The LRDC, OCD, and the Department of Psychology sponsor many colloquia, lectures, informal talks, and occasional research conferences. The Univeristy of Pittsburgh hospitals, School of Medicine, and Departments of Psychiatry, Social Work, and Education provide strong research opportunities for students in many specialties. All students must take the proseminar in Foundations of Developmental Psychology, as well as core courses in Cognitive Development and Social Development. Three electives from within or outside the department are also required, two of which must be advanced seminars. These courses are in addition to the department requirement of two terms of statistics and a course in History and Systems of Psychology.
Coursework is planned with the help of the student's advising committee.
In addition to coursework, students must plan, carry out, and present to faculty and students a research project by the end of the second year. During the third year it is expected that the comprehensive exam will be taken and the dissertation proposed. During the fourth, and possibly fifth year the dissertation is completed and defended. Graduates of this program are recruited and hired into academic positions by the top departments in the country, or into the most prestigious postdoctoral positions. Students occasionally also take positions in industry or in social or public policy.