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Accreditation

ABAI VCA Program        ABAI MA Seal

The Master degree program in Behavioral Analysis and Therapy is accredited by the Association for Behavioral Analysis International (ABAI).

Program Mission:

The Behavior Analysis and Therapy Program is devoted to the empirically-based development and application of learning principles to a wide variety of human needs that arises from developmental, psychological, social, or medical disabilities.

The graduate of the program is prepared to assess the needs of individuals, to assist those individuals to acquire skills to maximize their capabilities, to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and to teach other service providers techniques for assessment, training, and evaluation.

Program Objectives:

  1. Focus on practical experiences. Students are required to complete a 3 credit-hour practicum and 9 credit-hour internship across three semesters.
  2. Focus on research. Student are encouraged to assist with faculty research projects.
  3. Program breadth. Students have the opportunity to obtain a variety of experiences in the areas of intellectual disabilities, gambling, mental health, child behavior, parent-child relations, behavioral medicine, community and consumer issues, and the working work.

Program Organization within SIU

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale includes eight colleges and two schools. The Behavior Analysis and Therapy program resides in the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, which is part of the College of Health and Human Sciences. One faculty member serves as the program coordinator for the Behavior Analysis and Therapy programs. This faculty member reports to the director of the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences. The director then reports to the Dean of the school."

Admission, Retention, Financial Obligations, and Disciplinary Procedures

Interested students should apply to the university, and indicate interest in the BAT major.

Additional information is available using the following links:

Program Funding and Support from University

All funding is allocated from central administration to the various colleges that make up the SIU campus. From there, funds are distributed to the 8 departments that make up the college where the BAT program is housed. Within our department, three additional programs provide input to the department head regarding the needs of the BAT program. Undergraduate student assistantships may be funded by the department and the college through grants and contracts.

Practicum Experiences

Out of the Classroom and into the World

Majors in BAT have a number of options to take what they learned in the classroom right out into the world.

Every student enrolls in a practicum and internship course, which will allow for placement at the SIU Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (on-campus students), the Evaluation and Development Center (on-campus students), Project 12-Ways (on-campus students), or a variety of other approved off-campus clinical sites. Students in the online program also enroll in the practicum and internship courses so they can broaden their clinical skillsets at their own clinical sites. In these placements, the student will work side-by-side with current behavior analysts to learn the tools of the trade, and to practice the techniques of the classroom in carefully supervised clinical settings. Work 1-1 with persons with autism, intellectual disabilities, brain injuries, or mental health disorders. See how the power of behavior analysis can make real lives better.

Get Involved in Science

Although not a formal and required part of the degree program, students are encouraged to participate as research assistants in any of the various research projects that faculty and graduate students are involved with. The range of topics is vast, and the experiences are priceless. Imagine that you could help discover how to get children with autism to speak, or analyze the circumstances under which people make impulsive decisions, or how different animals behave in laboratory settings. Don’t just read about science – be part of it here at SIU.

Student Outcomes

Education and Training Outcomes

The program reviews pass/fail data per course each semester to determine if a discrepancy exists between goals of the course and performance of the student body. Each student is monitored for progress within the program by grade point standards established by the university at large. Poor performance is placed on probation and more individualized attention is given to that student to remediate a course of success. Advisement may also include recommendation to terminate major if no feasible remedies are possible. Such progress is monitored on a semester basis.

The program has a variety of procedures to evaluate meeting objectives in all curricular components. They include Classes - Percentage of enrolled students earning grade of B or better in all graduate courses. Grade B or better in all graduate courses. Practica - Percentage of enrolled students earning grade of B or better in all graduate practice activities. Grade of B or better in all graduate practice activities. Research - Percentage of enrolled students earning grade of B or better in all research credit coursework. Grade of B or better in graduate research coursework.

BCBA Exam Pass Rate Data     BCBA Coursework Hour Content Areas

Outcome Assessment Data

On-Campus Program GPA
Data Collected 2022 2021 2020
Median undergraduate grade point average (GPA) for admitted applicants 3.6 3.6 3.7

 

View the full aggregate report data.

List of outcome assessment data for Annual Reporting Period

Annual Reporting Period
Data Collected 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Degrees Conferred 34 43 27 34 4
Median Years Until Graduation 2.3 2.3 Missing 2 2.3
Student Enrollment 107 96 78 44 39
Student Withdrawals 12 5 7 5 1
Completed Applications Missing 74 48 56 37
Students Admitted 45 64 28 31 17
School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences | College of Health and Human Sciences | 618-536-2301 |