Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology

Graduate students trained in Cognitive, Developmental, Social, or Quantitative Psychology follow a single curriculum with a uniform set of requirements, but their research programs and seminar courses focus on their unique areas of interest.

Our philosophy can be summed up as cooperative, and the small size of our program ensures individualized attention for all students. Although students work directly with a faculty advisor, following a mentor-apprentice model, they also have considerable freedom to collaborate with other faculty and students within and beyond the Department. Indeed, we encourage students to publish with several faculty members before they graduate. Greensboro’s central location in NC has resulted in close ties to other top departments, creating opportunities for our students to take courses, collaborate, and network.

We are no longer accepting GRE scores from applicants to the MA-PhD program in Developmental Psychology, for entry starting in Fall 2024.

Application Deadline:

  • December 1

Program Highlights

  • Students’ research program is tailored to their interests with one-on-one guidance from their faculty advisor
  • Students have a primary faculty advisor but are also encouraged to conduct research projects with other faculty and graduate students if it fits with their goals
  • Students will receive training suitable for academic or non-academic positions 
  • We have special strengths in community connections that may be beneficial for students with applied interests (e.g., partnerships with the Greensboro Science Center, the Miriam P. Brenner Children’s Museum, Kaleideum, and the North Carolina Zoo; community program with Greensboro Downtown Parks)
  • Broad coverage of topics (e.g., young children’s cognitive and social development; understanding of food cognition and behavior; trait understanding; body image development; impact of religiosity on higher order cognition) and methodologies (e.g., experimental, longitudinal)
  • Recent graduate seminars in Developmental Psychology in Practice, Advanced Methods in Developmental Psychology, and Replication and Representation in Developmental Science
  • Graduates have secured postdoctoral and visiting positions (e.g., Wake Forest University, UNC Greensboro, University of Virginia) and faculty positions (e.g., University of Mississippi, Wingate University, Vanderbilt University)
group of students standing at a table promoting the Living Lab
women standing a table promoting the DUCK lab

Faculty in Developmental Psychology

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
BY CURRENT/RECENT STUDENTS

Caporaso, J. S., Ball, C. L., Marble, K. E., Boseovski, J. J., Marcovitch, S., Bettencourt, K. M., & Zarecky, L. (2022). An observational investigation of how exhibit environment and design intersect to influence parent–child engagement. Visitor Studies, 25(2), 185-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10645578.2022.2051386

Caporaso, J. S., & Marcovitch, S. (2021). The effect of taxing situations on preschool children’s social problem solving skills. Cognitive Development, 57.

Caporaso, J. S., Marcovitch, S., & Boseovski, J. J. (2021). Executive function and the development of social information processing during the preschool years. Cognitive Development, 58.

DeJesus, J. M., Venkatesh, S., & Kinzler, K. D. (2021). Young children’s ability to make predictions about novel illnesses. Child Development, 92(5), e817-e831. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13655

Marble, K. E., & Boseovski, J. J. (2020). Content counts: A trait and moral reasoning framework for children’s selective social learning. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 58, 95-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2020.01.004

Marble, K. E., Caporaso, J. S., Bettencourt, K. M., Boseovski, J. J., Pathman, T., Marcovitch, S., & Scales, M. L. (2021). Children’s informant judgments and recall of valenced facts at a science center. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-12.

Venkatesh, S., & DeJesus, J. M. (2021). Studying children’s eating at home: Using synchronous videoconference sessions to adapt to COVID-19 and beyond. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 3088. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.703373

Venkatesh, S., & DeJesus, J. M. (2022). Can children report on their own picky eating? Similarities and differences with parent report. Appetite, 177(1), 106155. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106155

Yuly-Youngblood, A.C., & Boseovski, J. J. (2022). Children’s inductive inferences about individuals with gender category uncertainty. Social Development. DOI: 10.1111/sode.12609

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