Program Overview

Launching Fall 2025, the B.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) will provide a pathway for undergraduate students who wish to pursue a career in the fast-growing field of ABA. The ABA major degree program is designed to provide education, training, and experience to students with the goal of preparing them for practice in real-world settings.

The mission of the ABA programs at MSU is to prepare students to provide high quality behavior analytic services to a diverse population of individuals by offering excellent training, supervision, and research experiences.
 
More specifically, the mission of the ABA undergraduate program at MSU is for students to begin to acquire the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary to demonstrate competency in applied behavior analysis, as demonstrated by their mastery of criteria outlined by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) in the 6th edition test content outline. Further, the mission of this program is to provide mentorship and guidance to undergraduate students regarding the incorporation of behavior analysis into their long-term career goals.
 
The ABA programs at MSU adhere to the scientist-practitioner model, where both faculty and students are expected to be (a) consumers of empirically based practice, (b) evaluators of their own empirically based practice, and (c) informed consumers and producers of research that contributes to the field of behavior analysis. While there are no specific research requirements for students in the program at this time, engagement in research at any capacity is encouraged and fostered by faculty in the ABA program.
 
The ABA major will consist of 120 credit hours and include coursework that will allow students to be eligible for the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) certification. The major also includes the coursework that meets one of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board’s (BACB) eligibility requirements for credentialing as a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) and is a Verified Course Sequence (VCS) as recognized by the Association of Behavior Analysis International (ABAI).

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the science of applying the principles of learning to change socially significant behavior. This basically means that we use principles of learning to change behavior that matters. We can use ABA to increase academic skills, communication skills, and functional life skills; we can also use ABA to decrease inappropriate or problematic behaviors that may be negatively impacting a person.