The Chicago School’s new Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis program prepares students for exciting career opportunities by expanding their perspective of the field through coursework and instruction, as well as a new track in organizational behavior management (OBM).
The Chicago School’s new Ph.D. program takes typical behavior analysis training a step further, incorporating additional studies in basic research, experimental research, philosophy, and scientific philosophy.
The program offers two tracks for students: a generalist track and the organizational behavior management track. The generalist track focuses on clinical populations while the organizational behavior management track trains students to apply behavior analysis to businesses and organizations on a systems level with focus on shaping employee performance and satisfaction.
Here, we’ll examine the many opportunities graduates with degrees in behavior analysis may choose to explore.
Careers in generalized behavior analysis
The generalist track of our behavior analysis degree program offers multiple career opportunities. Graduates often become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). This allows work with autistic individuals in clinical, residential, or community settings, helping clients better understand their behavior and develop new repertoires to achieve goals more easily. Goals may include improving interpersonal relationships, improving organization and productivity, and more.
However, becoming board certified is not the only option. Other roles for behavior analysts include serving as consults or support professionals in schools, agencies, or organizations.
To provide better support in educational environments, students in The Chicago School’s Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis program take an instructional design class. This deepens their understanding of the ways in which learners construct and acquire new knowledge and the ways in which instructional material be developed and presented to maximize classroom learning.
“It’s vital for behavior analysts to examine the development of teaching instruction and lessons from the ground up,” says Cameron Mittelman, Ph.D., director of the new Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis program. “This goes along with learning what the latest research says on how to create environments and situations in context in which students are taking an active role in the development of their own skills and knowledge.”
Behavior analysts may also pursue careers in social work, human resources, or research.
According to Dr. Mittelman, interest in behavior analysis has also recently increased in the health and fitness field. “We have a current student in the program who is going to be taking an internship at a company created specifically to apply behavior analysis to health and fitness practices,” he says. “And it’s not necessarily about weight loss or exercise, but about physical health and what that may look like according to the needs of each individual client.”
Careers in organizational behavior management
The various possibilities often require a certain amount of initiative from behavior analysts seeking careers. “We tell students up front that pursuing this route often requires having to ‘blaze your own trail,’” Dr. Mittelman says. “But now, students in the OBM track will receive a specialized series of coursework that directly addresses their intention of practicing behavior analysis in a business setting.”
OBM practitioners often serve in consultative roles, making behavior-specific recommendations for how organizations may improve to become more efficient and potentially more profitable. Consultations address factors such as employee performance, retention, job satisfaction, and workplace safety and help organizations examine delivery of training, expectations for employees, and incentive systems. As part of the OBM track, students will take courses in organizational behavior management, behavioral economics, systems analysis, consultation, and more.
Additionally, organizational behavior analysts are well positioned to help support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. “Organizational behavior analysts can identify practices and processes that may be preventing or interfering with DEI efforts, and their training provides them with many different approaches they can bring to the organization to help change those behaviors,” Dr. Mittelman says. “Our Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis program incorporates a course dedicated to ethics, diversity, and multiculturalism to help prepare graduates for consulting on DEI initiatives.”
Some behavior analysts with a Ph.D. may also want to start their own behavior analysis practices. According to Dr. Mittelman, the organizational behavior management track can help these students to be effective business owners. “Graduates of this program will have a better perspective on how to have the conversations they need to get their foot in the door of this field and market their very niche skill set,” he says.
Learn more about the Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis program at our Chicago Campus and online here.