Developmental Psychology Program

Our developmental psychology graduate study program is intended to prepare students for a life-course in research, teaching, and scholarly activity. It strives to impart both theoretical sophistication and competence in diverse methodological approaches with regard to developmental issues. We emphasize ways of representing and examining all life phenomena, through in-depth study with particular populations and in specific areas bridging social, cognitive, and language development.

Distinctive features of the program include a strong interest in theoretical perspectives, concern with the relationship between problems and methods of inquiry, and an attempt to place questions in their historical and cross-disciplinary contexts. Faculty interests intersect around topics in the development of psychological processes in societal and cultural contexts, specifically in how modes of thinking are developed on the basis of social experience, in the study of social relations and interpersonal interactions, in the development of languages, symbolization, and communication, and in the study of the relation of environmental conditions to functioning. For more information about graduate study in developmental psychology, email Dr. Michael Bamberg mbamberg@clarku.edu.

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Developmental Psychology Faculty

Michael Bamberg, Ph.D.
Language acquisition, narratives, discourse analysis, identity development

Nancy Budwig, Ph.D.
Language development, socialization, discursive psychology

Rachel Joffe Falmagne, Ph.D.
Language and reasoning, women, psychology and society

Lene Jensen, Ph.D.
Moral development, cultural identity, immigrant civic engagement

Jaan Valsiner, Ph.D.
Cultural psychology, history of ideas

Marianne Wiser, Ph.D.
Cognitive development, especially concept acquisition

Research Faculty

Jeffrey Arnett, Ph.D.
Adolescence, emerging adulthood, psychology of globalization

Elaine Reese, Ph.D.
Social origins of cognitive development

Penelope Vinden, Ph.D.
Children's understanding of mind and its socio-cultural context; language, literacy, and mind

Program Costs

Tuition and Fees:  Students supported on an assistantship or fellowship can expect to have their tuition waived. Tuition rates can be found at: http://www.clarku.edu/admissions/financialaid/tuition.cfm  The remaining costs not covered by the waiver include activity fees ($15/semester) and optional health insurance ($1257/year).

Assistantships and fellowships:  Teaching assistantships currently pay a stipend of $16,700 for the academic year. Research assistantships pay at least as much as a teaching assistantship, often more, and often continue through the summer. Additional financial assistance information can be found through the Office of Financial Aid at: http://www.clarku.edu/admissions/financialaid/apply/graduate/grad_index.cfm