Developmental Psychology Graduate Training Program

The Developmental faculty along with faculty from various areas within psychology has formed a Developmental Science Graduate Training Program. Our mission is to provide Ph.D students with the breadth and depth needed to understand development from the whole child perspective. This focus includes multiple interacting factors influencing development including, cognitive, affective, social, and educational. It also includes training in behavioral, neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and various other applied techniques and methodologies.

For more information contact graduate training information.

Specific course descriptions can be found at:
http://euryale.sbs.umass.edu/PsychWeb/Courses/index.html

Students who enter the Ph.D. program without prior graduate level experience typically take between four and six years to complete the Ph.D. The time required depends on many factors including the extent to which a minor program is pursued, internships are completed, and a host of other reasons.

The course requirements include:

• a minimum of two semesters in statistics (Psychology 640 and 641 taken in the first year)
• department distribution or specialization requirements (minimally three courses)
• three developmental courses from the following choice of six:
  Psych 650 - Brain Development and Behavior
  • Psych 750 - Learning and Memory Processes in Children
  • Psych 751 - Cognitive Processes in Children
  • Psych 752 - Perceptual Development in Children
  • Psych 753 - Personality and Social Development in Children
  • Psych 791 - Seminar on Language Development
  • Attendance and participation in the weekly Developmental Seminar which hosts outside speakers, allows for discussion of current topics in research and professional development, and provides a forum where faculty and students present and discuss their current research findings.

In addition, numerous other developmental, departmental, and university courses in other graduate programs may be taken as electives.