The Psychology Department brings together outstanding faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students to carry out our scientific and educational missions. At its core, Psychology seeks to understand the complexities of human behavior in a multitude of ways - how the brain gives rise to behavior, how behavior is affected by mental illness, injury, and disease, and finally, how to develop effective interventions to promote mental wellbeing. Our science examines everything from the single neuron to broad cultural and societal contributions to behaviorand the full range in between. As a 21st-century science, psychology is constantly exploring and incorporating emerging new approaches to our work, often by breaking down traditional academic and scientific boundaries.
Students graduate work will largely consist of courses, seminars, reading, and research in their graduate area, and all graduate students should discuss their proposed coursework with their area head prior to registration. There are, however, some departmental requirements that everyone must satisfy. These requirements are primarily designed to insure that students acquire a reasonable breadth of experience within psychology.
The Developmental Psychology Program is designed to provide students with a broad academic and research background in developmental psychology. The program is oriented toward the examination of basic research and theoretical issues, although this can be combined with work on applied problems. The goal of the Developmental program is to provide students with the training and experiences that will allow them to function effectively in academia, as well as other basic and applied research settings. To this end, students are expected to be actively involved in research from the time they enter the program. Much of the research conducted by the faculty and graduate students in the Developmental Program occurs at the Children's Research Center, a facility containing observation and testing rooms, as well as offices, meeting rooms, and a library.
