The Ph.D. degree requires a total of 60 earned credits, plus meeting various research and examination requirements.

Courses are generally small seminars which cover core areas of developmental study (such as research design, language, cognitive, perceptual, social, and emotional development). Other seminars are related to emerging faculty and student research interests. In addition students are encouraged to enroll in course offerings in other programs and disciplines which may relate to their interests.

The first doctoral examination taken at the end of the first year of study assesses the student’s general knowledge of psychology. The second doctoral examination taken on completion of course work, tests general knowledge of developmental psychology and specialized knowledge of a major area. The third doctoral examination is the oral defense of the doctoral dissertation.

There are two formal research requirements. The second year research project represents a more independent study where the major initiative in conceptualization and study design is taken by the student. The Ph.D. Dissertation is the third research requirement and represents an original contribution to the research or theoretical literature.

The organization of the curriculum and requirements reflects a commitment to produce broadly-trained graduates who are prepared to pursue academic careers or to assume research positions in a variety of settings related to children, adolescents and adults.

Recent Course Offerings

The curriculum is composed of a number of core courses covering basic areas of developmental psychology, as well as seminars which reflect more specialized interests of students and faculty.

Developmental Psychology: Developmental Psychology I & II, Theories of Development, Seminar in Developmental Psychology, History and Systems in Developmental Psychology, Developmental Seminar - Special Topics, Advanced seminar on special topics of Piaget's theory, Piaget, Vygotsky and Werner, Proseminar in Developmental Psychology I & II

Research Methods: Research Methods I & II, Second Year Research Seminar, Statistics I & II, Multivariate Analysis I: Regression and Correlation, Advanced Topics in Multivariate Statistics, Developmental Evaluation, Evaluation Research, Qualitative and Interpretive Methods

Language: Language Development, Semantic Development, Children's Narrative and Conversational Competence, Children's Writing, Narrative and Self-Development, Language and Thought in Development, Literacy and Language Development

Cognitive Development: Cognitive Development I & II, Seminar on Piaget’s New Theory, Functional Approaches to Cognition, Social Interaction and Cognitive Development, Aesthetics and Development, Activity Theory Seminar, Conceptual Development, Perceptual Development, Memory Development, Psychology of Representation

Culture and Cognition: Cultural Aspects of Human Development: Mind and Society, Acquisition of Culture, Cultural Psychology, Development in Culturally Structured Environments, Infancy, Family and Community: Psychological Studies of Minority Children

Affect, Personality and Social Development: Social Cognition, Cognition and Affect, Moral Development, Gender Socialization, Development of Self from Sociocultural Perspective

Special Topics: Pediatric Psychology: The Psychology of Illness in Children, Biological Bases of Development, Atypical Development, Comparative Psychology, Infancy, Psychology of Work, Evolution and Developmental Psychology, Discourse and the Development of Self, Children’s Rights: Opportunities and Challenges for Developmental Science

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