Wednesday, October 07, 2009

STUDENTS: Penn State University

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to ask your help in identifying promising students for doctoral study in adult development and aging. The Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State University has a long and distinguished record of doctoral training in adult development and aging. Students can develop specializations in one or more areas, including cognitive development, daily stress and health, family and social relationships in later life, intervention research work and retirement, and methodologies for studying development and change. Adult development and aging program faculty include:

  • David Almeida - Stress processes, adult development, family factors in mental health, work and family linkages, fatherhood
  • Dennis Gerstorf - Multivariate approach to study heterogeneity and differential aging, cross-domain interface of cognition, well-being, and health
  • Melissa Hardy - Work and retirement, public policy, political attitudes, women's issues and aging, older workers
  • Steven Zarit - Mental health and aging, especially the stress of caregivers, functioning of the oldest old, innovative models of service delivery.
  • Alan Booth - Divorce and remarriage, blended families, marital quality,hormones and family process, adult child-parent relations.
  • David Eggebeen – Social demography of children and intergenerational support over the life course; fatherhood
  • Peter Molenaar – Single subject time series analysis, optimal guidance of developmental processes, optimal control of disease processes
  • Nilam Ram – changes in the psychological processes of emotion, cognition, and personality, and how they develop over the life span.
  • Michael Rovine – Structural equation modeling with longitudinal data, time series models applied to single subjects and small sample designs.
  • Martin Sliwinski – Stress, health and cognitive aging; linking daily experiences to long-term development; analysis of intraindividual variability and change

A variety of sources of financial assistance are available for doctoral students. These include research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships. We have been very successful in funding students throughout their entire time in the Program.

Applications are due January 11, 2010

For more information about admissions procedures, students should contact Mary Jo Spicer, Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies, Henderson S-211, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802. Phone 814-863-8001. E-mail mjs6@psu.edu, or consult the Department's web page at http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/hdfs/grad/index.html

Steven H. Zarit Professor and Head, Department of Human Development and Family Studies Henderson S-211 Penn State University University Park, PA 16802

Phone: 814.865-5260