Behavior Analysis
- Practical and academic training in human and nonhuman experimental analysis of behavior
- Curriculum tailored to student interests
- Dissertation project
- Graduates typically pursue academic and research appointments
- Training in experimental and applied behavior analysis
- Completion of an ABAI verified course sequence (VCS)
- Thesis & dissertation projects
- Satisfies requirements for Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) licensure/certification
- Several years of a part-time clinical practicum
- Employed primarily as scientist-practitioners in research institutions and clinical settings
Application Requirements
Submit the following to the School of Graduate Studies:
- Application
- Statement of Purpose/Intent - Recommended length of 500-1000 words
- CV
- Three Letters of Recommendation
- Official Transcripts from All Previous Schools
Admission Criteria:
- GPA for the last 60 credits taken of 3.0 or higher
- Fit with a current faculty member affiliated with the specialization
Note: The Behavior Analysis specialization will not require GRE scores for the Fall 2024 admissions cycle. Students interested in providing their GRE scores may include them in their application for faculty review.
This specialization will be conducting invitation only interviews of applicants in-person on January 26th.
Behavior Analysis Faculty
Katherine Brown
Assistant Professor - Behavior Analysis Specialization
Timothy A. Shahan
Professor - Brain & Cognition and Behavior Analysis Specializations
Reasons to Choose Our Specialization
Acquire Grant-Writing Skills
You will learn to ask important questions and design studies to advance scientific knowledge. Importantly, you will acquire the skills needed to fund your research after you leave Utah State University. These grant-writing skills will allow you to sustain your own research line as you pursue your career.
Breadth of Coursework Opportunities
You will have a wide variety of coursework options in modern theories of learning, statistical analyses, experimental design, translational research, and applied behavior analysis. Courses are taught by influential researchers who stay abreast of and contribute to the cutting-edge advances in their respective fields. You will participate in weekly graduate seminar meetings at which students and specialization faculty discuss contemporary research articles. These discussions often result in new basic and translational research projects.
Contribution to the Literature
You will conduct experiments and/or interventions while in the graduate program that will contribute to the scientific literature of behavior analysis. Students frequently present posters and talks at conferences, as well as publish articles in peer-reviewed journals. Students often publish 10 or more articles during their time in our graduate program.
Interdisciplinary and Translational Research
You will have the opportunity to learn and conduct research in an environment that facilitates the translation of research to everyday problems. The translational implications of these research projects extend to areas like substance-use disorders, treatment relapse, behavior interventions, and preventing patterns of impulsivity.
Benefits
Your tuition is fully covered* and you will be awarded an assistantship with a monthly stipend. Assistantships include research and teaching experiences, allowing you to expand your academic skillset. More information about student support including health insurance is available here. (*on an approved program of study)
Behavior Analysis Labs
Behavioral Economics Lab | Greg Madden
The Behavioral Economics Lab at Utah State University explores how human and nonhuman behavior may be positively influenced through curated environmental design. Our research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIDA and NICHD) and the US Department of Agriculture.
Timothy Shahan Lab
The Shahan lab focuses on quantitative analyses of conditioning and learning. Common topics of investigation are choice, behavioral momentum theory, relapse of extinguished behavior (resurgence, reinstatement, renewal), conditioned reinforcement, and attention.
Challenging Behavior and Intervention Lab | Katie Brown
The CB lab is engaged in collaborative and independent research projects that span across basic and applied domains of behavior analysis. We aim to improve outcomes for children and their families through research, teaching, and outreach.
Amy Odum Lab
Delay Discounting/Impulsivity, Environmental Factors Influencing the Development of Tolerance and Sensitization to Drugs of Abuse, Drug and Environmental Influences on Timing/Temporal Discrimination.
Recent Awards
- Dr. Paul Cunningham (class of 2019) is the 2021 recipient of the APA Division 3 Early Career Contribution Award.
- Dr. Paul Cunningham (class of 2019) is the 2021 recipient of the APA Division 25 SEAB Basic Dissertation Award.
- Dr. Meredith Berry (class of 2012) is the 2021 recipient of the APA Division 25 B.F. Skinner Foundation New Basic Researcher Award.
- Dr. Andrew Craig (class of 2017) was the 2020 recipient of the APA Division 25 B.F. Skinner Foundation New Basic Researcher Award.
- Dr. Jillian Rung (class of 2018) was the 2019 recipient of the APA Division 25 SEAB Basic Dissertation Award.
- Dr. Margaret Sweeney (class of 2016) was the 2019 recipient of the APA Division 25 B.F. Skinner Foundation New Basic Researcher Award.