Psychology
APSY-GE 3021
Developmental Research Seminar: Theories of Culture & Context
Developmental Content Areas (12-18 credits)12-18
APSY-GE 2055
Child Language Development
APSY-GE 2097
Social and Emotional Development
APSY-GE 2115
Psychological Research in Infancy
APSY-GE 2198
Cognitive Development
APSY-GE 2836
The Development of African American Children
APSY-GE 2272
Adolescent Development: Theory and Research
APSY-GE 2527
The Development of Immigrant Origin Youth
Research Methods (15-18 credits)15-18
APSY-GE 3073
Research Design and Methodology in the Behavioral Sciences I
Research Methods Restricted Electives (by advisement)
Additional Requirements (6-9 credits)6-9
APSY-GE 3020
Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology
APSY-GE 3023
The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science
Total Credits51

Note

Students take APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology for 3 credits each year for 2-3 years.

Other Program Requirements

Additional Program Requirements

Engagement in Programmatic Research

Students are required to participate on the research team of a faculty member of the Developmental Psychology Program, beginning the first semester of the first year. Students are expected to allocate half of their-time (at least 20 hours per week) to the research team. During the 5 years of doctoral training, the student is expected to disseminate research findings at conferences and in peer-reviewed publications.

Year 2 Empirical Paper

Students are required to complete an empirical paper during their second year in the program.  Work toward this research paper should begin in the first year. The expectation is that the paper is minimally submitted, and ideally published. A student’s primary research mentor supports  him/her in this process by working closely with the student on formulating and implementing the  research project. Below are the goals, policies and procedures for this paper.

Year 3 Empirical Paper

All students in the program are required to work on consecutive empirical papers to ensure their  competitiveness in the job market. Guidelines for the first empirical paper (due year 2) also apply  to the second empirical paper (due year 3). To be competitive in the job market, multiple high quality publications are the norm; publishing research is thus the primary goal of students in the  program. Students should be first or sole author on at least one empirical paper upon graduation.

Methods Comprehensive Exam

Students must pass a methods comprehensive exam that tests for knowledge, skills, and understanding of topics including sampling, research design, measurement, construction of hypotheses, statistical procedures to test hypotheses, and interpretation of results.

Developmental Comprehensive Exam

Students must pass the writing of their comprehensive paper on a developmental topic. This theoretical paper should advance theory in one or two areas. It can include a critical analysis and synthesis of the literature in one or more areas; a meta-analysis of a literature topic; two or more areas of theory and research and to review, summarize and integrate the empirical and theoretical knowledge base in these areas. The review must be comprehensive, critical, and integrative and ~15 single-space pages in length, pages in length, excluding references. It should represent a synthesis rather than straightforward literature review only. The student will attend a 1-hour defense meeting on the exam with their advisor and a second faculty member from the program who has read the paper.

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal & Dissertation Defense

The student will propose and defend a dissertation as the culmination of the student’s doctoral training. The dissertation should represent a unique, valuable, and rigorous  contribution to research in the area of Developmental Psychology. Students typically propose, execute, and defend a 3-paper dissertation. One of the 3 papers should not be published yet, allowing for input from the committee members and readers of the dissertation.

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid
1st Semester/TermCredits
APSY-GE 3009 Departmental Seminar: Theories of Change in Applied Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3073 Research Design and Methodology in the Behavioral Sciences I 3
APSY-GE 3023 The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science 2 3
Research Methods/Statistics 3
 Credits9
2nd Semester/Term
Research Methods/Statistics 3
APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3023 The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science 2 3
Developmental Content Course 3
 Credits6
3rd Semester/Term
Research Methods/Statistics 3
APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3023 The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science 2 3
Developmental Content Course 3
Developmental Content Course 3
 Credits9
4th Semester/Term
Developmental Content Course 3
Research Methods/Statistics 3
APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3023 The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science 2 3
 Credits9
5th Semester/Term
Research Methods/Statistics 3
APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3023 The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science 2 3
Developmental Content Course 3
 Credits9
6th Semester/Term
APSY-GE 3021 Developmental Research Seminar: Theories of Culture & Context 3
APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology 3
APSY-GE 3023 The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science 2 3
Developmental Content Course 3
 Credits9
 Total Credits51
1

APSY-GE 3020 Research Practicum in Developmental Psychology is taken 3 times for credit, and 3 times for 0 credit.

2

APSY-GE 3023 The Developmental Psychology Seminar: Current Topics in Developmental Science is taken for 0 credits.

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