Join a department with a distinguished history in the world of psychology.
We are committed to the idea of the unity of psychology and strive, theoretically and through empirical research, to understand human development within a socio-cultural context.
G. Stanley Hall, the first president of Clark University, founded the American Psychological Association at Clark in 1892, and established “adolescence” as a stage of human development. Professor Edmund Sanford was the first to use mazes to study rat behavior. Child development pioneer Arnold Lucius Green studied twins and was first to use film to observe children’s behavior. And in 1920, Francis Cecil Sumner, the “father of black psychology,” was the first African-American in the U.S. to earn a doctorate in psychology.
Graduate students in the Frances L. Hiatt School of Psychology follow in the groundbreaking footsteps of Hall, Sanford, Green, and Sumner by exploring a variety of theoretical approaches and participating in ongoing research programs in the intimate atmosphere of our small research university. We are committed to the idea of the unity of psychology and strive, theoretically and through empirical research, to understand human development within a socio-cultural context. Although various sub-specialties and methodological approaches are represented in the department — Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Social Psychology — we respect different approaches and find ways to integrate them.
Graduate research
Graduate students are actively involved in research from the beginning of their training. During the first two years of the program, students work on an independent research project under faculty supervision and participate in the Graduate Research Festival.
Research facilities
Clark’s Psychology Department has more than 35,000 square feet dedicated to learning, research, and laboratory work. Graduate students have semi-private offices and access to dedicated lab clusters, which include the Bliss Child and Family Study Center and a psychotherapy research lab. The psychological services area contains two therapy suites that allow for observation and recording of clinical sessions.
Alumni careers
Clark’s psychology Ph.D. programs train scholars to work in academic and professional fields, and produces distinguished Ph.D. alumni who become valuable members of their professions. Their extensive training and research experience prepares them for positions at universities and nonprofits around the world.
