The University of Louisville's M.Ed in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is designed to offer graduate level teacher training in the provision of supports for persons with ASD within their classrooms. The program has a strong emphasis on the application of assessment and intervention procedures rooted in the principles of applied behavior analysis.
Teachers interested in becoming board certified behavior analysts (BCBA) should consider the M.Ed. in Special Education with a Concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Applied Behavior Analysis program.
Teachers in the program will take 30-hours of graduate coursework and upon completion will meet the Kentucky Education and Standards Boards requirements for a change from Rank III to Rank II.
The Department's faculty are comprised of instructors, researchers, and practitioners with a wealth of experience in the science and practice of behavior analysis.
Dr. Ginevra Courtade
Office: Room 158A
Phone: 502-852-2144
Email: g.courtade@louisville.edu
The UofL Special Education Department offers a variety of program options to students interested in pursuing their Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) credential. Individuals interested in becoming BCBA certified, must first meet certain degree, coursework, and experience requirements to qualify to sit for their certification exams. More information about these requirements can be found on the BACB website. Below is a comparison table that shows how the different program options help students fulfill these three requirements for BCBA certification.
| Degree / Certificate | Degree | Coursework | Experience | Contact Person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.Ed. in Special Education with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Applied Behavior Analysis | Yes | Yes | Yes | Dr. Erick Dubuque |
| M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorder | Yes | Yes | No | Dr. Monica Delano |
| Online Graduate Certificate in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis | No | Yes | No | Dr. Monica Delano |
M.Ed. in Special Education with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Applied Behavior Analysis
If you are interested in becoming certified as a BCBA and pursuing a career as a behavior analyst then our M.Ed. in Special Education with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Applied Behavior Analysis program may be the right fit for you. This 5-semester non-thesis program will provide you with the opportunity to meet all of the degree, coursework, and experience requirements necessary to sit for your BCBA certification examination immediately after graduating. Students enrolled in our program are allowed to accumulate their experience hours under the BACB’s Intensive Practicum experience category. This means you are able to accumulate your supervised experience hours in half of the time. For qualified students, the program allows paid employees to accumulate supervised experience hours under the Intensive Practicum experience category while working at one of our practicum community sites. This arrangement is dependent upon Program Director and site approval. For more information about this program please contact the Program Director, Dr. Erick Dubuque.
M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorder
If you are a teacher interested in increasing your Rank and becoming certified as a BCBA then our M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorder program may be the right fit for you. This program will allow you to meet your Rank requirements and complete the degree and coursework requirements necessary to sit for your BCBA certification examination. Students enrolled in this program will need to make their own arrangements to accumulate their supervised experience hours needed for the BCBA credential outside the university setting. Please contact the Program Director, Dr. Monica Delano, for more information.
Graduate Certificate in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis
If you are interested in becoming certified as a BCBA, already have a degree acceptable by the BACB, and plan to accumulate your supervised experience hours outside the university setting, then our Online Graduate Certificate in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis program may be the right fit for you. This fully online program will allow you to meet the coursework requirements necessary to sit for your BCBA certification. For more information about this program please contact the Program Director, Dr. Monica Delano.
All classes in the major concentrations are offered online through Blackboard. Blackboard is the course management system used by U of L to facilitate online learning. Among other things, students use Blackboard to...
The biggest benefit of online learning is that you can work to earn your degree from your own home while raising your family, working full time, or experiencing particular life circumstances that make commuting to campus difficult or impossible. At UofL, you are taught by the same world class faculty as our on campus students. You read the same textbooks, do many of the same assignments and earn the same degrees. The biggest difference is that you are able to do it in a way that best fits your lifestyle.
Be prepared for online learning. Online learning is learning that is facilitated in an online environment. Rather than attend class in a traditional classroom setting, online learning allows you to "go to class" when it's convenient for you whether that's 5am or 11pm.
Online learning is not for everyone. Successful online students...
For more information, view /online.
Additional information about the M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning can be found in UofL's Graduate Catalog.
Candidates for the Master of Education in Teaching and Learning are required to submit credentials supporting their academic ability to succeed at the graduate level as well as positive dispositions for teaching. Positive dispositions include: effective communication and critical thinking skills, professionalism, and commitment to diversity as well as the teaching profession. Admission credentials will include official transcripts, professional writing requirements, and letters of recommendation.
This program is open to all eligible faculty, staff, and students regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.
Candidates should review the following rubrics, used to assess admission credentials:
Questions about the application may be sent to gradadm@louisville.edu. Candidates should apply no later than three weeks prior to the beginning of the semester (August 1st for Fall, December 1st for Spring and April 1st for Summer). Candidates will be notified via e-mail regarding the admission decision.
Applicants to the M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning program must submit the following:
*Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended with a minimum GPA of 2.75 in the Bachelor's degree and a minimum 3.0 GPA or higher for graduate work.
Please have transcripts sent to:
University of Louisville
School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies
2211 South Brook Street
Houchens Bldg, Room 105
Louisville, KY 40292
Or gradadm@louisville.edu (for official electronic transcripts)
Professional Writing Requirements. Please complete the following and upload with your application. Each essay should be double-spaced (Times New Roman 12 point font) and no more than three pages.
Essay #1
Essay #2
*Note: Candidates who earned a baccalaureate (and/or advanced) degree outside the U.S. and whose native language is not English must submit official TOEFL scores that meet minimum criteria, and must submit an evaluated transcript from WES (World Education Services) or ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators).
The Program’s faculty are comprised of instructors, researchers, and practitioners with a wealth of experience in the science and practice of behavior analysis.
Monica Delano, Ph.D.
Monica Delano is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at the University of Louisville College of Education and Human Development. Prior to earning her doctorate, she worked as a classroom teacher, behavior consultant and job coach. A focus of her scholarly activities has been intervention research to promote literacy and social skills in learners with ASD. She is co-editor of the CEC/DADD publication, A Guide to Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and a member of the Editorial Board of Research and Practice in Severe Disabilities.
Terry Scott, Ph.D.
Terrance M. Scott is a Professor and Distinguished University Scholar in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville. Having received his Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of Oregon in 1994 (with an emphasis on emotional and behaviors) he has previously been a faculty member at the Universities of Kentucky, Florida, and Oregon. He has over 80 publications on a variety of issues in the areas of behavioral disorders and behavioral support systems and has conducted over 900 presentations and training activities throughout the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway. Dr. Scott has successfully competed for more than $13 million in external grant funding. In 2004 he received the Distinguished Early Career Award from the Research Division of the International Council for Exceptional Children and in 2012 he received the Outstanding National Leadership Award from the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders and was elected President of this organization in 2013. As a former counselor and teacher of students with seriously challenging behaviors, his research interests focus on school-wide prevention systems, the role of instructional variables in managing student behavior, functional behavior assessment/intervention, and scientific research in education.
Justin Cooper, Ed.D.
Justin T. Cooper is an Assistant Professor of Learning and Behavioral Disorders in the Department of Special Education at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. He received his Ed.D. in special education from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Cooper teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on behavior management and applied behavior analysis. He has provided numerous presentations and trainings on functional behavioral assessment and the use of applied behavior analysis methodology. His current research interests include function-based approaches to changing behavior within multi-tiered systems of support and the role that teacher behavior has in managing student behavior. In addition to his work in higher education, he has been a special education classroom teacher in Utah, Wyoming, and Florida, working primarily with students who have emotional and behavioral disorders.
Erick Dubuque, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA
Erick Dubuque is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Special Education at the University of Louisville. Dr. Dubuque also serves as the Accreditation Administrator for the Association for Behavior Analysis International’s (ABAI) Behavior Analysis Accreditation Board (BAAB). Prior to his work at the University of Louisville, Dr. Dubuque served as an Assistant Professor and Program Director for Spalding University’s M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis Program. He earned his degree in Psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2012. Dr. Dubuque is a former U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (Kenya) and is the President-Elect of the Kentucky Association for Behavior Analysis (KYABA). As an active member of the behavior analytic community, Dr. Dubuque has served as the Student Representative to the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and on the organization’s Education Board. He is past Academic Coordinator for the Jordan University of Science and Technology Master’s Degree Program in Applied Behavior Health Analysis, the first graduate degree program in behavior analysis founded in the Middle East. Dr. Dubuque’s scholarly interests extend across the philosophical, experimental, applied, and professional domains in behavior science. A general theme across all of his interests is the understanding of technology and complex human behaviors, especially as they relate to the topics of education and social justice. Dr. Dubuque is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctor (BCBA-D) and Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Molly Dubuque, M.A., BCBA, LBA
Molly L. Dubuque is the Practicum Director for the University of Louisville’s M.Ed. in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis Program and provides services as a Behavior Analyst at the University of Louisville’s Autism Center. She earned her M.A. in Psychology (with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis) from University of Nevada, Reno in 2008 where she served as the Assistant Director for a day treatment and habilitation program for adults with developmental disabilities and held various positions in the University of Nevada, Reno’s Early Childhood Autism Program. Molly is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Licensed Behavior Analyst, and is a member of the Association of Behavior Analysis International, the Nevada Association of Behavior Analysis, and the Kentucky Association for Behavior Analysis. She has over 15 years of experience treating children and adults with developmental disabilities in the United States and overseas. Prior to moving to Kentucky, she served as a Behavior Analyst with Advanced Child Behavior Solutions where she provided consultation to parents and teachers of children with and without disabilities, conducted teacher and parent trainings, and managed home-based early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) services for young children with Autism. Molly has been actively involved in the education, supervision, and training of behavior analytic practitioners for over 10 years. Her previous appointments included Tutor Auditor in the Early Childhood Autism Program at the University of Nevada, Reno, Practicum Instructor in the Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Health Analysis Program at the Jordan University of Science and Technology, and Practicum Director in the M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis Program at Spalding University. Molly currently serves as a representative to the Kentucky Association for Behavior Analysis (KYABA) and is an active member of Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT).
Upon completion of the M.Ed in Teaching and Learning, candidates may apply to the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board for Rank II and a Teaching and Learning Endorsement.
Teachers interested in becoming board certified behavior analysts (BCBA) should consider the Master of Education in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis.
In addition to the financial aid opportunities offered by the University, the College of Education & Human Development also has information about financial aid.
Other financial aid opportunities available include graduate assistantships and other employment opportunities.
In recognition of valuable service to the preparation of teachers and the need for all teachers to have continual professional growth, a Supervising Teacher or a Resource Teacher for a teacher intern may, with prior approval of the course-offering institution, take a maximum of six (6) credit hours per term at any public postsecondary institution and pay no tuition. The postsecondary institution shall waive the tuition up to a maximum of six (6) credit hours.
To apply, you must complete the Tuition Waiver Certification for Supervising and Resource Teachers Application . Please make certain that all Eligibility Criteria have been met. When completed by the Supervising Teacher and certified by the school principal, return the form to the Student Financial Aid Office at UofL. Students may exercise the tuition waiver option up to twelve months following the assignment.
The Program's structured practical training system offers students the opportunity to practice the skills learned in the classroom across a variety of populations and settings. Students dedicate around 15 hours per week to their practicum coursework across four of their five consecutive semesters. As part of this training, students learn how to provide comprehensive early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) services to young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Students are also assigned to community sites where they gain a wealth of experience working with a variety of populations in schools, clinics, and hospitals alongside talented BCBA professionals. The program is proud to have partnerships with the following community providers.