Students in the Developmental Area receive training in social, behavioral and biological development across the lifespan: from the prenatal period through infancy, childhood and adolescence, across adulthood and into late life. Our program focuses on understanding lifespan development using a variety of behavioral, qualitative, and physiological methods. The major track in our program is in Developmental Psychology. Students are encouraged to collaborate across areas in Psychology and with other units around our rich, diverse campus. For those interested, we also offer a dual specialization in Developmental Psychology and Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience as well as a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology.
To download a flyer about our program and faculty research interests, click here.
Admissions. For information about admissions, please see the main Psychology Grad Admissions website. Prospective students are encouraged to contact individual faculty members regarding their research interests to ensure a good mentor-student research match. Application instructions and materials are available online. Links to all faculty research labs can be found on the Research Page.
More information about the Department of Psychology, UF and the Gainesville Community can be found on the Department’s Graduate Admissions page.
Research Training. We follow an apprenticeship model. Students join a lab and work closely with one primary faculty member, with options to collaborate with others. Our faculty serve as models for how to garner funding to conduct, disseminate, and publish high quality developmental research. Our students publish in leading journals in Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Neuroscience, have received local and national research awards, are funded by a variety of federally funded training grants, and regularly present their work at national and international conferences. Our students also actively contribute to local outreach and community- based efforts. Our students are most often placed in academic positions (i.e., research and education) but also in public organizations or private industry jobs.