This 20-unit program can be completed in just 2 quarters.
Master of Arts in
Applied Behavior Analysis
800%
Increase in demand for BCBA/BCBA-D certified individual
7000+
Job postings in 2017 required or preferred BCBA/BCBA-D
50%
Of all behavior analyst positions were in CA, NJ, or MA
85%
Of jobs in Health Care, Educational Services, or Social
Ways to Learn
Quick Facts
- 36 Units
- 2 Years Full-Time
- 3 Years Part-Time
- 1 Year Intensive
Campus Location
Overview
Applied behavior analysis is a science aimed at improving socially significant behavior through the application of learning principles. Typically working with individuals, but also with groups and organizations, a behavior analyst uncovers causes behind specific behaviors and designs strategies to alter undesired behaviors. The demand for behavior analysts is increasing in a range of healthcare settings including brain trauma, geriatrics, and organizational psychology, among other areas. The role is also increasingly in demand in educational and professional settings.
This program offers students a solid foundation in applied behavior analysis through an integrated and coordinated sequence of coursework, practicum, and supervision. Clinical practice and research in applied behavior analysis is wide-ranging and may include work in developmental disabilities, traumatic brain injury, chronic health conditions, health and wellness, and educational settings.
Highlights
- Curriculum that meets the requirements of Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)
- High quality clinical placements arranged by the program
- Clinical training applicable to a range of client types
- Online program with periodic onsite intensives
Graduates of the program will be prepared academically and clinically to become a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA). Careers in behavior analysis and therapy may include working with autistic children and adults as well as those with other developmental disabilities, consulting with businesses to help improve employee performance or workplace environment, working with the elderly in assisted living care facilities or nursing homes, working in primary care settings or hospitals with people with chronic health conditions, working with individuals with socio/emotional disorders, anxiety, addictions, and brain injuries, as well as working in a variety of other settings.
Program Learning Outcomes:
- Apply principles of behavior analysis to address behaviors of clinical and social significance
- Conduct behavioral assessments
- Implement and monitor evidence-based interventions
- Consult and supervise people from diverse backgrounds in their delivery of behavioral interventions
- Deliver behavioral interventions in a culturally sensitive and multiculturally competent manner
Change is waiting to happen. You make the call.
Why JFKU
Embedded Clinical Practicum
The MA in Applied Behavior Analysis at John F. Kennedy University provides students with direct placement in local fieldwork agencies for their practicum work. With the clinical practicum embedded into the curriculum, students are ensured a high quality experience that satisfies BACB fieldwork requirements.
Practitioner-Scholars Who Practice What They Teach
College of Psychology faculty members collectively have published dozens of articles, books, and studies, and they have travelled the country giving talks on their respective areas of expertise. Their diversity of backgrounds and viewpoints exposes our students to the full breadth of clinical psychology and allows them to make informed decisions about which theoretical approaches and practice areas suit them best.
Curriculum
The MA in ABA is a 36-unit degree program:
24 units of required coursework to meet the requirements of BCBA®
6 units of field work
6 elective units
Year 1 - Fall
Units
Intro to Concepts and Principles
4
The course provides introduction to the science of behavior analysis. Includes philosophical underpinnings of the science of behavior analysis including; goals, philosophical assumptions, dimensions of applied behavior analysis, radical behaviorism, experimental analysis of behavior, applied behavior analysis, and professional practice. Also includes foundation for
concepts and principles of applied behavior analysis including; behavior, respondent and operant conditioning, contingencies, extinction, stimulus variations, and verbal operants.
Year 1 - Winter
Units
Ethics & Professional Issues
4
This course will orient students to the ethical and professional guidelines for Board Certified Behavior Analysts. The course will review ethical guidelines for assessment, treatment, and research. Students will learn to describe and apply professional and ethical guidelines specifying the Behavior Analysts’ responsibility to their clients, colleagues, the field of behavior analysis and society.
Field Work
1 (300 hours)
Year 1 - Spring
Units
Measurement & Experimental Evaluation
4
The course provides students with the skills necessary to confirm the clinical efficacy of interventions by use of single-subject designs. Students will learn to develop valid and reliable systems for measuring behavior, to display data using graphing software, and to assess for systematic changes in behavior through visual inspection and interpretation of graphic data.
Field Work
1 (300 hours)
Year 1 - Summer
Units
Behavior Assessment
4
Field Work
(1 unit) 300 hours
Year 2 - Fall
Units
Elective
3
Field Work
1 (300 hours)
Year 2 - Winter
Units
Behavior Change Procedures
4
This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of empirically supported behavior change procedures. Students will learn approaches to changing behavior that include reinforcement and punishment based interventions, use of extinction, motivating operations, and contingency management techniques. Students will learn basics of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior and how to teach verbal behavior.
Field Work
1 (300 hours)
Year 2 - Spring
Units
Elective
3
Field Work
1 (300 hours)
Year 2 - Summer
Units
Behavior Interventions
4
This course will prepare students to identify, implement, and maintain effective behavioral interventions in applied settings. Students will learn to select and implement function-based interventions for the reduction of problem behaviors, skill building programs for skill deficits, and various behavioral teaching and training techniques to be applied to both client and supervisee populations.
Year 1 - Winter
Units
Ethics & Professional Issues
4
This course will orient students to the ethical and professional guidelines for Board Certified Behavior Analysts. The course will review ethical guidelines for assessment, treatment, and research. Students will learn to describe and apply professional and ethical guidelines specifying the Behavior Analysts’ responsibility to their clients, colleagues, the field of behavior analysis and society.
Field Work
1 (300 hours)
Year 1 - Summer
Units
Behavior Assessment
4
Field Work
(1 unit) 300 hours
Year 2 - Winter
Units
Behavior Change Procedures
4
This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of empirically supported behavior change procedures. Students will learn approaches to changing behavior that include reinforcement and punishment based interventions, use of extinction, motivating operations, and contingency management techniques. Students will learn basics of Skinner’s analysis of verbal behavior and how to teach verbal behavior.
Field Work
1 (300 hours)
Year 2 - Summer
Units
Behavior Interventions
4
This course will prepare students to identify, implement, and maintain effective behavioral interventions in applied settings. Students will learn to select and implement function-based interventions for the reduction of problem behaviors, skill building programs for skill deficits, and various behavioral teaching and training techniques to be applied to both client and supervisee populations.
College of Psychology Faculty
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