Behavior Analysis at Simmons University
Our Behavior Analysis program prepares students for leadership roles in the implementation, evaluation and administration of applied behavioral analytic principles and methods.
Graduate Program VideosThe 48-credit PhD program in Behavior Analysis is designed to train and position qualified behavior analysts to make significant contributions to the science and practice of behavior analysis. Currently, our PhD in Behavior Analysis program is offered with live online classes providing program access to students across the country, and collaboration opportunities with faculty and peers.
Simmons University’s PhD in Behavior Analysis focuses on developing skills required to design, conduct, and interpret experimental research. To facilitate research skills, each student is accepted into the ongoing Lab meetings of departmental behavior analysis faculty. There, Behavior Analysis PhD students benefit from immersion into the faculty member’s research conducted in collaboration with the doctoral candidates.
Additionally, during enrollment in the Behavior Analysis PhD program each student has access to conduct and publish research in conjunction with our behavior analysis faculty. Areas of faculty research include
Students benefit from the decades-long professional collaboration between behavior analysis department faculty and discipline-specific clinical and research organizations in New England and beyond.
Due to Simmons University's longstanding reputation as a pioneer and enduring presence in the behavior analysis professional and academic community, prominent clinical and research groups in the field welcome the opportunity to collaborate in clinical research with our Behavior Analysis PhD students.
Simmons University also offers a Master’s in Behavior Analysis program, which is offered both on campus and online. Many students in our PhD in Behavior Analysis program are employed by Simmons University as teaching assistants, course instructors, and mentors for the Master’s in Behavior Analysis program.
Candidates for admission should have the motivation and capacity to conduct and disseminate basic and applied research (e.g., presentations at professional conferences and publications in peer reviewed behavior analytic journals). Candidates must have a master’s degree or higher in a related field, including Behavior Analysis, Psychology, and Special Education, and have experience in the application of behavior analytic interventions. Research experience is especially desirable, as is certification as a BCBA.
Currently, all classes are online. Most classes meet once per week on weekday evenings to accommodate the needs of working professionals. At times, the department will host on-campus events that doctoral students are invited to.
This program requires completion of 48 semester hours. We offer a self-paced program of study, and most students work full-time while taking two classes per semester (generally a course and a lab enrollment) to graduate in four to seven years. All 6 required courses must be taken, plus 3 special topics courses, and 12 hours of Dissertation Lab.
Upon graduation, our Behavior Analysis PhD students have assumed impactful behavior analytic positions in research, education, clinical intervention and leadership roles in a variety of settings.
Apply or request more information about our doctorate in Behavior Analysis today!
Students are actively engaged in professional research, teaming up with Simmons's nationally renowned faculty to implement, write, and publish research, and to present their work at national conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.
Recent student* publications include:
In some sense, the dissertation process begins with admission to the doctoral program. Students are accepted into labs matching mutual research interests between faculty and students during the second semester. With the acceptance of the student into a faculty member’s lab, the requirements and landscape of the dissertation process become clear. Each student begins to discuss their research ideas with their lab faculty (chairperson of their doctoral committee) and literature reading is undertaken and experimental design conceptualized. In general, research is conducted at off-campus clinical, educational, or healthcare sites. Additional members of the student’s doctoral committee are sought and identified. In concert with lab participation, the doctoral proposal will be completed and submitted to the doctoral committee for approval. Following project approval by the Simmons Institutional Review Board (IRB), research proper can be initiated. The writing and defense of the dissertation proper represents the culmination of the student’s doctoral education, and is their gateway to a professional career as a doctor in behavior analysis.
To facilitate the shaping of research skills, each faculty member hosts a weekly lab meeting. During this meeting, students engaged in research with that faculty member discuss research progress and problems, and share insights. In addition, methodologies of behavior analytic research and important experimental results from behavior analytic literature are discussed. For each doctoral student, the meeting acts as a verbal community shaping their scientific repertoire.
Lab Groups:
Admission options and prerequisites vary by program. Learn more about the requirements for the PhD in Behavior Analysis.
Our Behavior Analysis program prepares students for leadership roles in the implementation, evaluation and administration of applied behavioral analytic principles and methods.
Graduate Program Videos