Department of Psychology

About

Master’s in ABA

Advanced Certificate

NYS Licensure (LBA)

BCBA

Experience/Fellowship

Admissions

Comps/Thesis

Funding

FAQ

Currently, both New York State and the BACB require 2000 hours of supervised experience. 

Licensure (LBA) Experience Requirements

To be licensed as a behavior analyst in New York, the state requires 2000 hours of experience working with individuals with a DSM-5 diagnosis and a prescription for ABA services. This is scope of LBA-Practice in New York State. To accrue hours towards licensure, the student must have a supervisor who is a licensed behavior analyst (LBA). If all the required hours are not accrued during the program, when one graduates, an LBA applicant must apply for a limited/graduate permit to practice until they have accrued all the required experience hours and completed the application process.

Board Certification (BCBA) Experience Requirements

To be board certified in behavior analysis, the BACB requires 2000 hours of supervised experience and has rules about the percentage of experience that can be performing restricted activities (see handbook p. 15), percentage of supervision that can be group v. individual, and the number of supervisor contacts and observations per supervisory period. The BACB allows one to begin accruing hours once they have begun ABAI-approved coursework and that experience must be supervised by a BCBA who has completed the supervisor training. The supervisor does not need to be affiliated with the program where the students are completing coursework. See BACB Experience Standards.

To Meet BOTH Requirements

NYS guidelines align with BACB guidelines for educational and supervised experience requirements such that both can be met simultaneously. Supervisors should be both a BCBA and LBA.

 Fellowship Program

To help students gain supervised experience hours toward both licensure and certification, we have an on-campus center with opportunities for students to learn to implement behavior analytic methods through our expert faculty.

On Campus Opportunities

The Queens College Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Evidence Based Services (QC-ACES) provides on-campus clinical opportunities through:

• SIBS Club, directed by Dr. Emily Jones, and serves children with autism and their families and focuses on improving sibling relationships.
• Queens College Project Reach (QCPR) focuses on inclusion and self-direction by providing individual and group support to neurodivergent CUNY students.

Off Campus Opportunities

We have also partnered with over 30 local human service organizations and private schools where students work, conduct research projects, and obtain high quality paid supervised experience.