Developmental Core

The developmental core course is designed to give graduate students a panoramic view of developmental theory and current issues in the field.  With up-to-date readings, and an eye towards application, we explore everything from brain development in infancy to juvenile delinquency in adolescence.

Psychology of Language

Infants start out with no language.  By the end of the first year, they say their first words and by the end of the second year, they are speaking in full sentences.  How do they achieve this?  During this class you will come to appreciate how infants conquer the “seemingly impossible” task of learning a language.  The rules involved in language processing are at least as complex as those used in a master’s game of chess.  Yet, infants raised in a normal environment have no problem in inducing these rules and in using them correctly from the beginning.  This fact puts language development at the core of cognitive development, for language is, as Chomsky has said, a “window onto the human mind

Honor’s Psychology

Honor’s psychology is a year-long course that explores the panorama of psychology through content and research methods.  Moving from the philosophy of science through the history of psychology to the methodologies that define psychology as a science, students begin to see psychology as a discipline united through its research agenda.  Students learn to read and write scientifically and to critically evaluate questions within psychology as they become active participants in the field.