Miami City Guide
ABA Programs in Miami
Miami has the strongest in-city ABA offering of any Southeastern metro: FIU runs one of only five ABAI-accredited programs in Florida, on its main Miami campus. The University of Miami runs a 42-credit master's in Coral Gables, and Albizu adds a graduate certificate. One of those three is accredited, and the difference matters.
Key Takeaways
- 01FIU is the only ABAI-accredited program in the Miami metro, and one of five in the whole of Florida. It is 45 credit hours over 16 months, taught in person at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus.
- 02The University of Miami makes no accreditation claim and is not in ABAI's directory. That does not make it a weak program — it is 42 credits with roughly 20 hours a week of supervised practicum — but any source describing it as accredited is wrong.
- 03Albizu's ABA offering is a graduate certificate, not a master's. Its separate undergraduate ABA coursework points at the BCaBA, the bachelor's-level assistant credential, not the BCBA.
- 04FIU and the University of Miami both start in the fall only, and both are full-time in-person programs. Neither is a working-professional route.
- 05Nova Southeastern is not a Miami program. It sits in Broward County and is delivered fully online, so it belongs in a different comparison than the three above.
Miami is unusual among Southeastern metros in having a genuinely accredited option inside the city. Florida International University holds accreditation from the ABAI Accreditation Board and teaches its M.S. in Psychology with a major in Behavior Analysis on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus at 11200 SW 8th Street. It runs 45 credit hours over 16 months, in person.
The University of Miami is the other master's in the metro, in Coral Gables: 42 credits across six consecutive semesters including summers, with about 20 hours a week of practicum supervised by UM faculty and a capstone research project. It is a serious, full-time, clinically heavy program. It also makes no accreditation claim anywhere on its own pages and does not appear in ABAI's directory, and we have seen third-party directories assert otherwise. They are wrong, and the distinction is worth holding onto when you compare the two.
Albizu University in Miami rounds out the list with a graduate certificate in ABA. Read the level carefully: the certificate is a post-degree coursework route, and Albizu's undergraduate ABA sequence is aimed at the BCaBA — the bachelor's-level assistant credential — rather than the BCBA. We checked Barry University and St. Thomas University and found no ABA program at either.
Metro scope
Includes: Miami, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Miami Gardens, Kendall, Doral, Homestead. Programs and placements inside Miami-Dade County, from the FIU campus on SW 8th Street west of the city out to Coral Gables, Doral and Kendall. Broward County programs are listed separately because Fort Lauderdale is a distinct market, not a Miami commute.
Note: Florida certifies behavior analysts through the Department of Health rather than operating a standalone licensure board of the kind North Carolina has. Confirm the current requirement with the department before you plan around it — Florida's arrangement has changed more than once.
The programs
BCBA programs in Miami, verified against each university
3 programs
Florida International University — M.S. in Psychology with a major in Behavior Analysis
Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 11200 SW 8th Street · Miami, FL · On campus, west Miami-Dade; Metrobus serves the campus, most students drive
- Tuition
- Published by request from the department
- Length
- 16 months
- Format
- In person, on campus
- Accreditation
- Accredited by the Association for Behavior Analysis International Accreditation Board. Fulfills the coursework requirement for BCBA eligibility.
- Part-time
- Not offered; this is a full-time cohort program
- 45 credit hours completed over 16 months, the fastest verified route in the metro
- The only ABAI-accredited program in Miami, and one of five in Florida
- Taught on the main FIU campus rather than online
- Accreditation puts it on Pathway 1 rather than the Pathway 2 route most programs use
- FIU does not publish a per-credit rate on the program page; contact the department for current cost
University of Miami — M.S. in Psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis
Coral Gables campus · Coral Gables, FL · On campus; Metrorail University station serves the campus directly
- Tuition
- Published by request from the department
- Length
- 2 years, six consecutive semesters including summers
- Format
- In person, full time
- Accreditation
- No accreditation claimed by the university, and not listed in the ABAI directory. The prescribed sequence is designed to meet BCBA coursework requirements.
- Part-time
- Not offered; the practicum load makes it full time by design
- 42 credit hours with a prescribed course sequence
- Roughly 20 hours a week of practicum, supervised by UM faculty and staff
- Includes a capstone research project
- Begins each fall and runs straight through, summers included
- Makes no accreditation claim — treat directories that say otherwise as unreliable
Albizu University — Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis
Miami campus, 2173 NW 99th Avenue · Miami, FL · On campus, northwest Miami-Dade near Doral
- Tuition
- Published by request from the department
- Length
- Confirm with the university
- Format
- Confirm with the university
- Accreditation
- Graduate certificate coursework. Albizu's separate undergraduate ABA sequence is aimed at the BCaBA, not the BCBA.
- Part-time
- Confirm with the university
- A graduate certificate rather than a master's degree — check what your BCBA application needs before enrolling
- Coordinated by a BCBA-credentialed faculty member
- Albizu's other ABA coursework is at undergraduate level and points at the BCaBA
- Useful mainly if you already hold a qualifying graduate degree
- Albizu publishes little program detail publicly; confirm structure and cost directly
Cost of living
What it costs to study ABA in Miami
Miami is the most expensive housing market of the three Southeastern metros we cover, and both of its master's programs are full-time in-person cohorts, which is the combination that makes cost bite. Neither FIU nor UM is a program you can work full time around: UM alone carries roughly 20 hours a week of practicum on top of coursework. Budget as though you are studying rather than earning.
Housing, 2024
155.6
55.6% above the national average
Everything, 2024
114.2
14.2% above the national average
Metro median pay covers
$50,166
of national-average spending
Housing runs 55.6% 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 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL, 2024, where the national average is 100. Housing is the services-housing component; the second figure is the whole basket.
Transit
Metrorail and Metrobus
Metrorail serves the UM Coral Gables campus directly; FIU is bus-served
Car
Recommended
Fieldwork sites spread across Miami-Dade; transit coverage thins outside the core
Practical constraint
Full-time study
Both master's programs are in-person cohorts with fall-only intakes
Clinical fieldwork
Where Miami students do supervised fieldwork
Miami's advantage is that its two master's programs place you rather than leaving fieldwork entirely to you. The University of Miami embeds roughly 20 hours a week of faculty-supervised practicum in the degree, and FIU's accredited program is built around a supervised sequence. That is a materially different proposition from the Charlotte market, where every program leaves placement to the student.
University-run practicum
The University of Miami ABA program supervises its own practicum through UM faculty and staff, which removes the hardest part of the fieldwork problem for students who get in.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is one of the largest districts in the United States and runs exceptional-student-education services across the county, a standard route for school-based fieldwork.
Pediatric health systems
Nicklaus Children's Hospital is the major freestanding pediatric hospital in the metro and runs behavioral and developmental services.
Private ABA agencies
Miami-Dade has a dense private-agency market driven by Florida's autism insurance mandate. Whichever agency you land in, verify your supervisor has completed the BACB 8-hour supervision training before your hours start.
Hiring market
Who employs BCBAs across Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade's BCBA market is anchored by an unusually large school district, a major pediatric hospital, and a private-agency layer that Florida's insurance mandate has made deep. The public and non-profit employers are also the ones where Public Service Loan Forgiveness generally applies.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Public school district
Among the largest districts in the country, with exceptional-student-education services county-wide and PSLF-eligible public employment.
Nicklaus Children's Hospital
Pediatric hospital
The metro's major freestanding children's hospital, running behavioral and developmental programs.
University of Miami
University and health system
Runs its own ABA practicum and employs behavior-analytic staff across its clinical and academic programs.
Florida International University
University
Home to the metro's only ABAI-accredited program, with associated clinical and research activity.
Side by side
Comparing the 3 Miami 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida International University — M.S. in Psychology with a major in Behavior Analysis Miami, FL | In person, on campus | 16 months | Published by request from the department | Not required |
| University of Miami — M.S. in Psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis Coral Gables, FL | In person, full time | 2 years, six consecutive semesters including summers | Published by request from the department | Not required |
| Albizu University — Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis Miami, FL | Confirm with the university | Confirm with the university | Published by request from the department | Not required |
Metro pay
BCBA salary in the Miami metro
Metro median
$57,290
National median
$59,350
10th percentile
$39,650
90th percentile
$83,910
BLS metro median, May 2025
$57,290
$2,060 below the national median
Cost of living, 2024
114.2
14.2% above the national average
Worth nationally
$50,166
the same pay in national-average dollars
Because prices run 14.2% above the national average, $57,290 here goes about as far as $50,166 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, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL. 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 $57,290, the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro. That is $2,060 below 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 $57,290 as a floor for the metro rather than as BCBA pay.
The same release puts the 10th percentile at $39,650 and the 90th at $83,910. 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 14.2% above the national average, so $57,290 here goes about as far as $50,166 would nationally. Housing on its own runs 55.6% above the national average.
Within Miami-Dade, the hospital and university-affiliated programs sit at the top of the clinical market and the private agencies set their own scales. Florida levies no personal income tax, which offsets some of the housing gap but not all of it. For national context see our BCBA salary guide.
Other cities
Other cities in Florida
We also cover 3 other metros in Florida. If you can commute, comparing them is worth ten minutes — the program list changes, but so does the fieldwork market, and that is the half your location actually constrains.
Nearby metros
Broward, and the rest of Florida
Broward County is the obvious widening of the search, and it is where Nova Southeastern sits — a fully online program in Davie rather than a Miami one, which is why it is not in the table above. Florida also has four other ABAI-accredited programs, none of them in Miami-Dade.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01What ABA programs are in Miami?+
02Is the University of Miami ABA program accredited?+
03Which Miami ABA program is ABAI-accredited?+
04Is Nova Southeastern a Miami ABA program?+
05Can I work full time while studying ABA in Miami?+
Sources
- ABAI Accreditation Board, Accredited Programs directory
- Florida International University, M.S. in Psychology with a major in Behavior Analysis
- University of Miami, Applied Behavior Analysis program
- Albizu University, Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis
- Florida Behavior Analyst Certification, Florida Department of Health