Are you a professional with a master's degree in education, psychology, social work, nursing, special education or school counseling? Do you have a deep commitment to helping others and making a positive impact? Do you wish to elevate your career and expand your opportunities? Applied behavior analysts examine and change the environments in which people learn to produce socially important effects. Becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)1 can be a transformative step in your professional development. Here are four compelling reasons why you should consider pursuing a BCBA credential.
1. Develop and Oversee Programs that Help Individuals Meet their Goals
As a BCBA, you will be equipped with the expertise to design, implement, and oversee comprehensive behavior intervention programs. This skillset is highly valued in a wide range of settings, including schools, clinics, residential facilities, and private practices. By demonstrating your ability to analyze and address complex behavioral challenges, you will become an invaluable asset to the schools and organizations you serve. With your help, teachers will be able to focus more on teaching and less on behavior challenges; they will learn to use state-of-the-art procedures for increasing academic performance. In short, becoming a BCBA will advance your career and your capacity to change peoples’ lives for the better.
2. Improve Services and Offer Supervision to Other Professionals
BCBAs shape the professional repertoires of direct service personnel, including direct care staff, registered behavior technicians, and board certified associate behavior analysts. Gaining BCBA certification will help you offer ABA services for clients and potentially change their lives. An additional unique benefit of BCBA certification is the opportunity to supervise those working toward national certification as they complete their required fieldwork hours. As supervisors, skilled BCBAs help refine others’ clinical and teaching skills, and because of this, they are often in high demand.
3. Contribute to the Field with Deeper Understanding
Becoming a BCBA goes beyond just acquiring a new credential. It signifies a deeper commitment to improving the human condition by building environments to promote successful behavior. Data amassed from thousands of studies conducted over the past seventy years show that successful behavior is largely related to things that happen immediately before and after. BCBAs master a wide set of skills to create environments in which people flourish. Importantly, BCBAs contribute by applying these skills in early childhood and special education, and in clinics, home settings, and organization serving adolescents and adults.
Choose the Right Program for You: Vanderbilt Peabody College’s ABA Certificate Program
At Vanderbilt University Peabody College, our values guide what we do. We value evidence-based practices that are compassionate, responsive, and client-centered. For you, this means that obtaining BCBA certification here will be a transformative step in your career, opening a wealth of opportunities to make a meaningful impact and contribute to the advancement of the field. Whether you are looking to enhance your current role, transition into a new area of practice, or simply deepen your understanding of behavior analysis, the BCBA credential is a powerful credential that can help you achieve your professional goals.
In the Vanderbilt Peabody College program, classes focus on understanding the science of behavior, including classroom management, basic science, theory, ethical practices, early childhood special education, single case research designs, and personnel supervision. With this comprehensive knowledge, you can make meaningful contributions to the field, whether through research-based practice, program development, science-based approaches to organizational behavior management, or the design of a compassionate, responsive workplace culture.
Vanderbilt’s online graduate certificate program provides you with the opportunity to learn from respected and influential leaders in the field of applied behavior analysis. Faculty here are known for their work in early childhood education, severe problem behavior intervention, single case research design, and acceptance and commitment training. By engaging with this distinguished community of practitioners and scholars, you can expand your knowledge, network, and access to important developments in the field.
If you choose to prepare for the BCBA exam with Vanderbilt University Peabody College's Behavior Analysis certificate program, you will have the distinct advantage of studying at a top ranked department of special education. This prestigious program, which has been at the forefront of special education and behavior analysis for decades, will equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to excel as a BCBA.
Learn more about Vanderbilt Peabody College ABA certificate program here.
Ready to start your journey with Peabody College? Apply today!
1 The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) establishes practice standards, administers examinations, and provides ethics requirements and a disciplinary system for each of its certification programs. Learn about the BACB and the BCBA credential here.
