Program Requirements
Upon enrollment, each student is assigned a faculty advisor from the department with whom the student is expected to work during the first year on various research-related tasks on a non-credit basis. In consultation with the advisor, the student works out a program of course work, practica and research activity that builds on the student's experience and interests in preparation for a career of the kind the student prefers within the broad, emergent field of human services psychology. Students are required to take a set of core courses, consisting of three courses in research methodology and statistics and courses in each of the following substantive areas of psychology: biological, cognitive/affective and social bases of behavior, and individual differences. Students take courses in their specialty area, including at least one advanced seminar, elective courses, at least six credit hours of practicum and an internship of at least 1,500 hours (clinical students only). A minimum of 18 credit hours of research is also required. Core course and research credit requirements may be adjusted for students entering the program with master's degrees or acceptable graduate course credit from other institutions. Adjustments in the practicum requirements may also be made for master's level students entering the program with extensive, supervised clinical experience. Admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree is based upon satisfactory completion of the core course requirement and passing a qualifying examination during the summer preceding a student's third year of full-time study, or its equivalent in the case of part-time students or those entering with advanced standing.
Applied Behavior Analysis
The master's program in Applied Behavior Analysis requires a minimum of 36 credit hours beyond the B.A. It consists of the core curriculum of the department's graduate programs plus courses in basic and applied analysis of behavior, behavioral treatment design and data evaluation, ethics of behavioral interventions, and practicum placement for hands-on experience with relevant behavioral procedures. In place of a master's thesis, students are required to apply the skills acquired in the program by completing a full behavioral intervention, from initial evaluation through development and administration of treatment protocols to evaluation of outcome.
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