MSABA Fieldwork and Practicum FAQ

Fieldwork is an experiential learning opportunity to build competence with behavior analytic skills. You must be employed at an ABA-based agency and have a signed Supervision Contract for your hours to count as fieldwork experience. Throughout your experience, you will develop and apply ethical, scientifically sound behavior change programs in accordance with the BACB’s 6th Edition Test Content Outline. In addition to completing your coursework in ABA, completing your fieldwork experience makes you eligible for the Behavior Analyst Certification Exam ® (BCBA) Exam.

Clinical Practicum is a structured three-course sequence you are required to complete as part of your coursework. The course integrates theory and practice by bringing your fieldwork experiences into the classroom for case conceptualization discussions. While enrolled in the practicum course, you must simultaneously be collecting fieldwork hours. Completion of the practicum course sequence makes you eligible for graduation.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)® requires BCBA trainees to complete either 2,000 Supervised Fieldwork (SF) hours, 1,500 Concentrated Supervised Fieldwork (CSF) hours, or a combination of the two. CSF hours are worth 1.33 times the temporal value of SF hours. 

The MSABA program encourages you to accrue as many hours as possible while in the program to minimize the gap between graduating and taking the exam. Your goal should be to accrue at least 750 fieldwork hours by the time you graduate.

Each supervisory period is one month. To count any given month toward fieldwork, the BCBA trainee must accrue:

The MSABA program requires that you collect the BACB’s minimum monthly requirements for any month in which you are enrolled in the Psy 620 course. Specifically, students must collect (a) a minimum of 20 fieldwork hours (b) with 5% supervision and (c) 60 cumulative minutes of observation(s) of you with clients. While the monthly requirement for passing practicum is noticeably lower than the goal for graduation, it is your responsibility to plan your fieldwork experience accordingly in collaboration with your site to ensure that you accrue as many hours as possible. To meet the 750 hour goal by the time you graduate, you should aim to collect 65 hours of fieldwork for 12 out of the 15 months in the program (i.e., 16-17 hours per week). 

According to the BACB, you may begin accruing fieldwork hours as soon as you (1) secure a qualified BCBA supervisor, (2) sign a supervision contract with them, and (3) start qualifying graduate-level behavior-analytic coursework.

Students who aim only for the minimum required hours during their coursework or practicum frequently experience delays in taking the BCBA exam following graduation. Extended gaps between completing coursework and sitting for the exam significantly decrease first-time pass rates. Collecting as many hours as possible while enrolled in the program means you will have fewer hours to complete upon graduation, and you may be able to begin collecting unrestricted hours while you are still in the MSABA program, thus enhancing the quality of your practicum experience.

Restricted activities are those activities most likely performed by a behavior technician. Examples include time spent working with clients implementing behavior analytic interventions and data collection. Restricted activities may comprise no more than 40% of the trainee’s total fieldwork hours. This restriction is designed to ensure that trainees have sufficient time to acquire the other skills necessary for practice as a BCBA. There is no minimum requirement for restricted hours.

Unrestricted activities are those that are most likely to be performed by a BCBA. Examples of unrestricted activities include training staff or caregivers on behavior analytic content, conducting assessments, developing data collection systems, conducting data analysis, developing clinical teaching protocols, developing behavior support plans, and so on. The BACB requires that unrestricted activities comprise at least 60% of the total fieldwork hours (i.e., at least 1,200 hours of unrestricted activities out of 2,000 hours of Supervised Fieldwork).

Whether you collect restricted or unrestricted hours depends on your fieldwork site and supervisor. In general, BCBA trainees initially accrue restricted hours, and as they become more competent at providing behavior analytic services, they begin collecting unrestricted hours. Both restricted and unrestricted hours are acceptable throughout your practicum course. 

Trainees may complete restricted and unrestricted hours simultaneously. But usually, trainees complete more restricted hours initially, and more unrestricted hours toward the latter half of their experience.

Your BCBA supervisor listed on your fieldwork site contract is responsible for determining your competence and preparedness to begin collecting unrestricted hours. They likely follow the policies and procedures of your fieldwork site in making these kinds of determinations. 

No. You accrue the majority of your hours as independent hours, and you receive supervision for a percentage of your total hours each month. For example, if you worked 100 hours in April, you would need to be supervised for a minimum of 5 hours to count the hours as Supervised Fieldwork (SF), and for a minimum of 7.5 hours to count your hours as Concentrated Supervised Fieldwork (CSF).

Yes. In fact, we encourage you to collect as many fieldwork hours as possible each month. However, note that you cannot count more than 160 hours each month.

To complete the requirements of the course, such as presenting on your clinical cases in class, you will need to continue working at an ABA-based fieldwork site and accruing the minimum fieldwork hours, as well as supervision frequency and intensity, while enrolled in PSY 620.

Visit the BACB website for the most up-to-date information. Review the BACB’s BCBA Handbook for additional information.

We recommend students start exploring opportunities as soon as they apply to the program. Students who get a head start on their search and find employment early on will be able to begin accruing fieldwork hours sooner and complete more hours by the time they graduate.

Our most successful students start working in an ABA position as soon as possible from when they enroll in the program. We strongly recommend working in the field of ABA for a minimum of 3 months prior to starting practicum. Interview, hiring, and onboarding may take up to 3 months, so start your search early! Being hired and being assigned to cases are two separate steps; it takes time to build up your caseload. 

No. Being employed and being offered fieldwork supervision are separate. Many providers require you to have worked at their agency for at least 3 months before offering to provide you with supervision. Agencies hiring bachelors’ level staff are typically hiring for the role of a Behavior Technician. Fieldwork experience expands on that role and prepares you to become a competent Clinical Supervisor. Placing you on appropriate cases, building rapport with your clients, and demonstrating your competence as a Behavior Technician are all necessary for agencies to consider offering you fieldwork supervision. Thus, we recommend that you begin your employment search as soon as possible (e.g., once you are admitted or begin the graduate program).

No. First, you must meet the coursework prerequisites. Next, your agency and supervisor must be approved by Pepperdine by completing an Agency and Supervisor Application. The Placement Team and Clinical Training Coordinator will reach out about 150 days before the start of your first practicum term. 

Yes. This field is unique in that individuals providing ABA services under the supervision of a BCBA are typically paid. These are not considered “internship” positions at the fieldwork sites; you’ll be an employee. The pay and benefits for the Practicum position will vary from site to site. You must also ensure to abide by all policies and procedures of your employer/agency.

You will continue working with our placement team to find another site for an interview. If you do not secure a site by the term before you are supposed to start your Practicum, you will need to put off registering for Practicum for another quarter, which could delay your graduation date. It’s in your best interest to start searching early and take an active role with our support teams to get your ABA position secured with time to spare.

According to the BACB, you may begin to accrue fieldwork hours once you have started qualifying course work for your BCBA certification (i.e., after your first class meeting), and after you have secured a qualified supervisor (see the supervisor qualification requirements in the BACB’s fieldwork standards), and have a signed supervision contract. However, these hours would not contribute toward the practicum course requirement, and you must still collect the minimum fieldwork requirements for passing the practicum course across the three terms needed for graduation from our program. Since this early experience will not be overseen by our program, it is up to you to secure your contract with a supervisor and ensure that these hours meet BACB’s requirements as outlined in the BCBA Handbook. It’s recommended that you connect with your placement specialist as soon as possible to discuss your specific situation if you are admitted and enroll in our program.

As an employee of the site, you may continue to work there or pursue a different site. Your state’s employment laws would apply for your continuation with the site (e.g., site needs, etc.)