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 models.

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 similarity in 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. Our students have also won national awards such as the Society for Research in Child Development Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, the Council of Graduate Schools/University Microfilms International Distinguished Dissertation Award in Social Sciences and the American Psychological Association Dissertation Award in Developmental Psychology. 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 faculty in the area are core full members of the Delta Center, an interdisciplinary research center that brings together divers 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 Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), 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:	larissa-samuelson@uiowa.edu
Office Phone:	(319) 335-2211
Postal Mail:	Dept. of Psychology E11 Seashore Hall The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 52242