There’s perhaps nothing more puzzling than human behavior. For people living with autism, ADHD, traumatic brain injuries, addiction, or any number of other behavior-altering circumstances, finding the right person to help is top priority. In many cases, they turn to BCBAs®: Board Certified Behavior Analysts®.
BCBAs® go through years of academic study, internships, and thorough testing to earn their credentials and become experts in applied behavior analysis. In fact, many states require behavior analysts to hold a state-issued license and BCBA® certification to practice.
Whether you’re in the earliest stages of your applied behavior analysis education or looking to advance your career, here’s what you should know about becoming a BCBA® and how to do it in four steps.
Featured Programs: Sponsored School(s) Featured Program: Applied Behavioral Analysis, Graduate Certificate Featured Program: Online Applied Behavior Analysis Graduate CertificateIn 1998, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) was created to bring consistency to a relatively new field of study and work: applied behavior analysis. To do this, the Board created the BCBA® credential so the public could find qualified behavior analytics professionals and enjoy a certain amount of confidence in their knowledge and abilities.
The BCBA® credential itself is a graduate-level certificate. This means that professionals who have earned the title have not only met the board’s stringent standards, but also completed at minimum a Master’s level degree program in the appropriate field from an accredited institution.
As of October 2022, the Board has certified:
These certification programs are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), an independent agency that has been regulating credentialing organizations since 1989. In many industries, NCCA-accredited programs have become the professional standard. So even in states where BCBA® certification isn’t a government-mandated requirement, employers often require or at least favor certified behavior analysts.
Ultimately, BCBAs® must pass a national exam administered by the BACB. However, to qualify for the exam, a person must meet certain requirements.
As of December 2022, the BACB handbook lists four paths to qualifying for the exam.
Students who are on this path must have earned a Master’s or Doctoral degree from an Association for Behavior Analysis International-accredited (ABAI) or a reco gnized program in 2015 or later. The program must have been accredited at the time the degree was earned.
Along with earning a degree, students must also have completed 2,000 hours of supervised fieldwork or 1,500 hours of concentrated supervised fieldwork.
Students on this path must have an acceptable graduate degree from a qualifying institution and complete coursework in specific areas like ethics, behavior assessment, and experimental design. Like the first path, this path requires 2,000 of supervised behavior analysis fieldwork or 1,500 hours of concentrated supervised fieldwork.
College faculty who have an acceptable degree from a qualifying institution are eligible for the BCBA® exam if they have been a full-time college faculty member for at least three years over a five year period. The position must have included teaching ABA content, researching ABA principles, and publishing an ABA-focused paper in a peer-reviewed journal.
This path also requires 2,000 of supervised behavior analysis fieldwork or 1,500 hours of concentrated supervised fieldwork.
On this path, students with a doctoral degree from a qualifying institution are eligible for the BCBA® exam if their postdoctoral experience has included 10 years of cumulative full-time behavior analysis practice. This work must have been completed with a state or national license or professional credential. Teaching does not count towards this experience.
Unlike all other paths, this path only requires 500 hours of supervised fieldwork.
 | Earn an Acceptable Graduate Degree |
 | Complete Experience Requirements |
 | Pass the BCBA® Examination |
 | Maintain BCBA® Certification |
No matter which path a potential BCBA® chooses, the first step often includes earning a Master’s degree or higher in an acceptable field of study from a qualifying institution.
The BACB recognizes three acceptable fields of study for graduate-level degree programs:
It’s important to keep in mind that students must earn at least a C or passing grade in their graduate-level courses to qualify for the BCBA® exam.
Choosing the right degree program is just as important as the degree itself. However, this criteria can be a little confusing given the different paths one can take to become a BCBA®.
