Psychology

If you plan to apply to the graduate program in Behavior Analysis, we ask applicants to list clearly in the cover letter any faculty member(s) within the Behavior Analysis Faculty you might be interested in potentially serving as your primary advisor. Any faculty members you mention will ensure they evaluate your application in detail, which will allow those faculty members to discuss your application in relation to availability and fit within their labs. If you have preferences among those faculty, please indicate the order of preference.  

For the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year, these faculty are considering recruitment of graduate students (Drs. Dallery, DeLeon, Gravina, Jimenez-Gomez, Podlesnik, and Vollmer). Though only one faculty member will serve as your primary advisor, collaboration across labs is common and encouraged.  

About

The graduate program in Behavior Analysis emphasizes integration of theoretical, experimental, and applied behavior analysis. The organizational theme of the program is the premise that the theoretical aspects of behavior analysis combined with a natural-science approach to research unite the basic and applied areas. This orientation is reflected by required courses in theoretical foundations of behavioral analysis, quantitative methods, advanced experimental analysis of behavior, and applied behavior analysis. Additional course work in Psychology and other departments is completed according to individual goals and interests as specified in each student’s individual program of study. All faculty and students meet weekly in a “current topics” seminar in which research and professional issues of general interest are discussed.  The Behavior Analysis area believes that excellence in graduate education requires a diverse and inclusive graduate student community that reflects a wide range of differences of culture and circumstance. Such differences may include race, ethnicity, religion, gender, age, abilities/disabilities, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other dimensions of diversity. We welcome applications from students with diverse backgrounds.

Program Mission

The Behavior Analysis Program at the University of Florida is dedicated to training that will contribute to societal well-being through research and educational endeavors that promote the understanding, scientific advancement, and practice of the science of behavior analysis.  

Program objectives: 

(1) Train students in basic research, theory, and applications of behavior principles through a combination of coursework, research and applied experiences 

(2) Support students to develop research skills in experimental, translational, and applied settings 

(3) Provide training and experiences that allow students to qualify for certification administered by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB), and 

(4) Train future leaders of the field who will contribute meaningfully to societal behavioral challenges, advance the field of behavior analysis, and train future generations of behavior analysis scholars and practitioners. 

Research

Research activities span a diverse range of settings, including human laboratory, school-based, applied, and business settings.  Please see the people page of our website for a list of faculty interests.  Students work closely with one or more of the faculty in developing a continuing research apprenticeship and routinely publish their thesis and dissertation research in major behavioral journals including the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. The consistent productivity of our students and faculty has earned our program the #1 ranking among universities and research institutions in publication frequency in behavioral journals (Blair et al., 2018).

Requirements

All graduate students fulfill general requirements of the Graduate School, the Department, and the Behavior Analysis programs. Students are expected to complete a qualifying exam during the spring term of their third year; exceptions may be granted if a student enters the program with a master’s degree. For details about the timing, requirements, and content of the qualifying exam, please click here.

Outcomes

Since its beginning in 1970, the Behavior Analysis program has graduated more than 100 Ph.D.’s, with initial placements at Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Louisiana State University, Stanford Medical School, University of North Carolina, Walter Reed Medical Center, University of Kansas, among others. Many graduates of the program now hold senior positions at their respective institutions, are Fellows in APA, serve on editorial boards of major journals, and have achieved national and international distinction. The Behavior Analysis Program has achieved international recognition by receiving the Award for Enduring Programmatic Contributions in Behavior Analysis from the Association for Behavior Analysis in 2002.

Graduate Courses:

Policies on transfer of credit

Students entering with graduate credit hours from other regionally accredited  colleges or comparable international universities, may apply to have up to 30  credit hours of graduate coursework (all with grades of A or B) transferred to the University of Florida as a block. This transfer must be requested within the first year as a University of Florida student. In order to initiate the block  transfer, the student or advisor must submit a copy of the unofficial transcript to the Graduate Coordinator, who will approve it (as appropriate) and enter it into the Graduate Information Management System (GIMS) for approval by the College Dean and Graduate School. In addition, students may request a waiver for one or more specific courses required by the Department or their area if they have successfully completed a comparable course at another recognized institution with a grade of A or B. This process requires the student to present a detailed course syllabus for the credit that was completed to a faculty member who teaches a comparable course at the University of Florida. If that faculty member agrees that the course material is comparable, they must sign a waiver form indicating that the course is equivalent. The student or advisor will then submit the waiver form to the Graduate Coordinator, who will approve it (as appropriate) and enter it into the Graduate Information Management  system (GIMS) for approval by the College Dean and Graduate School. The waiver form is then deposited in the student’s Departmental file. The waiver form is available at https://psych.ufl.edu/info-forms/