| Major Code: 8146 |
Degree Awarded: Master of Arts |
| Delivery Mode(s): Online |
Age Restriction: No |
| Admission Status: Graduate |
Location(s): Main Campus - Melbourne |
| Admission Materials: résumé, objectives |
Program Chair
Nicholas L Weatherly, Ph.D., BCBA-D
The Master of Arts in Professional Behavior Analysis combines 24 semester credit hours of coursework from Florida Tech’s ABA online program with 21 semester credit hours completed in residence at an approved behavior analytic agency. The program provides students a high-quality hands-on education at convenient locations. Florida Tech faculty housed around the globe at host agencies, help students integrate academic curriculum with practical experience.
The Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) has approved the Florida Tech BCBA® course sequence as meeting all instructional requirements for certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®). The second stage integrates coursework with supervised practica and a capstone project completed on site. The practicum is approved by the BACB to meet the requirement for BCBA certification with reduced hours compared to an applicant using supervised independent fieldwork. On graduation, students meet all the requirements to sit for the BCBA examination. The program also meets licensure standards in many states currently licensing professional behavior analysts. The program has been designed to meet the accreditation standards of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI).
Admission Requirements
Prospective students may apply and are accepted into the program after submitting a practicum site agreement, and completing Foundations, Concepts and Principles of Behavior Analysis (BEH 5011), Basic Elements of Applied Behavior Analysis (BEH 5012) or with approval of the program chair. The courses from the certificate program are part of the graduation requirements for the professional master’s program. Students who do not have an approved practicum site can enter the mentorship program and should register for continuing education’s offering of Current Topics in Behavior Analysis: Mentorship (through their online system) to locate an approved site or have their current workplace evaluated as a potential practicum site.
All applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university. Only applicants with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher (based on a 4.0 scale), or who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher after taking at least 12 credits of graduate-level instruction in behavior analysis will be considered for admission into the program.
Applicants must submit a graduate application with an accompanying fee, statement of objectives, a résumé, official transcripts of all previous coursework, and three letters of recommendation.
General admission requirements and the process for applying are presented in the General Academic Information (all students) section.
Transition to Degree-Seeking Status
Graduate policy states a maximum of 12 semester credit hours may be applied toward a degree before admission and matriculation in a degree-seeking program, but in the case of the master’s in professional behavior analysis, permission of the academic unit head allows for continuing education students to register for up to 24 semester credit hours as an exception to the stated policy. Thus, students may enroll for up to 24 semester credit hours through the online program as a continuing education student before applying, being admitted and enrolling as a degree-seeking student in the master of arts program. All credit completed with a grade of B or higher through ABA online will be counted toward graduation requirements for the degree once the student is offered admission and enrolls in the stage-two component.
Admitted students will be considered degree-seeking students once they enroll in stage two of the program at the designated host agency. Admitted students must complete a minimum of 12 credits of the online component with no grade lower than a B before enrolling in the second stage of the program. They may complete any additional required ABA online courses concurrently with or after completing stage two.
The program may be completed in 24 months, provided the student takes online courses concurrently with the second-stage component. Although online courses are offered during four 12-week terms per year while the in-residence courses are offered during three 15-week terms per year, online courses will be available concurrently with stage two courses.
Degree Requirements
The Master of Arts in Professional Behavior Analysis will be conferred on students who satisfy all program requirements and attend a week-long final program examination sequence at a hybrid host site or the main campus in Melbourne.
Students must complete the following program requirements for a total of 45 semester credit hours:
