YSU to offer new degree in psychology department

By Harold Gwin

The program will initially admit only between five and seven students.

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University plans to offer a master’s degree in applied behavior science beginning next fall.

The university’s Board of Trustees has approved the plan, which now must also be approved by the Ohio Board of Regents.

That state approval is expected within the next few months, said Dr. Michael Clayton, assistant professor in YSU’s psychology department. The new major would fall under that department.

It will be a 42-credit-hour program that will include two full years of internships, Clayton told the trustees, adding that there is a great demand in the field of behavior analysis.

This program is designed to offer academic instruction with practical, real-world experience and will lead to national certification as a behavior analyst.

Recipients of the degree can actually practice analysis without a doctorate, Clayton said. They can work with senior citizens in nursing homes, children with autism and with people in the criminal justice system, to name a few career paths, he said.

YSU would be creating a niche to fill an existing need, said Dr. Ikram Khawaja, provost.

Harry Meshel, a YSU trustee, said the program wouldn’t be competing with offerings at any other state university.

The plan is to initially admit a relatively small number of students, perhaps five to seven annually, and expand that number to 15 or more over a five-year period. The university’s graduate training committee will oversee recruitment and admission.

Courses will be offered in the afternoon, evening and summer sessions to accommodate students who want to maintain full-time employment while pursing the degree.

The psychology department will be able to accommodate the additional students with support from other departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, according to the degree proposal presented to the trustees. The department already has three full-time faculty with qualifications in behavior analysis, and one additional full-time position has already been approved and should be filled by summer 2009, the proposal said.

Appropriate affiliated faculty members will also be asked to participate as necessary.

gwin@vindy.com