Sample Plans of Study for Students with a Master's Degree in a Human Service Field

Students holding a master's degree who wish to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst need to be admitted to the Graduate School and submit a plan. Students can choose to take one course a semester (16 weeks) or one course over 8 weeks. However, students who wish to take 2 to 3 courses at a time (full-time) can do so. The course offerings are designed to be flexible. In addition, the goal is to offer enough sections of each course so students can complete the coursework toward the BCBA in a timely fashion. Each student needs to complete a Plan of Study and have it approved by his/her advisor. Although a student may not follow the exact sequence when completing the courses approved on the Plan of Study, it is important that the courses on the plan be completed to be eligible to take the BCBA exam. The following sample plans are based upon two of the most common plans students submit for approval:

Plan 1:

Fall Semester:
SPCED 609: Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis (3)
SPCED 610: Behavioral Consultation (3)
Spring Semester:
SPCED 611: Advanced Applied Behavior Analysis (3)
SPCED 619: Professional Issues in Applied Behavior Analysis (3)
SPCED 660: Seminar in Verbal Behavior (3)

Plan 2:

Fall Semester (First 8 weeks)
SPCED 609: Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis (3)
Fall Semester (Second 8 weeks)
SPCED 610: Behavioral Consultation (3)
Spring Semester (Semester long)
SPCED 611: Advanced Applied Behavior Analysis (3)
SPCED 619: Professional Issues in Applied Behavior Analysis (3)
SPCED 660: Seminar in Verbal Behavior (3)

SPCED 609 is the prerequisite for the other four behavioral courses—which may be taken in any order, concurrently or successively. The other two requirements to become eligible to take the BCBA exam are a master's degree in a human service field (acceptability of which is determined by the BACB) and the accumulation of BCBA-supervised field experience (for details, go to the BACB website: bacb.com). The field experience may be accrued at any location where a BCBA is available to provide supervision and may commence as soon as the student has registered for SPCED 609.