PhD Applied Behavior Analysis

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Chicago - Los Angeles - Washington D.C. - Distance Learning

Program Overview

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the ethical design, implementation, and evaluation of environmental changes to produce socially significant improvements in behavior. The MS Applied Behavior Analysis program incorporates the content areas and practicum requirements for eligibility to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®). Please see further information about professional licensure and certification below.   

Through the integration of theory and practice, the ABA program provides a solid foundation in the philosophy, science, and application of behavior analysis, promoting an interdisciplinary and translational approach to clinical practice. At the PhD level, the program expands upon the knowledge and skills learned in the MS program by strengthening students’ research, clinical, and leadership skills. The aim is to prepare students for a rewarding career in the rapidly growing field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Doctoral graduates are lead practitioners and researchers in educational, clinical, and business settings who can successfully respond to the diverse needs of consumers of behavioral interventions and therapies, and who can teach and mentor students of behavior analysis in university settings.

The Chicago School’s PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program is offered in a variety of formats across the different campuses. Many students work (some full-time) but we advise students to consider carefully the balance between school, family, and work and make reasoned choices about time and resource allocation. Students at the MS level (the first two years of the doctoral program) generally invest a minimum of 20-30 hours of coursework per week excluding practicum. Each campus offers unique opportunities for students to expand their experiences. Once doctoral students become certified as BCBAs®, they are encouraged to provide BCBA® supervision, teaching and/or advisement to MS students in unique training opportunities that allow them to hone their supervision, teaching, research and management skills.

The goal of the PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program is to develop professionals who can help individuals and organizations, select, implement, and manage effective systems to improve outcomes across a variety of settings. The program provides students with a solid understanding of the Science and Philosophy of Behavior Analysis as the foundation that informs the Applied Behavior Analysis, Experimental Analysis of Behavior, and Service Delivery domains to produce graduates who rely on the science of behavior to contribute to the betterment of society.

The objective of the PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program is to train individuals to contribute to applied practice settings in addition to the behavior-analytic scholarly and political communities. Doctoral-level ABA students gain a comprehensive understanding of Science and Philosophy, the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Applied Behavior Analysis, and Service Delivery. Graduates are equipped with the repertoire to function as leaders in their respective positions (i.e., clinical, academic, etc.) and are prepared to address a range of issues and problems, and to design, implement, and test practical effective solutions that work in the real world. 

Program Philosophy

The PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program is designed to prepare students in a wide variety of specialization areas within ABA. Although it is common for lay people to assume that ABA is relevant only to people with autism or other developmental disabilities, behavior analysis is applied to numerous populations and problems. Thus, in the program, students can focus not only on issues related to the assessment and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders, but also on the assessment and treatment of severe behavior problems, instructional design, organizational behavior management, and applications with non-traditional populations such as geriatrics, people with traumatic brain injury, and regular and special education. Thus, while ABA techniques apply to people with disabilities, they are just as useful to people in the general population.

The PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program provides training to students related to all four domains of Behavior Analysis (i.e., Philosophy, Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Applied Behavior Analysis, and Service Delivery). Further, the programs and curricula are designed to infuse the scientist-practitioner model across these domains and teach students to be consumers of new research findings, evaluators of their own interventions and programs using empirical methods, and researchers, producing new data from their own settings and reporting these data to the applied and scientific community.

In summary, the PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program’s mission is to provide students with the scientific, analytical, and conceptual tools they need to provide effective, ethical, and practical behavior-analytic interventions and to contribute to the research agenda as applied to the diverse populations that they serve. The vision of the program is to provide the most comprehensive and effective graduate training in ABA, and to that end, the faculty provide the students with the most up-to-date information and research, and encourage critical analysis of the research with an emphasis on using it to drive practice. The ABA doctoral program emphasizes the investment in contributing to research and/or to become clinical leaders in our field. Because ABA is based on a rapidly developing and evolving behavioral technology grounded in research, the knowledge base is constantly changing. It is our Mission in the PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program at The Chicago School to remain at the forefront of the development of this field.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program students will be able to:

Professional Practice

• Develop and apply advanced techniques to assess and intervene on behavior.
• Evaluate systems and train others to design and conduct behavior-analytic interventions and research.
• Analyze complex behavior, interactions, and systems through a radical-behaviorist framework, and design interlocking contingencies to address complex cultural issues.

Diversity

• Evaluate the impact of diversity issues on individuals and society (as a whole in domestic or international settings,) and demonstrate sensitivity and competence while working with diverse populations. 

Professional Behavior

• Evaluate ethical behavior and to arrange contingencies to establish and maintain ethical behavior in their individual work and at a systems level.
• Communicate effectively with clients, stakeholders, and other professionals; present research and other information to the professional community and the general public; and lead advocacy efforts for clients, agencies, and groups.

Scholarship

• Conduct original behavior-analytic research and to synthesize and evaluate behavior-analytic and other psychological research.

Licensure

For information on where The Chicago School meets or does not meet program licensure eligibility requirements for the state in which you wish to be licensed, please visit: https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/admissions/licensure-disclosures/.

Admission Requirements

For information on where The Chicago School is currently authorized, licensed, registered, exempt or not subject to approval, please visit https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/why-us/state-authorization/

Application to The Chicago School’s PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program (post- Master’s) is open to any person who has earned a master’s degree as specified below from an institutionally accredited institution and who meets other entrance requirements.

The school admits applicants whom it judges to possess sufficient academic aptitude, as well as the emotional and social maturity to function effectively as a professional behavior analyst. Applicants will be judged on their overall ability to engage in graduate work. Factors considered in admission are: undergraduate and any graduate coursework, GPA from undergraduate and graduate schools; successful work history; admission essay(s); and letters of recommendation from academic professors or professional or volunteer experience supervisors. An undergraduate or graduate GPA of a 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is required for admission to the school’s Applied Behavior Analysis doctoral program. Applicants must submit official transcripts from all schools where a degree was earned. It is recommended that transcripts are submitted from all schools where credit was received to enhance their applications.

Applicants for admission to the PhD post-master’s must fall into one of these categories:

• Category A: Have a master’s degree in Psychology, Education, Behavior Analysis, or other related degree recognized by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®) and hold a current BCBA® certification in good standing.
• Category B: Have a master’s degree in Psychology, Education, Behavior Analysis, or other related degree recognized by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®) and have completed the BACB® approved courses required to qualify for the BCBA® credentialing examination (based on the Fourth Edition Task) list.

Based on the evaluation of these materials, selected candidates may be invited to interview for further consideration of their application. Applications must be submitted with the $50.00 (USD) application fee in order to be evaluated.

For all students: In addition to the admission criteria, it is recommended that students have access to a computer that is less than three years old, a broadband or Internet connection, and the Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, and Outlook and, at minimum, the following computing skills:

• A comfort with basic Internet technology
• The ability to open and attach files from and to email
• The ability to send and receive email
• The ability to save documents                 

Applicant Notification

The Chicago School reviews applications on a rolling basis. Once review begins, complete applications will be considered by the Admission Committee and applicants will be notified regarding the admission decision. The Chicago School does not share information or provide any feedback regarding admission decisions.

If a student is offered admission and in order to secure a place in the incoming class, a non-refundable tuition deposit of $250 will be required by the deposit deadline indicated in the offer of admission. The non-refundable deposit will be applied in full toward the student’s tuition upon enrollment.

Degree Completion Requirements

• Successful completion of required coursework (107 credit hours post-bachelor’s; 58 credit hours post-masters; 87 credit hours post-master’s credentialing track)
• Successful completion of Comprehensive Examination
• Successful completion of Dissertation

Policies

The following policies are located under Academic Policies and Procedures : Academic Calendar, Admissions Requirements, Attendance, Satisfactory Academic Progress, Service Learning, and Transfer Credit/Course Waiver. Click the link above for detailed information.

Earning a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis

A student in the post-bachelor PhD Applied Behavior Analysis program may earn a MS Applied Behavior Analysis following the successful completion of required coursework and specific program requirements. At the beginning of the semester in which a student expects to be eligible for the master’s degree, they are required to submit a Petition for Degree Conferral to the Office of the Registrar. The petition is a request to conduct an audit to determine eligibility for the degree. A student who meets the requirements is eligible to participate in the next scheduled commencement. A student who files a Petition for Degree Conferral is charged a fee.

The specific requirements are as follows:

• Academic and Financial Aid Good Standing
• Successful completion of required coursework  (49 credits)

Ethical Guidelines

Students are expected to learn and to follow the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Behavior Analysis International, and the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® during and after their work at The Chicago School. A class in ethics is required at the Masters level, and student adherence to ethical codes is evaluated both formally and informally.

Professional Development Group

All PhD Applied Behavior Analysis students are required to enroll in an Advanced Professional Development Group (PA602) during their first semester or term in the post-Masters program.  Their instructor serves as their academic advisor until they select a dissertation chair.

Comprehensive Examination

Students are required to take and pass a written comprehensive examination and an oral defense before they are allowed to propose their dissertation research to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Four 1-credit courses prepare students to take the exam and to defend their answers. Students have two chances to pass each component (a third attempt may be allowed under extenuating circumstances). When the written and oral components of the comprehensive exam are passed, the student becomes a Doctoral Candidate and can proceed to their dissertation research.

Dissertation

Students are also required to complete a dissertation. The dissertation must be a data-based empirical evaluation that marks an original contribution to the published literature. The PhD Applied Behavior Analysis course sequence facilitates student completion of the dissertation with a carefully designed course sequence that has the necessary steps toward dissertation completion embedded into the required coursework. Students receive detailed information about the dissertation process and related requirements during their first year in the program.

The Curriculum

Total Program: PhD Applied Behavior Analysis (post-bachelors): 107 credit hours

• Required Core: 50 credit hours
• Electives: 9 credit hours
• Qualifying Master’s Degree: 49 credit hours

Total Program: PhD Applied Behavior Analysis (post-masters): 58 credit hours

• Required Core: 49 credit hours
• Electives: 9 credit hours

Total Program: PhD Applied Behavior Analysis with Credentialing Track Option* (post-masters): 83 credit hours

• Required Core: 49 credit hours
• Electives: 9 credit hours
• Credentialing Track Option: 25 credit hours

*Students registered in the Credentialing Track Option incur a one-time $195 Experiential Learning Technology Fee.