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Dear Prospective
Grad Students,
The Behavior Analysis
Training System (BATS) at Western Michigan University (WMU)
is one of the best MA-level behavior analysis service-provider
training programs in the world. We specialize in training
behavior analysts to work with pre-school autistic children,
and this training readily transfers to other populations.
Western Michigan
University’s behavior analysis graduate
program is one of the best behavior analysis programs in the
world and was one of the first of ten programs to be accredited
by the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA). Plus,
WMU’s Psychology department was the first program to
receive the award for Enduring Programmatic Contributions in
Behavior Analysis from the Association for Behavior Analysis.
In addition, our
curriculum has been pre-approved by the Behavior Analysis
Certification Board (BACB), which means it’ll
be easier for you to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst
(BCBA).
I call my efforts
at graduate and undergraduate training the
Behavior Analysis Training System (BATS). (Malott,
R. W., Vunovich, P. L., Boettcher, W., & Groeger, C.
(1995). Saving the world by teaching behavior analysis:
A behavioral-systems approach. The
Behavior Analyst. 18,
341-356.)
BATS is untraditional
and probably differs from what you’re
used to and might anticipate; so here’s some info to
help you decide whether BATS would be a good fit for you:
BATS trains students to be autism practitioners, not researchers.
BATS mainly
trains MA students, not PhD students.
- Why? Because
there is a bigger need for behavior analysts with MAs than
with PhDs, and most other faculty members concentrate on
training PhDs.
- However, BATS
does admit a new PhD student every year or so, usually
from the students who have gotten their MA with me.
- A fair number
of my MA students do enter PhD programs, after their MA,
either at WMU or elsewhere.
- Incidentally,
BATS admits up to 15 MA students each year.
BATS MA
students do an MA project rather than an MA thesis.
- Why? Because
the MA project is designed to help students acquire practitioner
skills, whereas an MA thesis is designed to help students
acquire researcher skills.
- Incidentally,
doing a project rather than a thesis seems to neither hinder
students from later entering PhD programs nor slow them
down in getting their PhD degree.
- Incidentally
#2, BATS students almost always get their MA degree in
2 years, which is at least one year less then most other
MA students get their degrees, largely because they do
the MA project rather than a research thesis.
- Incidentally
#3, this means BATS does not provide the opportunity for
either basic or applied experimental research at the MA
level.
Typically
the MA project consists of teaching an undergrad seminar
in behavior analysis for two semesters. Sometimes
the students only teach for one semester and do some other
sort of project in the other semester.
- Why?
- Because by
the time you have taught behavior analysis for a semester
or two, you have really mastered the subject matter,
a mastery you can’t get by merely being a student.
- Because, you’ll
learn our behavior-based instructional and performance-management
technology. And eventually, most of you will end up managing
and doing staff training as part of your job, so you
will then be able to make excellent use of the training
you will be receiving here.
- In addition to
teaching the seminars, the MA project consists of an R&D
project, involving the supervision of an undergrad Psychology
Honors assistant.
You will
start your WMU grad experience with Behavioral Boot Camp, an
intense 9-week training program that starts in early June
and ends in early August. In this seminar
we cover two courses: Psy 6100 and Psy 6710.
- Why?
- Because, by
early August you will have a better conceptual understanding
of the principles of behavior and their relation to applied
behavior analysis than the majority of PhD behavior analysts
in the Association for Behavior Analysis.
- Because, you
will be way ahead of most everyone else in the other
behavior analysis courses you take during your first
year in the MA program.
- Because you
will then be ready to teach the undergrad behavior-analysis
seminars in the coming fall.
- Because you
will have an opportunity to bond with your BATS cohort.
- We meet 3 hours/day,
5 days/week, including July 4th.
- As soon as it
is available, we will post on old.dickmalott.com info on how
to register for Psy 6100 and Psy 6710, along with their
syllabi.
BOOT
CAMP 2009
STARTS: June 1
& ENDS: August 4
What’s
the workload? Heavy.
- Most world-class
professionals in any field work about 60 hours a week.
And that’s what we would expect of you.
- During our Behavioral
Boot Camp, you will have time for nothing else.
- During the first
year, you will have time for little else than your MA project
and your courses, though you may be able to squeeze in
some sort of 10-hour/week job, if one comes your way.
- During the second
year, you will probably have a little more breathing space,
depending on the courses you take.
What’s
the WMU financial support? Close to zip.
- Usually nothing’s
available for MA students.
- There might be
an occasional paid opportunity to work with an autistic
child in an in-home program.
- Also, if you
qualify for financial aid, you also qualify for a paid
work-study position, and I would encourage you to apply
for such a position. BATS has a lot of work you could
be involved with and make a little money, at the same time.
- In addition,
a few of our students occasionally manage to get a grad
assistantship in another department.
What are
the MA-training goals? BATS trains people in autism,
with a sub-specialty in organizational behavior management
(OBM) and behavioral systems analysis (BSA).
- BATS also encourages
all the autism-specialty students to get a strong background
in OBM and BSA, because, with an MA or PhD degree, you
will probably be doing a lot of staff training and management,
and will be involved in designing, administering, and evaluating
an autism program (system) wherever you work.
- Although no longer
designed for students whose primary interest is OBM, BATS
also encourages students interested in OBM and BSA to get
a strong background in autism.
- Because that’s
where the jobs are,
- Because our
current economy is making jobs in business and industry
much more scarce than a few years ago,
- Because their
OBM training really sets them up well to work in human
services/education settings (e.g., autism) training and
managing staff,
- And because
autism may be the area where they and behavior analysis
can have the biggest impact on improving the quality
of the lives of the most people.
- Incidentally,
BATS practica provide most of the staffing for the preschool-autism,
discrete-trial classroom in our intermediate school district’s
Croyden Avenue School. This is an excellent
program and a wonderful autism and OBM training opportunity.
And this is where you will be doing your autism practicum.
- Therefore, all
BATS MA students dual track with a specialty in autism
and a sub-specialty in OBM/BSA. This means BATS students
do a 750-hour autism practicum and a 150-hour OBM/BSA practicum.
In addition, BATS students take at least one autism course
and one OBM/BSA course, typically more in one of the two
areas depending on your interests. And BATS students still
graduate in two years, at least a year shorter than most
programs.
- As part of their
training to be professional behavior analysts, BATS students
attend all of our departmental colloquia, and the following
four conferences/conventions: Mid-American Association
FOR Behavior Analysis (MABA), Behavior Analysis Association
of Michigan (BAAM), Association for Behavior Analysis Annual
and Autism Conferences.
- In addition,
BATS MA students must apply for the Board Certified Behavior
Analyst (BCBA) exam before they graduate, so they can take
that exam soon after they graduate.
If you’ve
already applied to the psych MA program, you might
ask, Why you and Malott?
- Most of you listed
me as your first choice to be your advisor. So the answer’s
obvious for you.
- The rest of you
listed me as an alternate choice or didn’t list me,
but your first choices were unable to accept you. Our faculty
want to make sure that as many good applicants as possible
get a chance to attend WMU; so I looked at the promising
applications that might be a good fit with me and BATS.
And you looked like an excellent fit.
- Some of you may
have applied to the PhD program, though you don’t
have an MA. That’s cool, but I admit students into
the MA program first; and then go from there, later helping
them enter a PhD program, either with me or someone else
at WMU or elsewhere.
- Some of you may
have applied to one of our WMU Psych programs other than
Behavior Analysis. That’s cool, but because they
were not able to take you into that program, I wanted to
give you a chance to consider the Behavior Analysis Program,
as your interests seemed to be equally compatible with
that program, and you should be able to get the training
you’re looking for.
- BATS also provides
MA students with the opportunity to obtain the Temporary
Limited License to Practice Psychology in the State of
Michigan. This is an option for individuals wishing
to stay in the state of Michigan after obtaining their
degrees.
If you receive
an offer from WMU, in addition to replying to
the Psychology department concerning your acceptance of
this offer, please promptly email the following info to DickMalott@old.dickmalott.com:
- Full name
- Current/temporary
address
- Permanent address
(e.g., parent address)
- Current phone
number
- Permanent phone
number
- “Accept”, “decline”,
or “still considering” the offer for admission
into our MA program in Behavior Analysis.
One last point:
students who join BATS need to have a laptop computer with
Microsoft Office, including PowerPoint.
If you have questions,
please feel free to contact me by email (DickMalott@old.dickmalott.com)
or phone (269-372-1268).
I do hope it works
out that you’ll
be joining us. We’ll
work hard, learn a lot, accomplish a lot, and have a great
time.
Please checkout the following web links, using a ctrl + click:
Please read this: Should
We Train Our Applied Behavior Analysts to Be Researchers?
Please read this: Follow
Up Commentary to Training Applied Behavior Analysts
Please read this: Saving
the world by teaching behavior analysis: A behavioral-systems
approach
Please read this: BATS
Welcome Wagon
Please
checkout: BATS
Homepage
(Might read this before you start Boot Camp) Principles
of Behavior 5th ed. (formerly EPB)
And, if you have time, check out:
I'll
Stop Procrastinating When I Get Around to It
BATS
Photos
old.dickmalott.com
Board
Certified Behavior Analysis
Croyden
Avenue School.
Sincerely,
Richard
W. Malott, PhD, BCBA
Behavior Analysis
Program
Department of Psychology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
DickMalott@old.dickmalott.com
Fax: (269) 387-4550
Phone: (269) 372-1268
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