CUNY Queens College

ABA Programs Offered at CUNY Queens College

CUNY Queens College is also featured in our ranking of the Top 25 Best Applied Behavior Analysis Programs.

The ABA programs offered by CUNY Queens College help students become certified applied behavior specialists in New York. Students who earn a certificate or a degree program the college can sit for the Behavior Analytic Certification Board (BACB) and get their ABA licenses. Both programs have approval from that board because the courses and the curriculum they follow meets the standards the board established. This CUNY college lets students pick which program matches their experiences and career goals.

CUNY Queens College designed an advanced ABA certificate program for students to finish in a single year. Those who start in the fall will take classes in the spring and summer and can sit for the BACB exam in the following autumn. Those who enroll part-time in the program can earn their certificates in two years or less. Students can do internships and work in the on-campus center, which provides help to children with autism and related disorders and their families. They also have the option of working for other agencies and groups around New York City, including Bridge Kids NY, Challenge Early Intervention Services and Hand in Hand Development.

The graduate program in ABA offered by the college is more extensive and takes longer to finish. It asks students to take nine hours of electives from both ABA and psychology classes such as Theories of Association, Developmental Psychology, Motivation and Reinforcement, and Social Psychology. They will also take eight required ABA classes, including Psychology of Learning, Applied Behavior Analysis: Measurement and Applied Project I and II, Ethical Issues in Psychology and Theory and Method in Applied Behavior Analysis. CUNY Queens College also requires that students do fieldwork as part of the program. They receive three credits for their work.

About CUNY Queens College

CUNY Queens College is one of the names given to the college with the official name of Queens College, City University of New York. The CUNY system consists of multiple campuses in and around New York City. Established in 1937, the college sits on top of the old Jamaica Academy, which offered classes in the early 1800s. It would later become a large school for young boys called the New York Parental School. When the city took over that school, it incorporated it into the new college. Queens College allowed any student who graduated from a public school in New York to begin college classes, regardless of where they ranked in those classes or their grades. Though it did face some financial problems in the 1980s, the college added new degree programs, which added to its enrollment and helped it recover financially.

Though the college is now part of the CUNY system, it often uses the name Queens College. Its campus is home to one of the largest groups of civil rights artifacts in the world, which includes items donated by famous leaders and their families. Several research institutes on the campus give students the chance to work closely with their peers and teachers on major projects. It also offers digital archives that students can access. With an enrollment of more than 18,000 students, Queens College ranks as one of the largest of the CUNY campuses.

CUNY Queens College Accreditation Details

All the colleges in the CUNY system have regional accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). Regional accreditation is important for anyone who needs financial aid because it’s one of the main requirements for getting that aid. It also gives CUNY schools that right to accept credits that students earned from the college classes they took before enrolling. Though the ABA programs do not have accreditation, they do have approval from the BACB. ABA students may take one or more classes that have accreditation from the APA too.

CUNY Queens College Application Requirements

Queens College requires that all incoming students who want to earn an ABA degree have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a strong background in psychology and related social sciences. They must take at least 15 credits of psychology classes, including Experimental Psychology. The college asks that they take an advanced statistics course and at least one class on research methods too. Though students need to take one or more classes relating to ABA studies, the college will count a number of classes towards this requirement, including those on learning disorders or disabilities. Grad students will use the online CUNY Queens College graduate studies application and pay their fees. They should then submit their transcripts an official GRE score.

The certificate program does not have as many requirements, but it only accepts students who already have a master’s degree. Those students must submit transcripts that show they have bachelor’s degrees in psychology or similar fields and graduate degrees in the same fields. The documents should also show that the student had a GPA of 3.0 or higher. CUNY Queens College will accept those with a lower GPA in college and a higher GPA in graduate school. The college also requires three reference letters and a personal statement.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Graduate students at Queens College pay $455 per credit hour as a New York resident. Anyone who did not live full-time in New York before applying will pay the nonresident rate of $830 per credit hour. Full-time students will pay either $5,385 per semester as a NY resident or $9,960 as a nonresident. Those students take up to 12 credit hours each semester. Certificate students pay the same rates but usually take fewer classes. They can take six credits each semester and pay $2,730 as a resident or $4,980 as a nonresident.

The federal government allows graduate students to apply for loans with the FAFSA. These are unsubsidized loans that charge an interest rate while the student is in college. Many students make payments to reduce that interest before they finish their studies. The government offers loans of $20,500 for full-time students. Certificate students do not qualify for federal aid, but they can use alternative loans. Private lenders offer loans to individual students and those who apply with a co-signer. There are also PLUS loans available for some students. All the ABA programs at CUNY Queens College allow students to pay their costs on their own or with the help of financial aid.