Academic Research - Behavior Analysis Emphasis

Behavior Analysis is a natural science approach whose subject matter is individual behavior dynamically interacting with the physical and social environment (Association for Professional Behavior Analysts, 2019). Research in both the basic and applied arm of the science has enjoyed strong empirical support since the 1960’s, and over the decades, has resulted in a variety of clinically-validated intervention techniques. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the application of the basic principles of behavior and learning to socially important problems a client is experiencing.

For more general information about Behavior Analysis, check out the flagship organization of the field, The Association for Behavior Analysis International: https://www.abainternational.org/welcome.aspx

California also has its own regional association and annual conference, held every February/March, named CalABA: https://calaba.org

As many states began passing insurance reform laws over the past decade that requires insurance companies to cover ABA services, the need for professional behavior analysts has skyrocketed. According to the Behavior Analysis Certification Board, the number of board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) in 2009 was just over 5,500. Ten years later, the number of BCBAs is just about 35,000. Given the large sudden demand for ABA as more families continue to be able to access ABA services through insurance providers, this accelerated growth curve of professionals in the field is just the tip of the iceberg as the profession continues to train the next wave of behavior analysts.

According to the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (2019), Recent demand (April 2018 to March 2019) is highest in 5 states (ordered from most to least): California, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, and Arizona. These 5 states account for 53% of the recent demand for behavior analysts, with California alone accounting for 31% of the recent demand. Follow this link for more information about demand for behavior analysts: https://www.bacb.com/team-view/us-employment-demand-for-behavior-analyst...

The median salary of a behavior analyst, according to payscale.com, is $61,000. This figure largely depends on experience, location, and job function (e.g., associate clinician, clinical supervisor, clinical director).

Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA’s) have advanced training in conducted behavioral assessments which include clinical interviews and direct behavioral observations, conceptualizing a client’s case in terms of behavioral principles, writing assessment reports, developing intervention strategies, training staff (e.g., behavior technicians employed by an ABA agency), teachers, parents, and other individuals involved in the client’s care in the implementation of those intervention strategies, and graphing and analyzing behavioral data over time to monitor client progress in an objective way. Behavior Analysts provide services in the home, schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and the community (basically, behavior analysts work wherever the challenging behaviors are occurring that interfere with the client’s quality of life).

Follow this link to learn more about what behavior analysts do and who they work with: https://www.bacb.com/about-behavior-analysis/ 

From BACB.com:

Master’s Degree Level: The Board Certified Behavior Analyst. The Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) is a graduate-level certification in behavior analysis. Professionals who are certified at the BCBA level are independent practitioners who provide behavior-analytic services. In addition, BCBAs supervise the work of Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, and others who implement behavior-analytic interventions.

The Behavior Analysis Emphasis area of graduate study in Humboldt’s psychology department is intended to produce master’s level practitioners to become BCBAs. Follow this link to learn more about the types of professional credentials in behavior analysis: https://www.bacb.com

You need to:

1. Have a master’s degree in behavior analysis, psychology, school psychology, education, or special education.
2. Pass graduate-level behavior analytic coursework that meets the content hour requirements of the BACB.
3. Accrue 2,000 hours of clinical experience under the supervision of a BCBA.

Once you have completed the necessary coursework, obtained a Master’s degree, and gained the minimum number of supervised clinical experience hours, you are eligible to sit for the certification exam. Upon passing the exam, the certification board will mail you your certification document.  For more information, see the  BCBA Eligibility Requirements

School psychologists specialize in working in special education environments. They provide psychological assessments to at-risk students to determine if they qualify for additional supports in the school system, such as an individualized education plan (IEP), and if needed, behavior management plans. School psychologists regularly collaborate with Behavior Analysts to help address the needs of students with more significant behavioral concerns, as Behavior Analysts conduct a full functional behavior assessment and implement behavior-analytic interventions based on that assessment. Behavior Analysts can be employed as internal or external consultants in school systems, but can also work in other settings (e.g., hospitals, in-home), and with various populations (e.g., intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injury, workers in an organization, substance abuse, and older adults with neurocognitive disorder).

A minimum GPA of 3.25 in psychology coursework is required. All applicants must submit a 500-750 word statement of purpose addressing their background, research interests in psychology, preparation, career goals, and how they relate to the interested area of study. Two letters of recommendation are also required. Pre-requisite coursework to be completed prior to admission include: PSYC 104 (Intro to Psychology); PSYC 109 (Statistics); PSYC 342 (Research Methods), PSYC 322 (Learning & Motivation), and PSYC 320 (Behavior Analysis).

• BACB.com
• Abainternational.org
• calaba.org

Christopher Walmsley: caw709@humboldt.edu

Faculty Page: https://psychology.humboldt.edu/people/christopher-walmsley

Kevin Colando: kmc10@humboldt.edu

Once a student begins collecting experience hours under a BCBA, the student has five years to complete certification requirements and sit for the BCBA exam, otherwise any accrued experience hours reset to zero and the student must begin accruing experience hours all over again. Therefore, we do not encourage enrollment on a part-time basis because the student may not be able to finish meeting certification requirements within five years.

At this time, the behavior analysis emphasis is not accepting blended AR students. Given the course rotations in the behavior analysis course sequence, a blended student would still need to take an additional two years after they complete their undergraduate coursework. It makes more sense to simply apply to the two-year master’s program as you are finishing up your undergraduate degree.

There are a number of ABA agencies in the local communities of Arcata and Eureka that frequently (and happily!) hire college students, especially psychology majors. If you have already taken PSYC 320, you are even more sought after by the agencies. Go to indeed.com and enter search terms such as “behavior technician” or “behavior aid”, and you might be surprised to see a few job postings. You can also directly contact ABA agencies such as Autism Intervention Professionals (AIP), Multiplicity Inc and their sister agency Starfish Hero, IECP, Trumpet Behavioral Health, or Autism Learning Partners (ALP).

You must complete a culminating experience in the form of either a Master’s thesis or a Master’s project in order to graduate. The thesis is generally recommended for those students who wish to pursue PhD studies. The Master’s project is smaller in scope and is more appropriate for students who wish to become practitioners in the field.

Unfortunately, no, you must have already started your behavior analysis coursework. You can begin counting experience hours starting as early as the first day you begin the coursework.

You sure can! Registering for the courses through Extended Education will allow you to open enroll in each course in the behavior-analysis course sequence. Follow this link for instructions: https://extended.humboldt.edu/extended-education/open-university#register

A letter from a clinical supervisor who could comment on your developing skill sets, professionalism, and capacity to grow when given more responsibilities would be welcome.