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Program Overview

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the ethical evaluation, design, and implementation of environmental changes to produce socially significant improvements in behavior. At the master’s level, the Applied Behavior Analysis program incorporates the content areas and practicum requirements to make graduates eligible for national board certification by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® in addition to providing a solid foundation in the philosophy, science, and application of behavior analysis. The aim is to prepare students for a rewarding career in the rapidly growing field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Graduates serve many different populations including children, adults, and seniors and may work in residential, school, and community-based settings. Individuals served may have no diagnoses (e.g., school children in a regular education class or teachers seeking to be more effective) or may have diagnoses such as autism, behavioral difficulties, developmental disabilities, mental illness, and a variety of geriatric conditions.

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology offers the M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis in Chicago, Los Angeles, Irvine, Washington D.C., and Online. 

Program Learning Outcomes 

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

1. evaluate the impact of diversity issues on individuals and society and demonstrate sensitivity and competence while working with diverse populations.
2. evaluate and resolve ethical dilemmas in accordance with behavior-analytic and psychological ethical guidelines.
3. establish rapport and communicate effectively with clients, stakeholders, and other professionals.
4. analyze behavior, design interventions, and evaluate interventions, by applying basic behavioral principles and assessment techniques to effect socially significant behavior change.
5. conduct behavior-analytic research and evaluate behavior-analytic and other psychological research effectively and ethically.

Admission Requirements

Application to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis program is open to any person who has earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and who meets other entrance requirements.  Applicants will be judged on their overall ability to do graduate work. Factors that are considered in admission are: GPA from undergraduate and any graduate schools, successful work history after completion of the baccalaureate degree, the admission essay, and letters of recommendation from academic professors or professional or volunteer experience supervisors. Generally, an undergraduate GPA of a 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale is required for admission. 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.

Standardized Testing

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for master’s level applicants.  Scores should be sent directly to the school (GRE School Code:  1119) for consideration.  Please see the application for detailed instructions and information regarding application requirements, application deadlines, and letters of recommendation.

Applicant Notification

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology 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 of Professional Psychology 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.

Articulation Agreements

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology has established agreements between the Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis to allow qualified students to enter early into the M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis program. Click on this link  for details.

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.

The Program

The M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis will develop and graduate professionals who can support individuals and organizations as well as 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 applied behavior analysis, the 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 M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis program is to provide students with a solid foundation in applied behavior analysis. Students are trained to understand the principles of Behavior Analysis and learn how they underlie applied practice. Students learn to implement ABA procedures correctly and ethically, and gain the skills to move forward to the next steps in their professional progression including eligibility for certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst®.

The M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis program requires 48 semester credits, which include 45 core credits and 3 credits in elective coursework. Within core coursework students are required to complete 7 credits of practicum. Practicum courses are designed to meet the requirements of the BACB®.

Students are also required to complete a thesis (Advanced Research Project) or a non-thesis option (Advanced Applied Project). The thesis must be a data-based empirical evaluation, but does not necessarily need to mark an original contribution to the published literature (it may be a replication and extension). The primary function of the Master’s thesis is to demonstrate that students are actively learning to function as scientist-practitioners who are continually engaged in making data-based assessment and treatment decisions. The applied project is a demonstration that the student can assess and treat a client effectively and ethically from start to finish. The applied project process is as stringent as the thesis option and demonstrates similar skills but focuses on application rather than research. The course sequence facilitates student completion of theses and applied projects with a carefully designed course sequence that has the necessary steps toward thesis and project completion embedded into the required coursework. Any student considering going on to a Ph.D. program should choose the thesis option.

Philosophy

The 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 individuals with autism or other developmental and/or intellectual disabilities, behavior analysis can be applied to any population or problem. Thus, 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 geriatric, individuals with traumatic brain injury, and regular and special education. Thus, while ABA techniques are typically associated with application to individuals with disabilities, they are also invaluable to individuals in the general population and in solving societal problems that require behavior change.

The program provides training to students related to all four domains of Behavior Analysis (i.e., Theory & 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 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 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 program emphasizes not only knowledge of the research and assessment and intervention techniques, but sound understanding of the basic concepts and principles of behavior analysis, so that students will have the conceptual and scientific underpinnings necessary to understand why interventions work, how to measure their effects, and to make appropriate program modifications when they do not. Because ABA is based on a rapidly developing and evolving behavioral technology grounded in research, the knowledge base is constantly changing. It is the program’s mission to remain at the forefront of the development of this field.

Ethics and Professional Behavior

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

Certification

The M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis is aligned with degree, coursework, and supervised experience requirements for eligibility to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB).  Applicants for BCBA® certification must meet additional requirements established by BACB® including application, examination, and background check.

There may be state professional licensure requirements to practice applied behavior analysis.  A state’s licensure board determines the specific requirements for candidates seeking professional licensure and those requirements are subject to change.  The following is professional licensure information as of the date of publication:

• Graduation from the M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis Program in conjunction with BCBA® certification aligns with degree and certification requirements for professional licensure in Maryland and Virginia. 
• A professional license is not required to practice behavior analysis in California, Illinois, or Washington D.C. 

It is the student’s responsibility to determine the licensure requirements for any state not listed above.  The M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis may meet some or all of the requirements of states not listed, but additional state-specific approvals or coursework and/or practicum hours may be required beyond the program’s graduation requirements.  Some state licensing requirements include the following: completion of a master’s degree, post-graduate field work, certification as a board certified behavior analyst, examination, and application for license.

Due to recent and ongoing changes in state professional licensure of applied behavior analysis practitioners, students should contact the state board directly to verify information regarding professional licensure.  To assist with this research, the Association of Professional Behavior Analysists (APBA) publishes information regarding state licensure:

http://www.apbahome.net/APBALicensure.php

Professional Development Group

All M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis students are required to enroll in a Professional Development Group during their first semester (on-ground campuses) or during the first year (Online).

Full-Time vs. Reduced Load Status

Since the function of the program is to increase the student’s knowledge and abilities, and these goals require intensive efforts and substantial time, the student must consider carefully the balance between school, work, family, and other responsibilities. In general, faculty plan for students to spend three hours studying for each hour in class. Students who work full time should take a lighter load (five to nine hours per semester) in order to be able to devote to the program the energy and time that will yield the maximum benefit to them.

Delivery Format

The Los Angeles campus delivery model has been created to serve full-time working students. The Los Angeles program operates on a Fall, Spring, and Summer semester.  Classes are held on campus on Saturdays and Sundays on alternating weekends of each semester.  Students entering the Los Angeles program will start in the fall semester. During the Fall and Spring semesters, which are comprised of 14 weeks, ABA students attend classes on 7 weekends and 4 weekends during the Summer semester which is comprised of 8 weeks. Additionally, the Los Angeles campus follows a blended-course model for some 2-credit and all 3-credit courses.  Blended courses combine on-ground classroom instruction with additional on-line content.  The purpose of the on-line instruction is to support material covered during the on-ground classes, and to assist students in incorporating that material in more complex domains such as issues relevant to applied practice, theoretical and philosophical considerations, and scientist-practitioner related research activities. 

The Chicago campus delivery model is oriented toward full-time students and reduced-load schedules are also possible. Many students work (some full-time) but we always advise students to consider carefully the balance between school, family, and work and make reasoned choices about time and resource allocation. Because of the ABA field placement requirements, students are generally on campus two days per week and at practicum or working on other days. The Chicago campus typically offers one evening/nighttime section of all core M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis courses.

The Online M.S. Applied Behavior Analysis delivery model is oriented toward students who are working full time and/or do not have access to an on-ground program in this field. Students must be prepared for an accelerated schedule of 7-week courses and to commit to spending 20-30 study hours per week for each 3 credit course.