ABA Studies at Florida Institute of Technology
Florida Tech appears in our ranking of the Top 20 ABA Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs.
Florida Tech offers a number of options for students interested in applied behavior analysis. Undergrads and those working on bachelor’s degrees can enroll in one of the school’s certificate programs. The applied behavior analysis assistant features five classes, including basic elements of applied behavior analysis, introduction to ethical and professional conduct of behavior analysts and decreasing, eliminating and replacing problem behavior. Its applied behavior analysis certificate program features eight courses that include the same classes and courses on targeted topics and advanced topics in applied behavior analysis. These certificate programs allow students to study ABA in more depth while working on a bachelor’s degree.
The school also offers several graduate programs in ABA subjects. One of those is a more basic ABA program that qualifies students to sit for a board certification exam at the end of their studies. This program features eight courses and allows students to graduate in just 18 months of full-time study. Two of the other graduate programs available through FIT combine ABA studies with organizational behavior and management studies. These students learn how to more effectively work with their clients.
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These programs are available fully online and as hybrid programs that allow local students to take some of their courses on the Melbourne, Florida campus. They can interact with their professors and work closely with their peers. The Florida Institute of Technology also offers a Behavior Analysis Ph.D. program that is popular with FIT graduates and those who earned master’s degrees on other campuses.
About The Florida Institute of Technology
The Florida Institute of Technology is one of the largest and most reputable technical institutes in Florida and in the United States. Established in 1958, it originally opened as the Brevard Engineering College because many of its first programs had an engineering or highly technical slant. Its first campus was at a local airport, and many of its early students had the chance to do work for NASA. The university moved away from the airport as its enrollment grew and built its own campus that grew significantly over the years. Also called FIT, it established a small campus in Jensen Beach that offers marine biology programs and similar courses that allow students to gain practical experience in and around the water. FIT also has satellite campuses in more than 10 locations across the country. Students can take classes online too.
Though FIT boasts an enrollment of more than 6,400 students, less than 5,000 of those students attend classes on its main campus. This enrollment rate includes students studying on satellite campuses as well as its online students. Washington Monthly, ARWU, U.S. News & World Report and Forbes all rank FIT as one of the top American colleges, but it ranks on the list of top colleges in the world produced by ARWU and Times too. The school also ranks as a best buy college because it has a low tuition rate.
Florida Institute of Technology Accreditation Details
As FIT has regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), students have the option of transferring credits to this school and from this school. Regional accreditation is also one of the requirements put in place by the United States Department of Education for those who want to use government aid to attend college. FIT has specialty accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), American Psychological Association (APA) and Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) too. This type of accreditation applies to specific programs and fields of study.
Florida Institute of Technology Application Requirements
FIT looks for students who completed a challenging curriculum while in high school. It gives priority to those who took advanced placement and similar classes as well as those who studied at the college level. Those applying to any of the psychology programs that includes the applied behavior analysis program must take at least three years of math classes before enrolling. Students must submit an official high school transcript that includes class ranking, cumulative grade point average and courses taken. Those courses must include some higher level classes that show the student can succeed at the college level.
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Florida Tech has a rolling admissions policy, which means that it does not require that students follow deadlines. As long as the program a student wants to enroll in still has space available, the school will continue accepting students into that program. Those who want to apply for scholarships though will need to submit applications by February 1. This school has its own online application that prospective students can use to apply. The application allows students to log in and out of the system to work on the application over days or weeks.
Other requirements that FIT has in place include an official test score and a letter of recommendation. The ACT or SAT test score must come from the testing body. Students can submit recommendation letters from guidance counselors or teachers. FIT asks students to write an essay too and gives them several prompts that they can use for that essay. This shows how well the student can write and respond to a question or prompt.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of attending Florida Tech varies between programs. Those enrolled in science and engineering programs pay more than $20,000 a year, but those enrolled in all other programs pay around $18,700 a year. This entitles students to take a full course load of up to 19 credits per semester. Part-time students pay $1,170 per credit, which is the same tuition that the school charges of students taking classes in the summer. Florida Tech Online offers a lower tuition rate of just $510 per credit hour for all classes taken online.
FIT offers financial aid packages designed to help students meet their educational expenses. Once the school receives the FAFSA that a student completed, it will use that information to build a package that significantly reduces the amount that the student needs to pay out of pocket. A basic package will include grants and loans from both the Florida state government and the federal government. The school offers scholarships for those with high grades and those who need more assistance. Parents of students accepted into the Florida Institute of Technology can apply for alternative loans from private lenders and PLUS loans that come from the government too.
