What is a BCBA certification?

• A bachelor's degree in psychology or a related field.

• A master's degree in psychology, applied behavior analysis, or education with coursework that meets eligibility requirements.

• 270 hours of coursework in a vast array of behavioral analysis subjects

To obtain a BCBA you must also meet professional experience requirements. You need a set number of hours of experience in one of these three areas:

• Supervised independent fieldwork: To gain this type of experience you must secure a proper placement, get appropriate supervision and fulfill your job responsibilities. To qualify you must have a total of 1,500 experience hours in this area.

• Practicum: This experience can be gained through a verified course sequence, and verified experience. It involves on-the-job training and has more supervision requirements than supervised independent fieldwork. To qualify you must have at least 1,000 hours of experience in this area.

• Intensive practicum: To gain this experience you need a VCS with VE. This area involves more supervision than both supervised independent fieldwork and practicum. To qualify you must have at least 750 experience hours in this area.

In addition to these requirements, you must also pass an exam to gain BCBA certification. You must also be able to prove that you meet all requirements to sit for the BCBA exam.

You must complete this test at an approved exam site. The test is computer-based and has 160 questions that evaluate knowledge of behavioral analysis.

BCBA is a certification that proves you have expertise in applying the principles of behavioral analysis in practice to treat a range of behavioral issues.