Welcome to the UNL Developmental Psychology Homepage!

The graduate program in Developmental Psychology at UNL is a research-oriented, multidisciplinary program that addresses fundamental developmental processes within the tapestries of culture, public policy, and education. The program is designed for doctoral students who wish to pursue scientific careers involving research, teaching, and application. There are extensive resources to support graduate training, including assistantships, funding for research projects, and travel funds for conference presentations.

Program content focuses on exploring the conditions of children's lives in which social and cognitive development unfolds. Faculty have expertise in cognitive, moral, and social development in childhood and adolescence, and are committed to integrating their knowledge with public policy issues concerning child maltreatment and adolescent risk-taking, cultural processes related to morality and self, and the educational contexts of human development. Many of our faculty conduct research with ethnically and culturally diverse populations in the US and internationally. The program is a collaborative effort with Developmental faculty in the Psychology Department and Educational Psychology Faculty as well as Research Faculty at the Center for Children, Families, and Law.

The relatively small size of the program and the broad range of faculty expertise permit a favorable student-faculty ratio and the development of close working relationships. This program is especially well-suited to students who wish to persue scientific careers involving research, teaching, and application. It is likely to be most valuable to students who are self-directed and committed to a research-oriented graduate experience. Graduates of the program work in a variety of positions, including tenure-track professorships at both research universities and small liberal arts colleges, as well as research positions at national and international research and public policy centers and government agencies.