Media releases

  • Brock launches Ontario’s first PhD in Applied Behaviour Analysis

    MEDIA RELEASE: November 2 2023 – R0105

    With behaviour analysis set to become the newest regulated health profession in Ontario, Brock is launching a new PhD program in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).

    Housed in the Department of Applied Disability Studies (ADS), the PhD in ABA will be the first of its kind in Ontario and only the second doctoral ABA program available in Canada.

    ABA-based interventions are used to address socially significant behaviour in a variety of areas related to childhood, parenting, mental health, substance abuse, dementia, organizational behaviour management, sport and other areas.

    Brock’s new PhD program will offer comprehensive training in behaviour analysis, including applications of the science with different populations across diverse settings in keeping with the ADS mission of bettering the lives of people with disabilities and underserved populations through quality education. Graduates will be scientist-practitioners with the knowledge, skills and perspectives to become professors, community researchers, clinical supervisors or program evaluators, among many other roles.

    Nearly 200 people registered for a recent information session to learn about applying to the program — a number that came as no surprise to Department Chair and Acting Graduate Program Director Rosemary Condillac, who says that “the timing couldn’t be better in terms of giving hope for capacity-building in the province.”

    The Ontario Government is scheduled to fully proclaim the “Psychology and Applied Behaviour Analysis Act, 2021” next summer, after which time behaviour analysts will be regulated, an improvement that Condillac says helps protect the public.

    “Ontario does not currently have a lot of doctoral-level trained behaviour analysts, but this program will inject new, qualified researchers into the system,” says Associate Professor Kimberley Zonneveld, who led the committee that developed the program proposal. “Meeting that need through the training offered in this program will raise the bar on behaviour analysis services across the province.”

    Zonneveld notes that a clinic hosted by the department will provide experiential education by training students and building their applied knowledge related to their coursework and research, while also serving the Niagara region.

    “We’ve really tried to develop a program that will teach students about the entire comprehensive scientific system that is behaviour analysis — including applied behaviour analysis, the experimental analysis of behaviour and behavioural theory and philosophy — to give students a strong conceptual understanding,” she says. “We believe that being well versed in all aspects of this comprehensive, scientific system will lead to researchers, clinicians and teachers who have a strong grasp of what this science is, what it can do and how it can best be applied.”

    Condillac commends the program committee chaired by Zonneveld, which also included former co-chair Kendra Thomson, Valdeep Saini, Alison Cox and Nicole Luke, for designing an exceptional program.

    “The development team were thoughtful about their own doctoral experiences, as well as what would make this stand apart from other programs,” says Condillac. “And I think they’ve done a phenomenal job of having dialogues and conversations in order to pull together a truly exciting and rigorous program that differentiates Brock from every other university in Ontario.”

    She adds she is also grateful to both the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs for their support throughout the program’s development.

    “The clinical researchers in the Department of Applied Disability Studies are educators and advocates whose expertise is second to none,” says Ingrid Makus, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. “It is thrilling to see a PhD program added to their current and highly successful master’s-level offerings to help address a growing, urgent need.”

    Applications for the first cohort of the PhD in ABA are due Friday, Dec. 1. Learn more and apply through the program’s website.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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    Categories: Media releases

  • Thousands of prospective Brock students to explore campus Sunday

    MEDIA RELEASE: November 1 2023 – R0104

    Brock will welcome thousands of potential Badgers and their families to campus Sunday, Nov. 5 to get a glimpse of the University’s renowned student experience.

    Academic programs, extracurricular activities, student supports and campus services will be among the highlights of Brock’s annual Fall Preview Day, which will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at both the University’s main campus and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines.

    The University’s largest on-campus recruiting event will offer visitors a chance to attend Faculty- and program-specific presentations, explore residences and various labs and facilities, attend an 80-booth information fair and tour the scenic campus on the Niagara escarpment as they learn about all that Brock has to offer.

    “This year, Fall Preview Day comes on the heels of Brock employees and volunteers making connections with students across the province at the popular Ontario Universities’ Fair in Toronto, previously held in September,” says Kara Kelly, Manager, Recruitment Operations and Communications. “We’re excited to see that momentum continue as students arrive to experience campus for themselves and learn more about Brock’s outstanding academic offerings, its dedicated faculty and staff, and the wealth of supports available here to help them on their path to success.”

    In addition to a packed schedule of presentations, dozens of tours and drop-in opportunities will welcome prospective students into labs and classrooms across campus, visiting a variety of spaces such as Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, the newly opened Black Student Success Centre, Nursing Clinical Simulation Lab and Brock Functional Inclusive Training Centre, where health sciences students lead exercise and wellness programming for local seniors. A shuttle will also be available from the main campus for visitors interested in exploring Brock’s downtown arts school.

    While many of the attendees are typically high school applicants, the day will also feature information for transfer and mature students interested in pursuing their studies at Brock.

    “Brock offers a variety of pathways to higher learning, and we encourage people interested in finding out more to come out on Sunday and speak with our knowledgeable staff,” Kelly says.

    For more information or to register for Fall Preview Day, visit the event website.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

    * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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    Categories: Media releases