Graduate program curriculum

The Ph.D. degree usually requires five years of graduate work. Major program components include coursework, research activities, and teaching experience. Each student specializes in an area such as social and personality development, learning, cognitive development, language development, or perceptual development.

Required courses include:

• Landmark Issues and Great Controversies in Child Development
• A two-tiered sequence of Advanced Developmental Psychology
• Current Issues in Teaching Developmental Psychology
• Ethics and Professional Development
• Statistical Methods (offered through the Department of Psychology)

In addition to coursework, each student spends approximately 20 hours per week on research activities throughout the period in residence.

Students will also complete either a formal minor or a supporting program of courses from two or more outside fields. Frequently chosen areas include psychology, sociology, educational psychology, speech, and neuroscience. Three interdepartmental minors that have been approved for Institute students are cognitive science, interpersonal relationships research (IREL), and neuroscience.

A teaching apprenticeship helps integrate basic knowledge in child psychology and provides supervised experience in teaching: during the third year, each student enrolls in a seminar on teaching child psychology, followed by a semester-long teaching apprenticeship co-teaching, with another student, a small section of the Introductory Child Psychology course to undergraduates. In consultation with a faculty member, the student plans and executes all activities connected with the course. Following successful completion of the apprenticeship, students are eligible to teach undergraduate courses in the department. Some teaching opportunities are available prior to the teaching apprenticeship and include delivering guest lectures, leading discussion sections, and supervising student projects.

A first-year research project is required in lieu of a master’s thesis. Written and oral preliminary examinations assess the student’s knowledge of the major and supporting fields. A special-area paper—frequently in the area of the dissertation topic—replaces a special area exam as part of the written preliminary examination. A doctoral dissertation and final oral examination covering the dissertation topic also are required.

Students in special training programs have other requirements for completion of their degree such as additional coursework, practicum, and internships. Read about the Ph.D. Program for more details.

Although students are not admitted for a terminal master’s degree, it is possible to earn an M.A. in child psychology as part of the Ph.D. program.