Mar 29, 2024  
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Psychology - Applied Developmental (ADPS)


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ANNE BRODSKY, Chair
SUSAN SONNENSCHEIN, Graduate Program Director

Degree Offered

Ph.D. (Degree Types )

Professors

BAKER, LINDA, Ph.D., Rutgers University; Cognitive development and education.
BRODSKY, ANNE, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Clinical-community psychology.
CHEAH, CHARISSA, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Children’s social and emotional development and culture.
DAHLQUIST, LYNNDA M., Ph.D., Purdue University; Child health, pain, chronic illness.
DICLEMENTE, CARLO, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island; Addictive behaviors, psychotherapy, self-efficacy.
MATON, KENNETH, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Community psychology.
MURPHY, CHRISTOPHER M., Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook; Clinical psychology.
RABIN, BERNARD M., Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo; Physiological psychology.
SCHIFFMAN, JASON, Ph.D., University of Southern California; Schizophrenia.
SONNENSCHEIN, SUSAN, Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook; Cognitive and educational development.
WALDSTEIN, SHARI, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; Behavioral medicine.

Associate Professors

BEDIAKO, SHAWN, Ph.D., Stony Brook University; Socio-cultural contexts of chronic illness, urban health behavior.
BORRERO, JOHN, Ph.D., University of Florida; applied behavior analysis, single-subject research methods, caregiver-child interactions.
PITTS, STEVEN C. Ph.D., Arizona State University; Quantitative psychology, social psychology.
SCHULTZ, DAVID, Ph.D., University of Delaware; Emotional development.

Assistant Professors

ABRAMS, J. ALEXIS, Ph.D., Virgina Commonwealth University; Behavioral Medicine/Community Psychology
BARRY, ROBIN, Ph.D., University of Iowa; Romantic relationships.
BEATTY MOODY, DANIELLE, Ph.D. , City University of New York; Racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease risk.
ELSE-QUEST, NICOLE, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin; Gender development, self-conscious emotion and STEM attitudes in adolescence.
HUNTER, BRONWYN A., Ph.D., DePaul University; Community and Clinical Psychology
NNAWULEZI, NKIRU, Ph.D., Michigan State University, Community Psychology
QUITON, RAIMI, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore; Neuroscience; neural basis of pain.
ROBINSON, THOMAS (Joint with Africana Studies), Ph.D., Howard University; Personality and physiological psychology.
SUN, SHUYAN, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, Measurement, statistics and evaluation.

Professor of Practice

LASSON, ELLIOT D., Ph.D., Wayne State University; I/O Psychology, Human Resources

Lecturers

ALONSO, DIANE, PH.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Cognitive Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
KNIGHT, DONALD E., Western Michigan University; Counceling Psychology
MURPHY, JULIE, Ph.D.; University of Cincinnati; Clinical Psychology.
O’BRIEN, EILEEN, Ph.D., The Catholic University of America; Early-childhood development, women and children’s health policy, integrated behavioral health services.

Professor Emeritus

CATANIA, A. CHARLES, Ph.D., Harvard University; Learning, verbal behavior, behavior analysis.
DEMOREST, MARILYN E., Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Measurement, statistics, data analysis.

Emeritus

FELDSTEIN, STANLEY, Ph.D., Columbia University; Non-verbal behavior, clinical psychology.
PROVINE, ROBERT, R., Ph.D., Washington University; Developmental neuroscience, human ethology.
SIEGMAN, ARON W., Ph.D., Columbia University; Behavioral medicine.

Associate Professor Emeritus

DELUTY, ROBERT H., Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo; Clinical psychology.
METZGER, MARY ANN, Ph.D., University of Connecticut; Developmental and mathematical psychology, nonlinear dynamics in psychology.

Adjunct Professors

ALLEN, JOHN, Ph.D., St. Louis University; Clinical psychology.
BELLACK, ALAN, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; Clinical psychology.
BLACK, MAUREEN, Ph.D., Emory University; Child psychology.
CATALDO, MICHAEL F., Ph.D., University of Kansas, Lawrence; Applied behavior analysis.
SCHOENBAUM, GEOFFREY, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Neurobiology.

Adjunct Associate Professors

DELEON, ISER G., Ph.D., University of Florida; Applied behavior analysis.
HAGOPIAN, LOUIS, Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Applied behavior analysis, severe behavioral disorders, anxiety disorders.
KATZEL, LESLIE, M.D., Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Geriatrics.
KAHNG, SUNGWOO, Ph.D., University of Florida; Applied behavior analysis.
KOP, WILLEM, Ph.D., University of Limburg; Medical psychology; behavioral cardiology.
SLIFER, KEITH, Ph.D., Florida State University; Applied behavior analysis.
TEPPER, VICKI J., Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore; Pediatrics Psychology.

Adjunct Assistant Professors

ANDERSON, ROBERT, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Clinical psychology.
HUSSEY-GARDNER, BRENDA, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Early-childhood special education.
JORDAN-GREEN, LISA, Ph.D., Michigan State University; Substance abuse treatment and prevention.
KURTZ, PATRICIA, Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School; Psychology.
REEVES, GLORIA, M.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine; Child Psychiatry.
RESTA, PETER, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Human Development, Social Psychology.
SCHAEFFER, CINDY, Ph.D., University of Missouri; Multisystemic Family Therapy.
SOLLERS, III, JOHN J., Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia; Experimental psychology.
STEPHEN, SHARON, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Clinical Psychology, School mental health.
ZWART, CHERYL, Ph.D., State University of New York, Binghamton; Clinical psychology.

Affiliate Associate Professors

MARTELLO, JOHN, Ph.D., Howard University; Human Developmental Psychology.

Program Description

Applied developmental psychology is a specialty that has demarcated a new domain of research questions and methods, with implications for the training of a new range of professional specialists. Some of the themes of this new approach include the dynamic interaction between context and social and cognitive development; the multi-dimensionality of tasks confronting children and caregivers in various circumstances, which has aroused widespread public concern, such as teenage parenthood, learning to read and living in poverty; and the challenge of integrating developmental theory with the practical demands of assessment and intervention. 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 practicum experiences.

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.

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 student’s 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 assessing cognitive, socio-emotional 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; or in other contexts concerned with the development and welfare of infants, young children and their families.

The socio-emotional 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 United States 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 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.

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); evaluation by referees; relevant research and practical experience; maturity; 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. 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. Individuals wishing to apply for admission to this program should contact the graduate program director at psycdept@umbc.edu for further information. All original application documents must be sent directly to the Graduate School, not the graduate program.

Facilities and Special Resources

In addition to the department’s well-equipped laboratories in development and educational contexts, interpersonal communications, learning, cardiovascular psycho-physiology, addictive behaviors, child health psychology, relationship analysis, domestic violence, social development, culture, child and adolescent development, organizational behavioral management and community and applied social psychology, the department is able to draw upon the rich research and applied training resources found in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, especially in the Greater Baltimore area. Prominent among these are the Walter P. Carter Center, the University of Maryland Medical School, the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, the Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology of the National Institute of Mental Health, Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, Children’s National Hospital, the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, the Chase-Brexton Clinic and the Springfield and Spring Grove hospital centers.

Outplacement Success

Recent graduates from our ADP and HSP programs have found initial career placements in a variety of settings that involve psychological services, teaching and research. About 30 percent have moved into direct service provision in private-practice settings. The majority have found employment in various local, state and federal agencies including VA Centers and in medical university settings as staff psychologists, research associates and assistant professors.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available in the form of teaching assistantships and research assistantships.

Programs

    Doctor of Philosophy

    Courses

      Psychology

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