Undergraduate Students
Dr. Volling is beginning a new project in Fall 2022 that will be focusing on the creation of parenting education materials to assist parents expecting their second child and how best to prepare themselves and the first child for changes in family life that will occur with the birth of a baby sibling. Please check the Research tab and the description of the Only Child to Older Sibling research project to learn more. If you want to take part in a new program of research on parenting and children’s development, and use your talents and skills to work as a team to foster parenting education, please contact Dr. Volling, volling@umich.edu, for more details.
Time commitment requested: 6-9 hours per week
Qualifications of student:
Students must be responsible, reliable, and have an interest in research with young children and families. Scheduling flexibility is required, as students will be working collaboratively. The project will be engaging technology and social media to determine the best means of delivering information to busy parents with two children and limited time, so a background and interest in working with social media sites and how best to deliver information (podcasts, You Tube, blogs, etc) would be an asset. All of Dr. Volling’s projects have included fathers and mothers so both men and women are encouraged to apply for this research opportunity.
Prospective Graduate Students
Dr. Volling will be accepting graduate students for Fall 2023. Prospective graduate students with interests in family relationships are encouraged to apply to work with Dr. Volling and CDFR staff. The lab offers a collaborative and supportive environment in which to conduct research on early child development and family relationship functioning. Interested students should read information on the various research projects being conducted in the CDFR lab, including any publications of interest before contacting Dr. Volling, at volling@umich.edu, to discuss graduate training. The available projects offer a variety of opportunities for students to study mother-child, father-child, sibling, and coparental relationships, as well as a number of different social and emotional developmental outcomes for young children (e.g., self-regulation, emotional understanding, prosocial development) . There is no shortage of areas in which students can focus and develop expertise in early childhood and family life.
Further information on the Ph.D. program in developmental psychology is available online: Psychology Graduate Program at the University of Michigan.