For admission to the Graduate School, an applicant must hold either (1) a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or (2) a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a four-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution. This degree must be from an officially recognized degree-granting institution in the country in which it operates.

Please note that while Penn State's program requires a bachelor's degree for admission, the BACB requires a master's degree in an approved field (behavior analysis or other natural science, education, human services, engineering, medicine or a field related to behavior analysis and approved by the BACB) in order to become certified as a BCBA. If board certification is your ultimate goal, we advise you to verify that your degree will satisfy the BACB requirement before you begin your coursework with Penn State. Please visit the BACB's web site for more information

Application Materials
 

For admission to the Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis program, the online certificate application and the application fee are all that is required. You do not have to provide transcripts, a cover letter, letters of recommendation, test scores, nor any other documentation with your application.

How to Apply
 

• Begin the Penn State Graduate School online application
• On the “Graduate School Admissions and Program Information Portal” page select “Apply Now.” You will need to log in with an existing Penn State account or, if you do not have one, create a Friends of Penn State account.
• Select the application for “Certificate Admission” 
• On the “Campus, Major, Degree & Semester” page, choose “World Campus” as the campus.