Practice parameters for individuals with Autism have changed over the decades (www.bacb.com). The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI; www.abainternational.org) sets the standards for accreditation of Master’s and Doctoral Programs in Behavior Analysis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov), National Institutes of Mental Health (www.nimh.gov), and many other organizations (e.g., Association of Professional Behavior Analysts, APBA; www.apba.com) agree on the science and associated practice for therapy delivery for those living with Autism. There are many variables that affected the current educational and experience standards necessary to practice (and hence demand for education and training at the Master’s level), including the rapid development of the scientific literature underlying practice, increased educational and experiential demands for client care, national and international concerns about the quality of care and client safety, massive shortages of therapists at the Master’s level who may supervise front-line staff, and increasing educational and experience requirements for certification. The Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Master’s degree is housed in the Department of Counseling and Human Services. The Master’s Program is offered for those individuals with a baccalaureate degree in Behavior Analysis, Psychology, Counseling and Human Services, Education, or a related field who aspire to gain education and experience in Behavior Analysis and the requirements for certification.
Seven of the courses are required for the Post-certificate for Advanced Graduate Study in Applied Behavior Analysis. Two additional courses specific to the Master’s program will complete the 30-hour Master’s Degree and are included for approval in this document. The 30-credit program can be completed in 2 years but may be extended to 3 years for part-time students. Students will take 24 credits of didactic coursework and 6 credits of Thesis OR Capstone. The capstone consists of a Systematic Literature review. Additional elective options will be developed in the future. The program is primarily designed to be deployed in an online model (e.g., synchronous and asynchronous experiences in each didactic course).
Admission
The applicant for admissions to the ABA Master’s of Science program must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and provide the Office of Admissions with evidence of satisfactory undergraduate preparation. The ordinary standard for admission is an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.00 on a grading scale of 4.00. Students falling below this level may submit other evidence of their ability to successfully complete a graduate program. Admission requirements include official transcripts, professional letters of recommendation, a statement of intention, and a required interview with program faculty. Further details are available in the University of Scranton Graduate Studies Catalog. New students start coursework in the Fall semester. The priority application deadline for the Master’s in ABA, is November 15th. The regular application deadline is March 1st for admission into the following Fall term. Applications received after the March 1st deadline may be considered at the Program Director’s discretion. Program directors review applications and pay particular attention to each applicant’s ability to address program specific professional goals and professional identity in the statement of intentions. Group (and/or individual) interviews with program faculty prior to acceptance may be required. All interviews are scheduled by program faculty shortly after the application deadline. All ABA Master’s of Science applicants must complete the specially developed recommendation forms for the program and respond to additional program specific essays in order to finalize their admissions packets. Applicants will be referred to specific program admissions policies for more specific admissions process information.
Applicants are likely to have completed courses in the following areas at the undergraduate level: psychology, sociology, social work, education, counseling, and related areas. Students without those or similar educational background coursework can still be considered for admission, consistent with the certification policies published by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB™). It is expected that applicants have some competency in computer literacy (e-mail, Internet, word processing). The admissions process is highly competitive, and faculty will select applicants best qualified for the program requested. Students will attend a virtual orientation with the program director and receive detailed instructions regarding registration prior to the beginning of the first semester. Students will also be required to participate in a virtual advising system through Brightspace, in which they must review Powerpoint presentations related to the advising process and University resources, and sign attestation forms indicating they have reviewed those presentations, and sign an updated plan of study each term. Students will not be provided with the term registration pin or instructional email regarding registration without having submitted the advising attestation form each semester. The faculty will review each student’s professional and academic performance on a regular basis. Suggestions for continued student growth and plans for remediation will be presented and discussed with students by their Program Directors.
Satisfactory progress in both professional and academic performance (see Fitness for Profession) is required for continuation in the program.
The admission standards and policies of the University of Scranton and the Department of Counseling and Human Services are free of any limitation, specification, or discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, or disability, except as provided by law. Applications for admission from members of groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the ABA profession are encouraged and welcomed. Applicants who do not meet all of the criteria for regular admission, but show reasonable promise for success in graduate studies, may be accepted on a probationary basis. Recommendation for Probationary Admission must include a prescription for nine hours of specific course work (three graduate courses) that the student must complete within the first twelve hours of graduate study. Applicants who do not have the necessary undergraduate preparation in the discipline area requested but have demonstrated academic achievement indicative of successful graduate study may be considered for Provisional Admission or Provisional Acceptance. The applicant may gain Provisional Admission with the provision that they complete a specific prescription of undergraduate course work in conjunction with their graduate studies. Provisional Acceptance carries the provision that the applicant completes a specific prescription of undergraduate course work, with a GPA of at least 3.0 in these studies, prior to undertaking graduate course work. For more detailed admissions information and admission status categories consult the University’s Graduate Studies Catalog.
Students enrolled in the ABA Master’s Program will take both 500-and 600-level courses. Students will most often take 600-level and 500-level courses concurrently and will take 600-level courses prior to taking some of the 500-level courses. This is a consequence of the MS curriculum overlapping with the curriculum of the post-Master’s Certificate. The courses in the Post-Master’s Certificate have been assigned course numbers at the 600-level by the Registrar, since the certificate students have already earned a master’s degree. The seven courses in the post-Master’s Certificate contain foundational content in ABA that the MS students must master in their first few classes.
The MS in ABA has some additional coursework and fieldwork unique to the MS program. Because the MS students do not have a prior master’s degree, those courses have been assigned 500-level numbers. Specifically, students may begin accruing supervised fieldwork hours as soon as their first day of class in the ABA Master’s program; this arrangement for supervised experience accrual is both acceptable and encouraged by the BACB™.
Onset of Fieldwork.
- Trainees may not start accumulating fieldwork hours until they have:
- Started qualifying coursework for BCBA certification (they may begin accruing hours after attending the first class meeting); and
- Secured a qualified supervisor (see Supervisor Qualifications above);
- Fieldwork is independent of University course work and is the sole responsibility of the student.
Total Credits in ABA Master’s program: 30 credits
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