Explore how biological, cognitive, social and emotional factors affect development at every stage of life. The Human Development track of the Ph.D. in Learning and Developmental Sciences offers you a multidisciplinary perspective on individual development and relationship processes.
Our students enter the job market with at least two years of teaching experience, presentations at national conferences, and publications in refereed journals. They are competitive for a variety of positions in academic institutions, private or non-profit institutions such as research foundations, and government agencies.
Many of our graduates are working as professors of human development in departments of educational psychology, human development and family studies, and psychology. Others have worked for departments of education or become directors of research at national research institutes.
Faculty areas of research in human development include: child, adolescent, and adult development; with an emphasis on social development. A range of research methods are included as part of the training program, including longitudinal naturalistic studies in homes and schools, studies employing genetically-informed twin-family designs, and secondary data analysis of research and administrative data.
