Doctoral Program in Applied Developmental Psychology
We are pleased to hear of your interest in our program. This brochure provides you with a brief overview of the program, its requirements, and faculty interests. Detailed information about courses and general requirements can be found in the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Graduate School catalog (www.umbc.edu/gradschool/gradcatalog). To learn more about our faculty in the ADP Program, please follow this link: ADP Faculty. Please also look at our website at www.umbc.edu/psychology for links to other graduate programs in our department.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The relatively new field of Applied Developmental Psychology reflects the intersection of developmental psychology and applied science by considering questions of developmental import within the social context of children’s everyday lives. Some of the themes addressed within Applied Developmental Psychology include: 1) the reciprocal influence of culture, neighborhoods, school climate, and families on children's social and cognitive development, 2) the complexity of public health concerns such as living in poverty, teen parenthood, and learning to read, and 3) developing interventions and assessments based on developmental theory.
Graduates from the Applied Developmental Psychology program will have received a strong foundation in developmental psychology. In addition, through taking courses in methods and statistics and engaging in research, students will have acquired the analytic tools to design studies addressing important research questions, analyze and interpret their findings and disseminate these findings to others. Completing courses in policy, prevention and/or intervention as well as practica will enable students to begin to understand how to address societal problems. The ADP program recognizes the need for a multi-disciplinary focus on real-world, substantive problems and for first-hand familiarity with the tasks children face as they grow, with the environments that surround them, and with the practicalities of intervention in the real world. Consequently, the program includes an emphasis on in-depth practicum experiences in addition to the more traditional classroom-based means of learning.
Topics of current research interest to faculty in the program include the role of parenting, parental beliefs, and family emotional climate in fostering children’s cognitive and social growth; the social, emotional, and cognitive/educational development of children in different socio-cultural contexts, young children’s peer conflicts, the effects of educational innovations such as home schooling and the use of the internet; environmental predictors of child-parent relationships and early sibling and peer relationships; the processes involved in children’s learning and reading, writing and arithmetic; the role of motivational and affective factors in cognitive development and academic achievement; the influence on child development of sociocultural variables such as modes of caregiving, and child and family social policy. Much of the ongoing research involves what can be considered special populations, such as children with learning problems; children with behavioral or emotional disturbances; adolescent mothers and their children, adolescent mothers and their children, children from low income backgrounds, and immigrant children.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
The program is designed to prepare its graduates for careers as practitioner researchers, people concerned with the design, evaluation and improvement of effective ways of enhancing the quality of human life. Although many of the opportunities for this kind of career are likely to be found in close association with existing health and education services, the roles of an applied developmental psychologist are more varied than those of a school psychologist or therapist and generally are likely to be more innovative. Students enrolled in the program develop, in consultation with their advisor, a program of course work, research, and practicum experiences tailored to the demands of their particular career aspirations and that builds on and complements their previous studies and work experience.
The program has three concentrations with which students can affiliate, with flexibility both within and across concentrations to construct a program experience that combines broad exposure to foundational courses and to specialized courses and experiences tailored to individual students’ career goals and interests:
The Early Development/Early Intervention concentration focuses on genetic, biological, and environmental factors that impede and promote development in the early years, and on established and innovative intervention approaches for infants and young children at risk. Students specializing in this concentration will be prepared to conduct and supervise research on factors that affect development in infancy and early childhood, and to develop, tailor, and evaluate intervention programs designed to foster development. Students will also be trained in the assessment of cognitive, socioemotional, and linguistic development of infants and young children, and parent-child relationships. They will be prepared to work in interdisciplinary settings to evaluate young children and their families, to assist in formulating intervention plans to promote development, and to facilitate parenting in families at risk. Graduates with this concentration may opt for careers in academia, research and program evaluation institutes, child development and pediatric settings, social policy/child advocacy organization, government and foundations or in other contexts concerned with the development and welfare of infants, young children, and their families.
- The Socioemotional Development of Children within and across cultures concentration focuses on the interactions between individual, peer, and parenting/family factors in the social emotional development of children in different socio-cultural contexts. Students specializing in this concentration will be prepared to conduct and supervise research on factors that affect the social emotional development of children from not only ethnic minority and immigrant families in the U.S. but also families in different cultures around the world.
- The Educational Contexts of Development concentration focuses on the cognitive, social, and motivational factors that impact on different aspects of children’s learning. Topics of interest range from cognitive/academic content, such as literacy and mathematics, to socialization of cognitive skills, such as the impact of parents, teachers, and peers as socialization agents, to the effects of educational interventions on child outcomes. Students specializing in this concentration will learn about the effects of families, neighborhoods, and cultural contexts on children’s learning, and about individual differences, such as learning and developmental disabilities. Graduates with this concentration may pursue careers in academia and/or in child development settings to assess individuals for learning difficulties and other developmental disabilities, to collaborate with schools and school systems to evaluate the efficacy of different educational programs, and to design individual and group interventions. They will also be prepared to work in educational and social policy settings to help interpret research findings and translate research results into relevant policy. As well they can work in government settings to help formulate policy about educational issues.
PROGRAM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Admission to the program is based on a review by the admissions committee of each applicant’s complete profile, including the applicant’s grade point average in the baccalaureate degree, performance in relevant courses of study; stated goals (personal, career and research); letters of recommendation; relevant research and practical experience; maturity; GRE scores on verbal, quantitative and advanced psychology tests (taking account of the applicant’s cultural and educational background); and identification of an area of research interest compatible with the research interests and competence of the program’s faculty. Applicants must have at least a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution and a “B” average, or 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Most (but not all) applicants have majored in Psychology as undergraduates or have an extensive background in psychology or a related discipline at the undergraduate or master’s level. Applicants without a strong background in psychology may still be considered, however, and the program may decide to offer admission to promising applicants that is conditional upon the applicants’ taking (and obtaining high grades) in undergraduate UMBC psychology courses that the program designates. Students entering with credits from another graduate program may request that some of their courses be accepted in fulfillment of ADP program requirements. Full-time enrollment is the standard in the ADP program, but on rare occasions students will be accepted on a part-time basis.
The deadline for applications is January 9.
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