ABA psych programs

[wellesleygirlPSYCH19]

What are the ABA programs out there? Specific aba phd programs? How do you decide which is the best? I've heard of Caldwell University, UMBC and CUNY but those are all I've seen. Anyone know?

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[PsychBiker]

First off, what do you want to do long-term with your education?


*Breathe in*
"I must restrain my antisocial comments"
*Breath out*

 

[wellesleygirlPSYCH19]

My goal is to pursue a phd in applied behavior analysis and work with kids diagnosed with autism doing research and clinical work

 

[snowcherries]

I'm not sure which doc programs in ABA have the best reputation since I'm not in an ABA program, but I would definitely look very closely at BCBA exam passing rates by program: http://www.bacb.com/Downloadfiles/PassRates/BCBA_ACS_pass_rates_alpha.pdf

As you can see, lots of folks don't pass the BCBA exam on the first try, and as such my understanding is that BCBA exam passing rates are an very important metric of quality for these types of programs.

 

[wellesleygirlPSYCH19]

Before even thinking about BCBA. I need to get a masters which I don't have hence the questions about programs

 

[Elle758]

Before even thinking about BCBA. I need to get a masters which I don't have hence the questions about programs

I think that was the point of the previous reply. You actually do need to think about the BCBA pass rates before choosing a program. Pass rates can be an important indicator of the quality of the program. You don't want to get your masters in ABA and then not be able to pass the BCBA exam due to a poor-quality program. You would be stuck professionally, in that case.

Additionally, I don't believe that a PhD in ABA is all that worthwhile. You can practice at the master's level just fine when you have your BCBA. If you want to do more than clinical practice, it would make more sense to go for a PhD in clinical or school psych, depending on your interests. With the latter degrees, you would also be eligible to be licensed as a psychologist and have many more options for employment. There are several quality PhD clinical or school programs with an emphasis in developmental disabilities, autism, behavioral analysis, etc.

 

[snowcherries]

I think that was the point of the previous reply. You actually do need to think about the BCBA pass rates before choosing a program. Pass rates can be an important indicator of the quality of the program. You don't want to get your masters in ABA and then not be able to pass the BCBA exam due to a poor-quality program. You would be stuck professionally, in that case.

Additionally, I don't believe that a PhD in ABA is all that worthwhile. You can practice at the master's level just fine when you have your BCBA. If you want to do more than clinical practice, it would make more sense to go for a PhD in clinical or school psych, depending on your interests. With the latter degrees, you would also be eligible to be licensed as a psychologist and have many more options for employment. There are several quality PhD clinical or school programs with an emphasis in developmental disabilities, autism, behavioral analysis, etc.

Yes, that's exactly what I was attempting to say--before getting a PhD in ABA, I'm pretty sure that you'll need a masters in ABA. A masters in ABA will prepare you to sit for the BCBA exam. While some PhD programs in behavior analysis might let you get your masters along the way, my guess is that many programs will want you to have a masters and BCBA going in.

I also agree with Elle758's points about a PhD in ABA versus other degrees. My understanding is that a PhD in ABA or behavior analysis prepares you for academia, not necessarily clinical work. This degree makes sense if you definitely want to be a tenure-track professor of behavior analysis, but at your stage I would think carefully about what you could do with a masters and BCBA or with a PhD in clinical or school psych.

 

[modestmousktr]

Yes, that's exactly what I was attempting to say--before getting a PhD in ABA, I'm pretty sure that you'll need a masters in ABA. A masters in ABA will prepare you to sit for the BCBA exam. While some PhD programs in behavior analysis might let you get your masters along the way, my guess is that many programs will want you to have a masters and BCBA going in.

I also agree with Elle758's points about a PhD in ABA versus other degrees. My understanding is that a PhD in ABA or behavior analysis prepares you for academia, not necessarily clinical work. This degree makes sense if you definitely want to be a tenure-track professor of behavior analysis, but at your stage I would think carefully about what you could do with a masters and BCBA or with a PhD in clinical or school psych.

Like others say, I do think if you would like to go into an ABA Ph.D. program, you would need your masters degree first. Even if you didn't want to sit for the BCBA exam, I am sure most of the candidates you would be competing against had. If you are looking for schools, I saw something on UC Riverside's School Psychology Ph.D. where some students had gotten their BCBA certificate en route to the Ph.D. I also know of a professor who got a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UF Gainesville and is ABA certified, but I am not sure if the program leads to it.