Child Development Student Perspectives

Curious about what it is like to be a student in the Child Development area of study? Two of our Child Development students, Hai-Jeong Ahn and Travis Wilson, have provided their perspectives on graduate school life below.

A Child Development Student Perspective by Hai-Jeong Ahn

Attaining good research and teaching skills and building roust relationships with colleagues would be the main goals which all graduate students want to accomplish in their graduate program. The Child Development Division of Educational Psychology has provided me with excellent supports in achieving these goals.

All professors in our division are outstanding researchers, and they work with graduate students closely. My collaborations with my adviser and other graduate students has provided me opportunities to publish journal articles and to present our studies at major scholarly conferences. Through these research experiences, I could understand the whole process of conducting research (from grant proposal to publication) and have been acquiring the qualities of a competitive researcher.

The Child Development Division provides graduate students the opportunities of teaching experiences. Three basic development psychology courses for undergraduates (e.g., Child Development, Adolescent Development, Personality and Social Development) are offered by the faculty in our division. Thus, there are high chances to be a teaching assistant for at least one of the three courses. From the professors with whom I have worked I have learned how to manage a course effectively.

I have built robust relationships with faculty and other graduate students in the Child Development division. I appreciate having such open-minded and thoughtful faculty and graduate students. As an international student, I have had additional difficulties in everyday life. However, their cultural understandings and encouragements motivate me to get through the challenges. Especially, I have had so much fun with my fellow graduate students, and they have been true emotional supports to me.

I am fully satisfied with my experiences in the Child Development Division. The quality training leads me to take steps forward to academic success. I strongly believe that I am not an exceptionally lucky student, but all graduate students in our division would have the same or similar experiences. If anybody wants to know more about graduate student life at UIUC, please feel free to contact me.

A Child Development Student Perspective by Travis Wilson

The Child Development Division is a relatively small niche where faculty and students can form close academic and personal relationships. Professors give individual attention to every graduate student and are genuinely invested in our growth as scholars. I have worked most closely with my primary advisor, but I have also been able to collaborate with other professors while conducting research and teaching classes. Graduate students also bring diverse life and occupational experiences to the program, which, to be honest, simply makes life here more interesting and fun.

The high quality and diversity of research in child development are what make the division so strong. Graduate students are challenged to contribute to the research process throughout their course of study and to identify their own particular interests along the way. When I entered the division, I hit the ground running. In my very first semester in the program, I helped my research group manage a longitudinal study that involved 10 schools and hundreds of children. Since that first semester, I have participated in almost every aspect of the research process, including grant writing, data collection, data analysis, and scholarly writing. With these experiences, I feel that our program is preparing me well for a career in academia.

Although conducting research is our division’s primary focus, I also have had opportunities to work closely with local schools to bridge the gap between current psychological research and educational practice. As a former public educator, it is important to me that my academic work finds expression in practical matters in schools. Engaging in sustained dialogue with researchers as well as educators has brought fresh perspective and a deeper sense of purpose to my scholarship.