The growth of a person from a tiny clump of cells involves changes
at many levels of description. Development comprises biological growth,
the organizing of neurons within the brain, the increasing complexity
of mental representation, the emergence and assembly of novel behaviors,
and the important role played by social and cultural goals and contexts.
Developmental science seeks to understand this process at all of these
levels. Our central focus is on the core mechanisms that underlie
this change. What physical, biological, psychological and social processes
are responsible for the dramatic changes we call development? This emphasis
on developmental process unifies our research whether we are
exploring the physiological processes that promote change during prenatal
development, examining changes in basic perception, attention, and language
abilities, or pushing the boundaries of developmental theory using mathematical
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Prospective Graduate Students
PhD Program
In addition to the formal Ph.D. curriculum, our students take advantage
of an exciting, active developmental community at the University of Iowa.
Our PhD program is unparalleled in the quality of its training. In particular
we offer:
Size and breadth: With nine top
researchers in developmental science (and other affiliated faculty
throughout the department and the university), the University of
Iowa Developmental Science program is unique in its size. Our research
interests cover perception, cognition, language, biology, and social
behavior, and we study development from infancy to late childhood
and in animal models giving us broad coverage of development.
Finally, our faculty represents a range of theoretical viewpoints:
dynamical systems approaches, connectionism, ecological views, developmental
systems theory and applied psychology are well represented.
Unique course work: Our innovative
seminar organizes developmental science by core-mechanism (learning,
endogenous activity, caregiver-mediated-learning) rather than by
domain to stress core mechanisms across neurological, physical,
social, perceptual and cognitive development. In addition our students
are encouraged to explore interdisciplinary courses in other departments
and areas.
Proven success: Our graduates have a track record of success. Each year our students present at many national conferences each year and author a number of first-authored papers. This success translates into first-rate post-doctoral training opportunities and tenure-track jobs at excellent universities including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Sussex University in the UK, the University of Alabama, and Loyola
University-Chicago.
An active research community: Researchers
in the Developmental Science area have a proven track record of
success, garnering $2.2 million in grant funding this year alone,
and over 200 publications since 2000. In addition, all faculty in the area
are core faculty in the Iowa Center for Developmental and Learning Sciences
(ICDLS), an interdisciplinary research center that brings together diverse
faculty from the University of Iowa community to study the processes that
underlie developmental change in both typical and atypical populations.
Resources: Our students have access to the latest methodological innovations including advanced developmental psychobiology techniques, a variety of infant looking and listening procedures, automated eye-tracking technologies for adults and infants, virtual reality simulations, innovative methods for recording and analyzing real time behavior, and cutting edge computational techniques.
Apply Now
If you are thinking about applying to our Ph.D. program in Developmental Science and want to learn more about the program and the affiliated faculty, please contact our training area coordinator, Larissa Samuelson at:
E-Mail: |
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Office Phone: |
319.335.2211 |
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Postal Mail: |
Dept. of Psychology
E11 Seashore Hall
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242 |
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