Graduate Program in Applied Behavior Analysis

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About the Behavior Analysis Program at Pacific

Students who choose the ABA track are interested in applied behavior analysis, and are either interested in becoming eligible to sit for the certification exam conducted by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) ® or in pursuing a doctorate in applied behavior analysis. Students wishing to pursue a doctorate in applied behavior analysis should apply under the applied behavior analysis track, but indicate in a cover letter that they ultimately wish to apply to a doctorate program in ABA. Our Applied Behavior Analysis course sequence has been approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) ®. You can learn more about the certification process at www.bacb.com .

ABA track students are typically placed in practica and internship sites in which they will learn to apply methods of behavior observation, treatment design, and implementation in a variety of settings. ABA track students learn precise data observation and collection methodology, interobserver agreement techniques, single-subject design interventions, and generalization strategies in a variety of settings, including public schools, the department's Community Re-entry Program for the mentally disabled, Valley Mountain Regional Center programs for the developmentally disabled, and in other behavior and medical/health care settings in the local community. The majority of ABA track students will work 20-hours per week at the Community Re-entry program as well in the Stockton Unified School District working with preschool children identified as having behavior problems; this work enables our students to receive substantial tuition remission as well as a paid stipend. (see the note about tuition below).

Our program typically provides students with the BACB-required 1500 hours of supervised ABA experience, along with the coursework required to become eligible to sit for the BACB exam. These steps allow an individual with a Masters degree in Psychology to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Becoming eligible to sit for the BACB certification exam in behavior analysis and becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst are beneficial to students for a number of reasons. "The Board Certified Behavior Analyst™ (BCBA®) is an independent practitioner who also may work as an employee or independent contractor for an organization. The BCBA conducts descriptive and systematic (e.g., analogue) behavior assessments, including functional analyses, and provides behavior analytic interpretations of the results. The BCBA designs and supervises behavior analytic interventions. The BCBA is able to effectively develop and implement appropriate assessment and intervention methods for use in unfamiliar situations and for a range of cases. The BCBA seeks the consultation of more experienced practitioners when necessary. The BCBA teaches others to carry out ethical and effective behavior analytic interventions based on published research and designs and delivers instruction in behavior analysis ( www.bacb.org )."

>> See where some of our recent graduates are working.

Students interested in applying to doctoral programs in ABA may wish to work as teaching assistants 20-hours per week instead. This enables them to receive the tuition remission and paid stipend while gaining teaching experience that may be highly desirable for doctoral programs. However, in doing this, they will likely not earn the 1500 supervised hours required to sit for the BACB exam.
 

Tuition
 

In a typical year almost all graduate students in Psychology receive a substantial amount of financial aid which includes the remission of a substantial portion of your tuition costs plus a stipend for performing a job (e.g., research assistant, teaching assistant, traineeship in departmental treatment programs for the mentally or developmentally disabled). For the 2006-07 academic year, 100% of students (both first and second year) are receiving a substantial amount of tuition remission and 100% of our students are receiving stipends. Therefore, if you feel the nature of the program meets your needs and goals, we encourage you to apply.

For the 2007-08 academic year, the total tuition cost for first year students taking 18 units was $15,156 ($842/unit), with tuition remission covering approximately 85% of the tuition costs. During the second year of study, graduate students take fewer units, typically 6 units in the Fall and 6 units in the Spring. Tuition remission reduces these costs by 75% or more for most students!