Q. What is QuantDev? What does it mean to be a QuantDev graduate student?
- A: Check out our About page. A graduate student admitted to be mentored by a QuantDev faculty is expected to work toward a PhD degree in Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) at Penn State, with methodology as the primary track.
Q. What is a primary vs. secondary track?
- A: All PhD students in PhD are expected to declare a primary track and will be exposed to classes, training, and career opportunities that target this primary area. In addition, students are also expected to declare and benefit from training in a secondary area that serves to enrich their research portfolio.
Q. Why Ph.D. in HDFS (e.g., compared to other quantitative psychology programs)?
- A: Faculty within QuantDev are well-known and established scholars.
Application
Q. Is the general GRE required? Is the subject GRE required?
- A: No, the Penn State HDFS PhD program does not require the general GRE or the subject GRE. However, TOEFL is required for international students. Please always check the latest language requirement in Graduate Program Application | Penn State College of Health and Human Development (psu.edu).
Q. If my TOEFL score falls below the University’s minimum, am I still eligible to apply?
- A: Yes, you may still apply. If your TOEFL scores fall below the University's minimum requirements and you are admitted, we may require you to take an English placement exam and/or English classes.
Funding Information
Q. What type of financial support do you offer?
- A: Students admitted to the PhD program generally receive 10 months of support through a variety of mechanisms: fellowships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships. Additional funding is typically available to support students as research or teaching assistants contingent on satisfactory progress in their graduate studies. Please refer to HDFS official website for more detail: https://hhd.psu.edu/hdfs/graduate/funding.
Q. Is the offered stipend adequate for living in State College?
- A: Based on graduate students in HDFS (2024 survey), the living cost of State College is as follows:
Roommates | Average Rent | Average Utilities* | Average Groceries |
---|---|---|---|
Alone | $930/month | $80/month | $285/month |
1 Roommate | $660/month | $85/month | $275/month |
2+ Roommates | $620/month | $53/month | $233/month |
- Note: Most respondents reported that parking, water, and trash costs were included in rent prices. Cable/internet/electric bills were included less often. Utilities could be higher in winter. If not included, average monthly costs: Parking $20, Internet $38, Electric $43, Gas $75. Among respondents, 1/3 live with a pet.
Academic
Q. Can I work with more than one faculty member in the program?
- A: Yes. Co-advising situations are not uncommon and can take on a variety of forms. These situations work best when there is some synergy between the faculty members. If your interests overlap with more than one faculty member talk to the Graduate Professor-in-Charge (aka the Graduate Director) and your primary advisor about how best to approach experiences in both labs. Although most students remain with the same primary advisor for their full graduate training, it is also possible for students to change labs at various points in their training as their research focus evolves or new opportunities become available.
Q. What is the Dual title program?
- A. The Penn State Graduate School grants specialized doctoral degrees carrying a dual-title that recognizes both the home graduate degree and a fully integrated program of study in a specific area of concentration. HDFS currently affiliates with 4 dual-title programs that provide extensive and sophisticated training in areas that readily integrate with core research domains in HDFS. Students interested in pursuing a dual title must comply with the coursework and research requirements of both programs, and must demonstrate the commitment to the integrated training prior to the first doctoral benchmark, the qualifying exam. HDFS’s dual training affiliations are listed below.
- HDFS and Demography
- HDFS and Social Data Analytics
- HDFS and Clinical Translational Sciences
- HDFS and Social and Behavioral Neuroscience
Q. If I already have a master’s degree, do I have to do one here?
- A. If you have already completed an empirical master’s degree, regardless of the specific discipline or topic, you can submit your thesis to the Graduate Professor-in-Charge (PIC) for verification and approval. If approved, you do not need to complete an HDFS master’s degree, although this will not change the coursework requirements.
Q. If I have already taken similar graduate courses at a previous institution, can I transfer the credits to Penn State?
- A. We can waive credit requirements in some cases. For students with methodology as their primary track, in most cases they are required to complete core requirements (introductory trainings) in individual development, prevention/intervention, and family development or their equivalents in addition to methodological trainings, but could be waived out of up to 6 credits, the equivalent of 2 elective courses.
Q. Current methods classes/special topics classes offered?
- Methods of Research in Human Development (HDFS 516), Applied Statistics Laboratory (HDFS 518)
- Methods of Statistical Analysis in Human Development (HDFS 519)
- Measurement in Human Development (HDFS 526)
- Strategies for Data Analysis in Developmental Research (HDFS 523)
- Longitudinal Structural Equation Modeling (HDFS 530)
- Multilevel Methods for Developmental Research (HDFS 517)
- Dynamical Systems
- Bayesian Methods
- Data Mining
Q. What careers do people pursue after a Ph.D.?
- A. Our former students have secured positions at a variety of institutions, in academia as well as industry. Check out where our past graduates work on our People page.
Life @ PSU
Q. What hobbies do people have here in this program?
- Do kayaking or BBQing at Stone Valley.
- Go to an Intramural building; lots of gym facilities, indoor climbing, indoor soccer, badminton, table tennis, track, and all that jazz.
- White Building; we can swim or go to PC room.
- We can join some soccer teams, MMA gyms, and all that jazz.
- State College does have many good hiking trails, since we are surrounded by many mountains.
- Fresh air, nice view, can see a lot of stars during the nighttime, and can see the lighting bugs.