Department of Psychology
The Graduate Program in Psychology at Georgetown University offers a five-year program of study in developmental science leading to a PhD in Psychology with concentrations in (1) Human Development and Public Policy (HDPP) and (2) Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience (LCN). A dual degree in Psychology (PhD) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) is also offered in collaboration with the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI).
Both concentrations offer strengths that include an interdisciplinary education in the processes and contexts of development across the lifespan. Program requirements are explicitly designed to offer students rigorous training in the range of theories and methods that characterize the developmental sciences and enable them to place the study of development into the broader contexts- biological, familial, social, cultural, economic, historical, political- from which the field draws its societal applications.
At this time, students are required to meet all requirements for either the HDPP or LCN concentration. They may also take courses from the “other” concentration and count them as electives.
The objectives of this graduate program are to:
1. Provide students with in-depth understanding of the historical and philosophical origins, the central issues, and the contemporary dilemmas that characterize the Developmental Sciences;
2. Provide students with instruction in the range of research methods used by developmental scientists and ample opportunities for developing their own line of scientific inquiry, as well as gaining experience with grant writing and with publication and presentation of original research;
3. Instruct students in a range of disciplinary approaches to questions of lifespan development and encourage their capacity for interdisciplinary collaboration;
4. Prepare students for a variety of post-degree positions, as well as positions that are not defined by discrete disciplinary boundaries, by emphasizing critical analysis skills, teaching proficiency, and communication and writing skills in all facets of their education;
These objectives are grounded in the Department’s mission statement as follows:
We are an intellectually diverse community of scholars engaged in research addressing both basic psychological processes and social issues. We strive for excellence in our scholarship and teaching, and we seek to cultivate in our students a dedication to the highest standards in their endeavors. We are committed to collaboration within and across disciplinary lines, and to sustaining professional links with relevant local, national, and global organizations.
Georgetown University has among its unique mix of resources the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, Georgetown Law Center, and Georgetown School of Foreign Service, each of which is among the leading programs in the nation. The Georgetown School of Medicine, including the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN), offers resources for cognitive neuroscience studies, including neuroimaging facilities and colloquia.
Located in close proximity to the White House, Congress, the National Institutes of Heath, the National Academies, and many of the world’s most prestigious research and nonprofit organizations, the Psychology Department provides a unique graduate education that bridges academic study and practice in both public policy and health/medicine. The two graduate concentrations take full advantage of these resources.
Human Development and Public Policy
The concentration in Human Development and Public Policy and the dual degree in Psychology and Public Policy link students to Georgetown’s extensive network of policy scholars and programs; integrating a solid grounding in the theoretical, conceptual and empirical work that defines Developmental Science with rigorous instruction in quantitative and policy analysis skills, the policy process, and additional disciplinary perspectives common to policy studies, notably economics and political science.
In addition to the core requirements, students become well-versed in methods of policy analysis and program evaluation and gain direct experience in applying scientific knowledge to policy issues affecting human development.
The developmental element of this concentration emphasizes social, emotional, and cultural dimensions of development. Students who select this concentration take a substantial share of the core courses required for masters students at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. During their first year, students take the existing Quantitative Methods and Ethics, Values, and Public Policy courses offered at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI), as well as in other departments at Georgetown. They become well versed in basic processes of human development; highly skilled in research methods, statistics, and policy analysis; and well prepared to apply their knowledge and skills to real public policy issues affecting human development.
Graduates are prepared to assume positions as academic teachers and researchers, policy analysts, and research specialists in an array of policy, nonprofit, and other institutions, both national and international.
This concentration maintains close ties with the existing Master of Public Policy (MPP) program at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (GPPI).
Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience
The concentration in Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience integrates grounding in the theoretical, empirical, and conceptual scholarship that defines Developmental Science with rigorous preparation for teaching and research on cognition and its neural bases from a variety of methodological approaches. Students choosing this concentration may focus their own research on the behavioral/cognitive level to explore the processes of cognition from a systems perspective, and/or they may opt to use neuroimaging techniques to explore the brain bases of cognition. This concentration maintains close ties with existing PhD programs in Linguistics and the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience (IPN).
Students may focus their research primarily on normal development in childhood and aging, and or on developmental disorders of childhood (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia) and aging (e.g., Alzheimer’s Disease). Regardless of their particular research focus, all students choosing this concentration gain a firm grounding in basic theories and methods of cognitive psychology and in their application to investigating the brain bases of cognition and behavior.
Students also gain a broad background in neuroscience in order to participate in interdisciplinary research and appreciate how neuroscience at all levels contributes to and benefits from research on cognition. Students leave the program well-prepared to assume positions as academic researchers and teachers in medical and applied settings, or if they elect to take courses in our public policy concentration, to serve as policy analysts and applied researchers in various organizations.
To foster a broad background in neuroscience and to strengthen graduate student ties across disciplines, during their first-year, in addition to Psychology courses, Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience students will take the Neuroscience Core course taken by the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience students. In addition, graduate students in Linguistics and in the IPN regularly take Psychology’s graduate core seminars in Cognition (PSYC-511) and in Cognitive Neuroscience (PSYC-512).