Denver City Guide
ABA Programs in Denver
There is exactly one in-city ABA master's, and knowing that changes how you plan. This guide covers every one of the ABA programs in Denver and the surrounding metro, the state license that becomes mandatory in July 2028, and the Children's Hospital Colorado and JFK Partners network that makes the metro a strong place to accrue fieldwork.
Key Takeaways
- 01The list of ABA programs in Denver is short: one master's degree inside the city, CU Denver's M.A. in Special Education with an Applied Behavior Analysis concentration. The nearest in-state alternative is the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, about 50 miles north.
- 02Like most of the Mountain West, Colorado houses behavior analysis inside special education departments rather than standalone ABA departments. Neither Colorado program appears under the federal ABA degree code, which is why generic program-finder sites miss them.
- 03Colorado licensure becomes mandatory July 1, 2028 under HB26-1425. If you are starting a master's now, you will graduate into the licensed era, so plan on a state application on top of your BCBA.
- 04The BLS reports a $62,810 median for the broad SOC 21-1018 category in the Denver metro (May 2025), across 8,480 jobs. That category mixes BCBAs with lower-paid counselors, so BCBA-titled roles sit at its credentialed end; the same release puts the metro 90th percentile at $100,320.
- 05Aurora is the real draw. Children's Hospital Colorado and JFK Partners on the CU Anschutz campus give the metro a research-and-hospital fieldwork tier that most similar-sized cities do not have.
If you are searching for ABA programs in Denver, the honest answer is shorter than you expect. One university runs an ABA master's inside the city: CU Denver, through its School of Education & Human Development, as a concentration inside the M.A. in Special Education. CU Denver also runs a fully online Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis for people who already hold a qualifying master's and need only the coursework.
That scarcity is worth understanding rather than working around. Colorado, like much of the Mountain West, built its behavior analysis training inside special education departments instead of standalone ABA departments. The degree still gets you to the BCBA exam, but it means the program is titled "Special Education" and it does not show up under the federal degree code for applied behavior analysis. Program-finder sites that filter on that code report zero results for Colorado, which is wrong in the way that matters.
What Denver lacks in program count it makes up for in where you can put your fieldwork hours. Children's Hospital Colorado and JFK Partners, Colorado's federally designated center for developmental disabilities training, both sit on the CU Anschutz campus in Aurora. That gives Denver-area trainees access to hospital-based and research-affiliated placements that metros twice its size often cannot offer. The one date to put in your calendar is July 1, 2028, when Colorado state licensure becomes mandatory.
Metro scope
Includes: Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Centennial, Littleton. The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro, covering Denver proper, the Anschutz Medical Campus corridor in Aurora, and the western and southern suburbs from Lakewood and Arvada down to Centennial and Littleton.
Note: Colorado is a single-state metro, so there is no cross-border licensing puzzle here. The complication is timing instead. Colorado enacted behavior analyst licensure in 2026 (HB26-1425), and on and after July 1, 2028 it becomes unlawful to practice applied behavior analysis in Colorado without a state license from the new Colorado Behavior Analyst Licensing Board, housed in the DORA Division of Professions and Occupations. Until then your BACB certification is your practice authority. Because the license ties to holding a certification in good standing, already-certified BCBAs should expect a paperwork transition rather than re-qualification.
The programs
Every one of the accredited BCBA programs in Denver and the metro
3 programs
University of Colorado Denver — M.A. in Special Education: Applied Behavior Analysis
Auraria Campus, downtown Denver · Denver, CO · RTD light rail to Auraria West or Colfax at Auraria; walkable from downtown
- Tuition
- $480 resident / $1,489 non-resident per credit (2025-26)
- Length
- About 30 credits, 2 years
- Format
- On-campus and online options
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; CU Denver School of Education & Human Development
- Part-time
- Built to accommodate working RBTs and practicing teachers
- The only ABA master's program based inside the city of Denver
- Combines the seven-course ABA certificate sequence with electives and a practicum, so the degree and the coursework requirement are satisfied together
- Public-university resident pricing at roughly $480/credit, the cheapest route to the BCBA in the metro
- Practicum exposure to the broader CU Anschutz ecosystem, including JFK Partners and Children's Hospital Colorado
- Housed in special education rather than a standalone ABA department, so search for it by "Special Education" if the ABA title returns nothing
University of Colorado Denver — Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis
Fully online · Denver, CO · No commute; online delivery
- Tuition
- Per-credit graduate rates; confirm current figures with the CU Denver bursar
- Length
- Seven-course ABA sequence
- Format
- Fully online
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; CU Denver School of Education & Human Development
- Part-time
- Designed for working professionals adding coursework to an existing degree
- The right route if you already hold a qualifying master's and only need the behavior-analytic coursework
- Fully online, so it works for students anywhere on the Front Range or beyond
- Same course sequence that sits inside the CU Denver M.A. concentration
- Does not by itself satisfy the BCBA degree requirement, only the coursework requirement
- Confirm the department can complete a Pathway 2 coursework attestation for you before enrolling
University of Northern Colorado — M.A. in Special Education: Applied Behavior Analysis Emphasis
Greeley, about 50 miles north of Denver · Greeley, CO · Outside the Denver metro; on-campus and online options make it workable from the north suburbs
- Tuition
- $668/credit hour (same rate for residents and non-residents)
- Length
- 30 credits, 2 years
- Format
- On-campus with online options
- Accreditation
- BCBA Pathway 2 coursework; UNC College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
- Colorado's longest-running behavior-analytic master's track
- Flat $668/credit rate regardless of residency, which makes it competitive for out-of-state students
- Practicum networks reach into Denver Public Schools and surrounding districts despite the Greeley base
- The nearest alternative if you want a Colorado program and CU Denver is not a fit
- Greeley is a real commute from Denver, so weigh the online options if you plan to stay in the metro
Cost of living
What it costs to live in Denver while you study
Denver is the cheaper of the two Mountain West metros people compare it against, and it is dramatically cheaper than Seattle or the California markets. The trade-off is transit. RTD covers downtown, the airport line, and the main light-rail corridors well, but the metro sprawls, and most ABA fieldwork means driving between client homes, schools, and clinics. Budget for a car in a way you would not have to in Chicago or Philadelphia. Rent figures below are Zumper medians as of August 4, 2026.
Housing, 2024
146.9
46.9% above the national average
Everything, 2024
105.8
5.8% above the national average
Metro median pay covers
$59,367
of national-average spending
Housing runs 46.9% above the national average, which is the single biggest reason the overall cost of living lands where it does.
Both figures are BEA Regional Price Parities for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO, 2024, where the national average is 100. Housing is the services-housing component; the second figure is the whole basket.
1-BR rent, Denver metro median
$1,550/mo
Zumper, August 2026
2-BR rent, Denver metro median
$2,185/mo
Zumper, August 2026
1-BR rent, LoDo / Downtown / RiNo
Above the metro median
Walkable, light-rail served, priciest end of the market
1-BR rent, Aurora
Below the metro median
Closest to the Anschutz campus and Children's Hospital Colorado
1-BR rent, Lakewood / Arvada
Around the metro median
West-side suburbs, W Line light rail into downtown
RTD 3-hour pass (local)
$2.75
Single-trip fare; day pass $5.50
RTD monthly pass
$88/mo
Includes travel to and from the airport
RTD monthly pass, LiVE discount
$27/mo
Income-qualified riders; also covers seniors 65+, Medicare, and riders with disabilities
Car ownership
Effectively required
Metro fieldwork means driving between sites; factor insurance, gas, and parking
Clinical fieldwork
BCBA certification in Denver: where Denver-area students do supervised fieldwork
Denver punches above its weight on fieldwork placement quality, and almost all of it traces back to one campus. The CU Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora houses both Children's Hospital Colorado and JFK Partners, Colorado's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Add Denver Public Schools and a healthy private-agency layer and the metro supports the full range of placement types.
Children's Hospital Colorado (Aurora)
Children's Hospital Colorado anchors pediatric behavioral health for the entire Rocky Mountain region. Its developmental pediatrics and autism services are the most competitive placements in the state.
JFK Partners, CU School of Medicine
JFK Partners is Colorado's UCEDD and LEND program, training behavior analysts alongside pediatricians and psychologists through interdisciplinary rotations. Both CU Denver and UNC students rotate through it.
Denver Public Schools and suburban districts
Denver Public Schools, plus Jeffco, Cherry Creek, Aurora, and Douglas County districts, host school-based fieldwork and employ behavior specialists across their special education programs.
Private ABA agencies across the Front Range
Insurance- and Medicaid-funded agencies serve the metro from Boulder down to Castle Rock, including Firefly Autism in Lakewood, which runs center-based ABA for ages 3 months through 21+.
Specialized schools and early intervention
Programs like Havern School in Lakewood serve students with learning differences, and Colorado's Early Intervention system places trainees in home- and center-based roles under qualified supervisors.
Hiring market
Major ABA employers across the Denver metro
The Denver BCBA employer market splits three ways: the Anschutz hospital and research cluster in Aurora, the school districts, and a private-agency layer funded by commercial insurance and Health First Colorado. The hospital tier pays and credentials differently from the agency tier, and the gap is wide enough to be worth planning around.
Children's Hospital Colorado
Pediatric academic medical center
The region's dominant pediatric system, based on the Anschutz campus in Aurora. Hires BCBAs into developmental pediatrics and autism services, with strong benefits and loan-forgiveness eligibility.
JFK Partners, CU Anschutz
University center for developmental disabilities
Colorado's UCEDD and LEND program. A training site and a destination employer for research-affiliated and complex-case clinical work.
Denver Public Schools
Public school district
Employs behavior specialists and BCBAs across its special education programs. District roles trade some pay ceiling for a school calendar and PERA retirement.
Firefly Autism
Nonprofit autism services
Lakewood-based nonprofit running center-based ABA, school consultation, and adult programs for ages 3 months through 21+, using assent-based practice.
Havern School
Independent special education school
Lakewood school serving elementary and middle school students with learning differences, one of several specialized school settings that hire behavior staff in the metro.
Side by side
Comparing the 3 Denver programs
The same programs as above, set against each other on the things that decide which one you apply to: how it is delivered, how long it runs, what it costs, and whether it asks for the GRE.
| Program | Format | Length | Tuition | GRE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Colorado Denver — M.A. in Special Education: Applied Behavior Analysis Denver, CO | On-campus and online options | About 30 credits, 2 years | $480 resident / $1,489 non-resident per credit (2025-26) | Not required |
| University of Colorado Denver — Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis Denver, CO | Fully online | Seven-course ABA sequence | Per-credit graduate rates; confirm current figures with the CU Denver bursar | Not required |
| University of Northern Colorado — M.A. in Special Education: Applied Behavior Analysis Emphasis Greeley, CO | On-campus with online options | 30 credits, 2 years | $668/credit hour (same rate for residents and non-residents) | Not required |
Metro pay
BCBA salary in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro
Metro median
$62,810
National median
$59,350
10th percentile
$47,110
90th percentile
$100,320
BLS metro median, May 2025
$62,810
$3,460 above the national median
Cost of living, 2024
105.8
5.8% above the national average
Worth nationally
$59,367
the same pay in national-average dollars
Because prices run 5.8% above the national average, $62,810 here goes about as far as $59,367 would nationally.
BLS does not publish a separate occupation for behavior analysts. This is the May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018 (Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors), the category BCBAs are counted in, which also contains counseling roles that typically pay less. Read it as a floor for the metro, not as BCBA pay. Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO. Cost of living is the BEA Regional Price Parity for the metro, all items, 2024, where the national average is 100. It is the most recent year BEA publishes, so it sits one year behind the wage figure. Prices: BEA Regional Price Parities.
The published figure for this metro is $62,810, the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro. That is $3,460 above the national median of $59,350 for the same code. BLS does not publish a separate occupation for behavior analysts, and SOC 21-1018 also contains counseling roles that do not require a master's degree plus board certification, so read $62,810 as a floor for the metro rather than as BCBA pay.
The same release puts the 10th percentile at $47,110 and the 90th at $100,320. Because BCBA-titled roles sit at the credentialed end of that category, the 90th percentile is the more useful marker for what an experienced behavior analyst earns here, and the median is the more useful one for what the wider category pays. Prices across the metro run 5.8% above the national average, so $62,810 here goes about as far as $59,367 would nationally. Housing on its own runs 46.9% above the national average.
Anschutz-affiliated specialty roles sit at the top of the local clinical market. One forward-looking note: the July 2028 licensure requirement adds a credential barrier to entry, and markets that introduce licensure usually see modest upward pressure on wages as the supply of legally practicing clinicians tightens. For national context see our BCBA salary guide.
Other cities
Other cities in Colorado
Denver is currently the only Colorado metro with its own guide. The state guide carries every program in Colorado plus the licensure picture.
Nearby metros
If you are flexible on metro
If the ABA programs in Denver do not fit, widening the search helps more than you would expect. Greeley puts UNC within reach, Boulder has a strong commercial market on the back of the tech employers, and Colorado Springs runs a TRICARE-plus-commercial mix that pays a little below Denver.
ABA Programs in Colorado
The full state picture: every program, the 2028 license deadline, and pay across all six Colorado markets.
ABA Programs in Chicago
A deeper program market at a comparable cost of living, with a much stronger school-district pay ceiling.
ABA Programs in Houston
Another Sun Belt metro with low housing costs and a large agency market.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01How many ABA programs are in Denver?+
02Do I need a license to practice ABA in Denver?+
03How much do BCBAs make in Denver?+
04Where do Denver ABA students do supervised fieldwork?+
05Can I do an ABA master's in Denver while working as an RBT?+
06Is Denver a good city to start a BCBA career?+
Sources
- CU Denver School of Education & Human Development, M.A. in Special Education: Applied Behavior Analysis
- CU Denver, Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis
- Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations (behavior analyst licensure, HB26-1425)
- BACB, U.S. Licensure of Behavior Analysts by State
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood MSA (SOC 21-1018)
- JFK Partners, University of Colorado School of Medicine (UCEDD / LEND)
- ABAI Accredited Programs Directory