Developmental Psychology

Students in Developmental Psychology complete three Developmental area courses, a theory paper, and attend the weekly developmental seminar, in addition to courses required as part of the common graduate curriculum.

Table of Developmental requirements

Three area courses. Students must take one advanced course in each of the three areas of Developmental Psychology listed below.  Students may petition the developmental area chair to count courses not included on the list below. For breadth and area course petitions, the student should first get approval from their advisor and advisory committee before submitting a written document to the chair explaining why this course should count toward one of these requirements.

  • Cognitive Development: PSYC 42550 Cognitive Development, PSYC 33600 Cognition in Infancy, or PSYC 42210 Mathematical Development: Cognitive and Attitudinal Factors
  • Language Development: PSYC 43200 Seminar in Language Development or PSYC 43680 Topics in Language and Gesture.
  • Social Development: PSYC 41115 Social Cognitive Development, PSYC 32220 Understanding Inequality as a Psychologist, or PSYC 33165 Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Morality.

Theoretical review paper. By the spring of the third year students must write and submit a theoretical review paper to their advisor and a reader. Ideally, this review could be a publishable article, suitable for a journal such as Psychological Bulletin or Developmental Review and will help in formulating the dissertation. Students will do a presentation of the theoretical review paper in the developmental brown bag seminar during their fourth year.

Developmental seminar. Students are required to register for and attend the weekly developmental brownbag seminar (PSYC 40851-2-3 Topics in Developmental Psychology) each quarter. Students are also encouraged to participate in seminars and attend events specific to their area of study.

In their third year, students will present their trial research findings in the developmental brown bag seminar.

Students are encouraged to take additional coursework in areas of interest and in statistics or methods as needed.