The BATS program trains students to be practitioners rather than researchers through an intensive 9-week summer course, teaching undergraduate seminars, and a project focused on acquiring practical skills. It emphasizes a dual focus on autism and organizational behavior management to prepare students for careers in both fields.

1. Dear Prospective Grad Students,
The Behavior Analysis Training System (BATS) at Western Michigan University (WMU) is
one of the best MA-level behavior analysis service-provider training programs in the world. We
specialize in training behavior analysts to work with pre-school autistic children, and this
training readily transfers populations.
Western Michigan University’s behavior analysis graduate program is one of the best behavior
analysis programs in the world and was one of the first of ten programs to be accredited by the
Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA). Plus, WMU’s Psychology department was the first
program to receive the award for Enduring Programmatic Contributions in Behavior Analysis
from the Association for Behavior Analysis.
In addition, our curriculum has been pre-approved by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board
(BACB), which means it’ll be easier for you to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst
(BCBA).
(Malott, R. W., Vunovich, P. L., Boettcher, W., & Groeger, C. (1995). Saving the world by
teaching behavior analysis: A behavioral-systems approach. The Behavior Analyst. 18, 341-
356.)
BATS is untraditional and probably differs from what you’re used to and might anticipate; so
here’s some info to help you decide whether BATS would be a good fit for you:
BATS trains students to be autism practitioners, not researchers.
 Why? Because most people end up being practitioners, rather than researchers, even if
they were trained to be researchers, and even if they earn a PhD. Essentially no one with
an MA degree ends up being a researcher. (Malott, R. W. (1992). Should we train
applied behavior analysts to be researchers? Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
25, 83-88.)
BATS mainly trains MA students, not PhD students.
 Why? Because there is a bigger need for behavior analysts with MAs than with PhDs,
and most other faculty members concentrate on training PhDs.
 However, BATS does admit a new PhD student every year or so, usually from the
students who have gotten their MA with me.
 A fair number of my MA students do enter PhD programs, after their MA, either at
WMU or elsewhere.
 Incidentally, BATS admits up to 15 MA students each year.
BATS MA students do an MA project rather than an MA thesis.
 Why? Because the MA project is designed to help students acquire practitioner skills,
whereas an MA thesis is designed to help students acquire researcher skills.

2.  Incidentally, doing a project rather than a thesis seems to neither hinder students from
later entering PhD programs nor slow them down in getting their PhD degree.
 Incidentally #2, BATS students almost always get their MA degree in 2 years, which is at
least one year less then most other MA students get their degrees, largely because they do
the MA project rather than a research thesis.
 Incidentally #3, this means BATS does not provide the opportunity for either basic or
applied experimental research at the MA level.
Typically the MA project consists of teaching an undergrad seminar in behavior analysis
for two semesters. Sometimes the students only teach for one semester and do some other sort
of project in the other semester.
 Why?
o Because by the time you have taught behavior analysis for a semester or two, you
have really mastered the subject matter, a mastery you can’t get by merely being a
student.
o Because, you’ll learn our behavior-based instructional and performance-
management technology. And eventually, most of you will end up managing and
doing staff training as part of your job, so you will then be able to make excellent
use of the training you will be receiving here.
 In addition to teaching the seminars, the MA project consists of an R&D project,
involving the supervision of an undergrad Psychology Honors assistant.
You will start your WMU grad experience with Behavioral Boot Camp, an intense 9-week
training program that starts in early June and ends in early August. In this seminar we cover two
courses: Psy 6100 and Psy 6710.
 Why?
o Because, by early August you will have a better conceptual understanding of the
principles of behavior and their relation to applied behavior analysis than the
majority of PhD behavior analysts in the Association for Behavior Analysis.
o Because, you will be way ahead of most everyone else in the other behavior
analysis courses you take during your first year in the MA program.
o Because you will then be ready to teach the undergrad behavior-analysis seminars
in the coming fall.
o Because you will have an opportunity to bond with your BATS cohort.
 We meet 3 hours/day, 5 days/week, including July 4th.
 As soon as it is available, we will post on DickMalott.com info on how to register for Psy
6100 and Psy 6710, along with their syllabi.
What’s the workload? Heavy.
 Most world-class professionals in any field work about 60 hours a week. And that’s what
we would expect of you.
 During our Behavioral Boot Camp, you will have time for nothing else.

3.  During the first year, you will have time for little else than your MA project and your
courses, though you may be able to squeeze in some sort of 10-hour/week job, if one
comes your way.
 During the second year, you will probably have a little more breathing space, depending
on the courses you take.
What’s the WMU financial support? Close to zip.
 Usually nothing’s available for MA students.
 There might be an occasional paid opportunity to work with an autistic child in an in-
home program.
 Also, if you qualify for financial aid, you also qualify for a paid work-study position, and
I would encourage you to apply for such a position. BATS has a lot of work you could
be involved with and make a little money, at the same time.
 In addition, a few of our students occasionally manage to get a grad assistantship in
another department.
What are the MA-training goals? BATS trains people in autism, with a sub-specialty in
organizational behavior management (OBM) and behavioral systems analysis (BSA).
 BATS also encourages all the autism-specialty students to get a strong background in
OBM and BSA, because, with an MA or PhD degree, you will probably be doing a lot of
staff training and management, and will be involved in designing, administering, and
evaluating an autism program (system) wherever you work.
 Although no longer designed for students whose primary interest is OBM, BATS also
encourages students interested in OBM and BSA to get a strong background in autism.
o Because that’s where the jobs are,
o Because our current economy is making jobs in business and industry much more
scarce than a few years ago,
o Because their OBM training really sets them up well to work in human
services/education settings (e.g., autism) training and managing staff,
o And because autism may be the area where they and behavior analysis can have
the biggest impact on improving the quality of the lives of the most people.
 Incidentally, BATS practica provide most of the staffing for the preschool-autism,
discrete-trial classroom in our intermediate school district’s Croyden Avenue School.
This is an excellent program and a wonderful autism and OBM training opportunity. And
this is where you will be doing your autism practicum.
 Therefore, all BATS MA students dual track with a specialty in autism and a sub-
specialty in OBM/BSA. This means BATS students do a 750-hour autism practicum and
a 150-hour OBM/BSA practicum. In addition, BATS students take at least one autism
course and one OBM/BSA course, typically more in one of the two areas depending on
your interests. And BATS students still graduate in two years, at least a year shorter than
most programs.
 As part of their training to be professional behavior analysts, BATS students attend all of
our departmental colloquia, and the following four conferences/conventions: Mid-
American Association FOR Behavior Analysis (MABA), Behavior Analysis Association

4. of Michigan (BAAM), Association for Behavior Analysis Annual and Autism
Conferences.
 In addition, BATS MA students must apply for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst
(BCBA) exam before they graduate, so they can take that exam soon after they graduate.
If you’ve already applied to the psych MA program, you might ask, Why you and Malott?
 Most of you listed me as your first choice to be your advisor. So the answer’s obvious for
you.
 The rest of you listed me as an alternate choice or didn’t list me, but your first choices
were unable to accept you. Our faculty want to make sure that as many good applicants
as possible get a chance to attend WMU; so I looked at the promising applications that
might be a good fit with me and BATS. And you looked like an excellent fit.
 Some of you may have applied to the PhD program, though you don’t have an MA.
That’s cool, but I admit students into the MA program first; and then go from there, later
helping them enter a PhD program, either with me or someone else at WMU or
elsewhere.
 Some of you may have applied to one of our WMU Psych programs other than Behavior
Analysis. That’s cool, but because they were not able to take you into that program, I
wanted to give you a chance to consider the Behavior Analysis Program, as your interests
seemed to be equally compatible with that program, and you should be able to get the
training you’re looking for.
 BATS also provides MA students with the opportunity to obtain the Temporary Limited
License to Practice Psychology in the State of Michigan. This is an option for individuals
wishing to stay in the state of Michigan after obtaining their degrees.
If you receive an offer from WMU, in addition to replying to the Psychology department
concerning your acceptance of this offer, please promptly email the following info to
DickMalott@DickMalott.com:
 Full name
 Current/temporary address
 Permanent address (e.g., parent address)
 Current phone number
 Permanent phone number
 “Accept”, “decline”, or “still considering” the offer for admission into our MA program
in Behavior Analysis.
One last point: students who join BATS need to have a laptop computer with Microsoft Office,
including PowerPoint.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me by email (DickMalott@DickMalott.com) or
phone (269-372-1268).
I do hope it works out that you’ll be joining us. We’ll work hard, learn a lot, accomplish a lot,
and have a great time.

5. (Might read this before you start Boot Camp) Principles of Behavior 5th ed. (formerly EPB)
Sincerely,
Richard W. Malott, PhD, BCBA
Behavior Analysis Program
Department of Psychology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
DickMalott@DickMalott.com
Fax: (269) 387-4550
Phone: (269) 372-1268