Program Description
Students pursuing a master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis are trained to bring about socially significant behavioral changes in individuals with developmental disabilities, those in regular educational settings, and those who wish to improve performance or master skills in a variety of areas. Using a natural science approach, ABA professionals systematically collect and analyze data to validate incremental changes in observable behavior. At the Los Angeles Campus, students have the unique opportunity to train professionals and caregivers in ABA techniques through the Campus' TEACH Center.
The Chicago School's learning approach to ABA is based on the Radical Behaviorist model that includes advanced areas such as precision teaching, instructional design, and verbal behavior, coupled with an unsurpassed range of real-world training, including four practicum experiences and two semester-long internships. The program is unique in that students receive a solid foundation in the principles of clinical psychology, in addition to thorough training in ABA techniques, that prepares them to work with a range of populations in both clinical and business/industry settings. The ABA masters program provides theoretical frameworks and scientific bases of ABA clinical work. Graduates will also develop skills that will be beneficial to their professional practices, such as the ability to appropriately determine the cause(s) of problem behavior, develop effective interventions, and properly assess outcomes.
Chicago School's ABA course sequence is approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® and graduates are eligible to sit for national certification by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board®.
Department
Applied Behavior Analysis
Concentrations
Licensure
Course sequence is approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® and graduates are eligible to sit for national certification by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board®.
Total Credits
54
Fieldwork Requirements
Sample Courses
Science and Human Behavior
Designed to enhance students' understanding of the application of behavior analysis to individual and social problems, with an emphasis on the philosophical bases of behavior analysis. Students read Skinner's seminal text, Science and Human Behavior, in which he describes behavioral and cultural analyses, as well as critiques and related articles. The major objective of the class includes understanding and critiquing Skinner's approach to the study and control of individual and group behavior. Topics include discussing individual behavior that seems difficult to study with a behavior-analytic approach (e.g., private events) as well as control of group behavior and the problems associated with such control. Students will be able to discuss the pros and cons of Skinner's perspective, identify the aspects of his beliefs with which they agree or disagree, and explain their own perspectives.
Organizational Behavior Management
Focuses on applying behavior analytic principles in the domain of behavioral consultation and management. Emphasis is placed upon understanding the various stages of successful behavioral consultation, identifying potential problems that may arise during the consultation process, and knowing how to overcome them. Other learning objectives include:
- Correctly identifying, explaining, and understanding the key concepts of behavioral consultation.
- Applying the key concepts of behavioral consultation to any targeted consultation population.
- Correctly identifying, explaining, and understanding the various stages of successful behavioral consultation.
- Successfully identifying potential problems that may arise during the consultation process and knowing how to overcome them.
Behavioral Pharmacology
Presents the basic principles required for the use of psychopharmacological agents. All major classes of psychotropics are presented, including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, anxiolytics and sedatives/hypnotics, psycho-stimulants, and atypical medications. Other topics covered include laboratory and physiological assessments pertinent to their use, basic neuron-chemical and anatomical concepts associated with their proposed mechanism of action, drug-drug interactions, adverse reactions, and pertinent aspects of differential diagnosis. Psychiatric aspects of general medical conditions, with particular attention to the diagnosis and treatment of delirium, are presented.
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