Training & Education

An important part of our mission is to provide educational opportunities and training for students at various levels undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate, professionals working with children and families in various settings, as well as for teens, families and the community. Faculty, students and community members are also invited to attend twice-monthly research colloquia and professional development sessions.

  • Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Research Training is available in child and family development.  Our trainees receive mentoring from faculty members, participate in bi-monthly research colloquia, and join a formal research training program.
  • Both doctoral- and masters-level graduate students interested in specialized training in infant mental health can take advantage of the nation's first Infant Mental Health Dual-Title Degree Program.
  • Consistent with our mission MPSI also provides Community Engagement and Professional Development activities that translate cutting-edge science for use by professionals, policy makers, and the community at large.
  • MPSI's Early Childhood Center (ECC) is nationally known and respected for its research and work in the area of child development. The MPSI ECC serves the children of students, faculty, staff and families throughout greater metropolitan Detroit.  Children from 2½ - 5 years old have a safe, nurturing, child-centered environment and a high-quality educational program.
  • In 2008, the leadership teams of the MPSI and the Institute of Gerontology (IOG) created the Lifespan Alliance for Health and Development.The Lifespan Alliance, while maintaining each Institute’s independence, promotes collaboration between Institutes on research and research training, capitalizing on their shared experience in psychosocial and neurobehavioral research, as well as their unique combined expertise in developmental sciences and gerontology. It's training programs bring together faculty and students from diverse disciplines including Anthropology, Education, Health Sciences (Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Psychiatry & Public Health), Infant Mental Health, Behavioral, Cognitive & Developmental Neuroscience, Communication Sciences & Disorders, Nursing, Political Science, Developmental & Clinical Psychology, Economics, Social Work, and Sociology to study health, well-being, human development, and successful aging, from the earliest preconception stages through infancy, childhood, adolescence, parenthood, and older ages.

    Each spring we host a Resarch Day that showcases basic, clinical, community-based, and translational research within and across these disciplines by the graduate and undergraduate students of the IOG and MPSI. This annual event open to the public provides an opportunitity for community members to enage with individuals who are becoming the next generation of leading researchers and practitioners, soon to-be professionals who will generate new scientific knowledge and develop best practices for improving health and well-being across the lifespan, in Detroit and beyond.

See also: Families - Early Childhood Center, Healthier Urban Families