Salve Regina launches Ph.D. program in behavior analysis

Salve Regina’s graduate program in behavior analysis – which includes one of only 25 ABAI-accredited master’s degree programs worldwide and one of just four in New England – is responding to the growing demand for the highest trained professionals in the field by launching a Ph.D. program.

Students who complete the new doctoral program will meet the qualifications to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts-Doctoral (BCBA-D), the highest credential in the profession. Individuals with BCBA-D credentials are highly sought for placement in advanced clinical, research and teaching positions. Classes for the new program will launch in the fall.

In addition to its ABAI-accredited master’s degree program in behavior analysis, Salve Regina offers an accelerated master’s degree and an undergraduate minor in behavior analysis within the Department of Psychology. The new doctoral program will provide students with the coursework, research mentorship and supervised clinical work necessary to help them establish a well-rounded behavior analytic repertoire.

“Building a Ph.D. program will complement the existing behavior analysis programs by extending the pipeline students can follow from undergraduate studies through master’s studies and now doctoral studies,” said Dr. Cody Morris, graduate program director and assistant professor. “This program will be sustained by the large demand from current undergraduate and master’s level students at Salve and the many students who will be attracted to Salve because of the unique opportunity offered by the addition of a Ph.D. program.”

Behavior analysis, best known for its evidence-based treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD), provides essential services in a wide array of other specialty areas like education, behavioral pediatrics, behavioral gerontology and sustainability.

With the number of children diagnosed with ASD and DD increasing (one in 44 children are diagnosed with ASD and one in six children with DD, according to the CDC), demand for the highest-credentialed professionals to serve these populations is soaring. It is a rapidly growing profession in which over 80% of its credentialed behavior analysts have joined the field in the last 10 years. Relatively few of those (one in 20) are credentialed at the doctoral level.

Labor market analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies tracked a 5,852% increase in demand for behavior analysts holding master’s and doctoral degrees from 2010 to 2021. In Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts alone, demand for behavior analysts with master’s and doctoral degrees increased 350% from 2018 to 2021.

“More BCBA-Ds are needed in the profession of behavior analysis to help it continue to thrive,” Morris said. “Salve’s Ph.D. program will help students gain the leadership, research and advanced clinical skills needed to flourish as leaders and impact meaningful change in behavior-analytic organizations and the field.”

To complete the Ph.D., students with master’s degrees in behavior analysis will be required to complete 12 courses (36 credits) in behavior analysis consisting of five core courses, two electives, three experiential courses and two semesters of dissertation research. In addition, students will be required to complete a preliminary examination.

“Our program provides a high-touch educational experience that will optimize each student’s outcome while maintaining academic rigor and emphasizing experiential learning through coursework, practicum and the dissertation phase,” Morris said. “Students will conduct research and provide services to help address societal issues, including helping individuals with developmental disabilities to increase their autonomy and independence.”

Focused on helping individuals with developmental disabilities to increase their autonomy and promote positive, pro-social behaviors within communities, organizations and classrooms, Salve Regina’s program in behavior analysis exemplifies the core tenets of the University’s Strategic Compass. Those foundational principles are to provide a purpose-driven, rigorous and transformative education while fostering compassionate mercy leadership.