MA in Psychology - Developmental Psychology in Honolulu United States | University of Hawaii at Manoa

The Community, Cultural, and Developmental (CCD) program focuses on examining how children and adults grow within their social and cultural environments. This involves advancing both theoretical frameworks and practical social initiatives. We employ strengths-based methods that foster inclusivity and equity, while using developmental insights to analyze continuity and transformation across the lifespan.

While sharing core principles with other community and developmental programs nationwide, our curriculum uniquely incorporates cultural psychology into both coursework and research. This approach reflects our conviction that acquired skills, social connections, and institutional participation are deeply interconnected, making human behavior most comprehensible within its sociocultural framework.

Distinctive program elements include balanced attention to qualitative and quantitative methods across coursework, research endeavors, and practical applications. These components collectively facilitate the synthesis of community, cultural, and developmental concepts.

For instance, our students receive interdisciplinary training covering social behavior evolution, cognitive processes, language development, and emotional maturation throughout adulthood, alongside core community psychology principles. Our research adopts a cultural-developmental lens, investigating how personal characteristics and environmental factors jointly influence psychological growth and wellness. Each graduate student collaborates with their advisor to select a specialization (either community or developmental psychology).

Additionally, we maintain a collaborative partnership with the University of Victoria's cross-cultural psychology graduate program in Wellington, New Zealand. This arrangement enables student exchanges for academic coursework, research projects, and field experiences. Participants completing at least one semester at Victoria University earn a special Certificate acknowledging their international studies during graduation ceremonies.