A broad array of research opportunities are available to students which include autism treatment, applications of relational frame theory, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), behavior skills training, gambling or other clinic-based projects mutually determined by faculty, students, and context/clientele. All students gain hands-on experiential research skills, culminating in thesis or thesis equivalent project. EKU coursework (814, 815) provides a clear path to project completion with the goal of transferring technologies learned in the classroom to research settings. As ABA Program Research Sequence Coordinator, Dr. Ryan C. Speelman oversees projects from initial choosing of topic to project completion. His qualifications include more than 50 conference presentations, 15 publications in 7 international peer reviewed journals, and invitations as reviewer and guest associate editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Description of Practicum Experiences
Practicum is a type of field-based training experience in which an experienced behavior analyst supervises your work as you apply classroom-learned skills in the “real world.” This applied fieldwork experience is meant to get students started in their training to become a behavior analytic practitioner or clinician. This experience can also provide support for a small portion of the supervised hours students may be collecting to get ready to sit for the BCBA exam. Practicum experiences vary in both setting and client demographic. Many students will be working with individuals (both children and adults) with intellectual or developmental disabilities (such as Autism) and/or mental illness. However, since behavior analysis is a broadly applicable science, the skills students learn can be generalized to a variety of settings and populations.