Join Us

See below for exciting opportunities to join our research team and contribute to our projects.

Opportunities for Graduate Training

Dr. Jacques will be recruiting one student to matriculate to the lab to start the 2026-27 academic year (applications due in December, 2025). What should you know if you are interested in applying to the Family Processes and Child Development to work with Dr. Jacques? Applicants with these skills, interests, and goals would be GREAT fits for the lab and Dr. Jacques' advising and mentorship:

Applicants who...

...are extremely interested in integrative research that examines parental addiction, family processes, and infant development from multiple levels of analysis and distinct theoretical perspectives. We conduct and value science that is intentionally bold, rigorous, and embraces multilevel and complex approaches to our topics of interest.
...value, are interested in, and seek rigorous training in understanding and applying theories to integrative developmental science. A major component of Dr. Jacques' work is theoretical and metatheoretical, including comparative theoretical analyses. She and all lab members believe in the benefits and utility of theories to guide and shape science, and thus, root most if not all research into specific theoretical models. In short, we use, test, and refine theories in both our empirical work and separate theoretical work (e.g., publishing reviews and meta-analyses on theoretical applications). If you love theory, and/or want to learn how to be a more theoretically-informed and skilled researcher, please consider applying.
...wants deep and dedicated training focused on intensive basic science, not implementation, intervention, preventative intervention, or applied research. We are not an implementation science lab; while undoubtedly important, we do NOT develop or study interventions or preventative interventions.
...value interdisciplinary research training. Dr. Jacques is a developmental psychologist and family science scholar by training, and the only non-clinical psychologist on the Child Clinical faculty. This unique background and inclusion on the Child Clinical faculty allots unique opportunities for students with clinically-adjacent interests to ground their training in developmental psychology and family science principles, theories, measures, and analytical interpretations.
...embrace nuance, specificity, and complexity, in both research design and interpretation. As previously mentioned, our work aims to carve and elucidate complex, dynamic associations across multiple units of analysis to better understand how parental addiction affects family processes and child development. Therefore, students who are naturally oriented toward, or seeking novel opportunities to dig deep into nuance and complexity would thrive in the FPCD lab.
...LOVE to read, both works that are closely related to their research interests and that are seemingly unrelated or indirectly related to their interests. The lab believes scholars should be well-rounded, comprehensive, and voracious consumers of scholarly literature. Doctoral training demands intensive reading, often of dense and complicated texts. Someone who LOVES reading, does not need prompting or encouragement to read widely and deeply, and is naturally curious about consuming diverse forms and scopes of literature would be good fits for the lab.
...value slow, intentional, and deep research principles. We believe in training the next generation of scholars to approach research more thoughtfully, critically, and intentionally. This requires slow, deliberate, and iterative training. Speed, or rushing into projects, ideas, analyses, and interpretations without a deep, solid foundation can do more harm to science than good, and actually undermines student's professional and academic development. Slow and steady work can enhance quality, innovation, and impact. Do you appreciate slowly, thoughtfully, and intentionally building intricate, complex ideas, models, and scholarly works? If so, you would be a great fit.
...have already developed specific preliminary independent research ideas, and seek opportunities to develop independent work. If you have already identified and can articulate specific research ideas and topics you would like to pursue in graduate school...ideas that are NOT vague, broad, and ill-defined, you may be a good fit for the lab.
...value intentional, student-centered advising and collaborative environments.
...seek intensive training in research and are currently primarily interested in a research career. Do you absolutely love research? Are you passionate about research and developing into an independent scholar? If yes, please consider applying.

Applicants who would not be a good fit for the lab:

You are unsure of your interest in research and training toward a research career.
You struggle with independence, including juggling independent responsibilities. Dr. Jacques is incredibly student-centered and supports all her students in every aspect of their training, development, and personal and professional needs. However, doctoral training is NOT like undergraduate training. Doctoral students are expected and encouraged to conduct independent research, starting in their first year of the program, and doctoral programs, especially at institutions like the University of Washington, are rigorous, demanding research environments. You WILL be developing research ideas and projects that YOU will lead, under the supervision and support of Dr. Jacques and your labmates. If you are on the fence about research, either the experience of doing research, what role you want to play in research (e.g., assisting a la a research assistant role vs. leading a research project), and what topics you want to pursue and study, this may not be the lab for you at this time. Moreover, it is common for students' research interests to change and shift throughout graduate training, since ideas, goals, and available data and funding may change. However, our lab is seeking students who have some definitive idea of specific subtopics and ideas they would like to initially pursue.
You are mostly interested in clinical training and a clinical career. While Dr. Jacques vehemently supports all her students and encourages them to pursue diverse and individualized career paths, given the Child Clinical Program's intense research demands, and the research needs of the lab, we are primarily seeking students who are committed to and interested in vigorous and intensive research training, in preparation for careers that involve significant research skills.
You are not 100% interested in Dr. Jacques' or the lab's work. If you are interested in another UW professor, perhaps one who is not admitting students during the application cycle in which you are applying, and you are applying to work with Dr. Jacques/the FPCD lab with the intent of changing labs later or working closely with a different professor, please do NOT apply.
You shy away from deep or critical thinking, nuance, complex ideas, proactive problem-solving, having your ideas challenged and pushed further, integrating ideas and topics, grappling with and incorporating feedback, and independent critical thought. Dr. Jacques believes that research should be disruptive, bold, creative, innovative, dynamic, nuanced, and push the fields of development, family, and clinical psychology to more intentionally consider ideas and perspectives that are often overlooked - sometimes because they are merely "too difficult", "different", or "hard to understand". If you - as Dr. Jacques often says - are more interested in being told what to do and taught what specifically to think...and not HOW to think or creatively apply knowledge to dynamic topics, this may not be the lab for you. If grappling with difficult things, challenges, and setbacks is not your cup of tea, other labs might be more fitting for you.
You dislike reading, both deeply and broadly and then intentionally connecting distinct topics you are reading.
You want to work on or study interventions, preventative interventions, or implementation science.
You are unsure why you want a PhD.

For more insight into Dr. Jacques' advising style and mentoring philosophy, please visit her "Getting to Know Me" and "Advising and Mentoring Statements" to learn more about her specific research and professional interests.

Opportunities for Postdoctoral Training

Dr. Jacques does advise and collaborate with postdoctoral scholars through the University of Washington's Center for Studies on Health and Risk Behaviors (CSHRB, led by. Dr. Mary Larimer). Dr. Jacques is an affiliate faculty member on CSHRB's T32 training grant, PTAR: Psychology Training on Alcohol Research. If interested in working with Dr. Jacques as a postdoc, please click here for more information about the PTAR T32 application.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities and Positions

We do welcome UW undergraduates and others to gain research experience in our lab. Please check the Psychology Department's 499 page and look for opportunities in the Family Processes and Child Development. Due to a large volume of unsolicited email inquiries, please do not email Dr. Jacques or other team members for opportunities unless you are instructed to do so.