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Providence City Guide

ABA Programs in Providence

Rhode Island is the smallest state in the country and it holds an ABAI-accredited behavior analysis master's, a federally designated developmental disabilities center, and the first psychiatric hospital for children ever built in the United States. This guide covers the ABA programs in the Providence metro, Rhode Island's license, and the Massachusetts line that runs through the metro's eastern half.

Programs in metro
1 verified in the Providence metro
ABAI-accredited
1 of the institutions in this metro
License required
Yes in Rhode Island — see the state guide
Metro median
$59,120 for SOC 21-1018, Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

Key Takeaways

  • 01Salve Regina University's M.S. in Behavior Analysis is ABAI-accredited, runs 42 credits over about 21 months as an evening program in Newport, at a flat $800 per credit hour for all students.
  • 02Evening delivery and a flat rate for residents and non-residents make it unusually accessible for an accredited program — most accredited master's are daytime cohorts with a residency premium attached.
  • 03The Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College is the state's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and Rhode Island Hospital runs the state's LEND program.
  • 04Bradley Hospital, founded in 1931, was the first psychiatric hospital for children in the United States and remains the region's pediatric behavioral health anchor.
  • 05The metro spans two states and both license. Rhode Island through its Department of Health since 2012, Massachusetts since 2013 — and Fall River is twenty minutes from Providence.

Rhode Island is small enough that the whole state is effectively one metropolitan area, which concentrates its institutions in a way larger states do not. The result is that a metro of 1.7 million holds an ABAI-accredited master's, a federally designated UCEDD, a LEND program and a children's psychiatric hospital that predates almost every comparable institution in the country.

Salve Regina University's M.S. in Behavior Analysis in Newport is ABAI-accredited at master's level, runs 42 credits over about twenty-one months, and is taught in the evening at a flat $800 per credit hour for everyone. That combination — accreditation, evening delivery and no out-of-state premium — is rare. Most accredited programs run daytime cohorts and charge non-residents considerably more.

The institutional backdrop is stronger than the state's size suggests. The Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at Rhode Island College is the state's UCEDD. Rhode Island Hospital runs the state LEND program. And Bradley Hospital, founded in 1931, was the first psychiatric hospital for children built in the United States — it is still the region's pediatric behavioral health anchor, affiliated with Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School.

The complication is the border. The metro reaches into Massachusetts at Fall River, New Bedford and Attleboro, and both states license behavior analysts separately.

Metro scope

Includes: Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Pawtucket, Newport, Fall River, New Bedford, Attleboro. The Providence-Warwick metro, covering essentially all of Rhode Island plus Bristol County, Massachusetts — Providence and its inner ring through Cranston and Pawtucket, the bay towns down to Newport, and the Massachusetts cities of Fall River, New Bedford and Attleboro to the east.
Note: This metro crosses into Massachusetts and both states license, so the border is a real professional boundary in a region small enough that crossing it is routine. Rhode Island licenses behavior analysts through the Rhode Island Department of Health and has since 2012. Massachusetts licenses through its Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions and has since 2013. A caseload reaching Fall River, New Bedford or Attleboro from a Providence base needs both credentials, and those cities are inside the same commuting metro. Your BCBA carries across without rework; the state paperwork does not.

The programs

Every one of the accredited BCBA programs in the Providence metro

1 programs

01

Salve Regina University — M.S. in Behavior Analysis

Newport, about 35 miles south of Providence · Newport, RI · On-campus evening classes; Newport is a manageable evening drive from most of the metro

Tuition
$800 per credit hour, the same rate for all students
Length
42 credits, about 21 months
Format
On-campus, evening
Accreditation
ABAI-accredited at master's level; Salve Regina University
Part-time
Evening delivery designed around full-time work
  • ABAI-accredited at master's level — the only accredited ABA program in Rhode Island
  • Evening classes, which is unusual for an accredited program and makes it workable alongside full-time behavior technician work
  • A flat $800 per credit for everyone, so out-of-state students pay the same as Rhode Islanders
  • Completes in about 21 months, faster than most 42-credit programs
  • Newport is 35 miles from Providence, so factor an evening drive into the two years

Cost of living

What it costs to live in Rhode Island while you study

Rhode Island costs slightly more than the national average and considerably less than Boston an hour north. The BEA index puts the whole basket 1.8% above national and housing 3.9% above — against 48.4% above for housing in Boston. For anyone weighing New England, that gap is the central fact. The metro is small enough that drive times are short by American standards, though the bay divides it and the bridges to Newport are a toll.

Housing, 2024

103.9

3.9% above the national average

Everything, 2024

101.8

1.8% above the national average

Metro median pay covers

$58,075

of national-average spending

Housing runs 3.9% 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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA, 2024, where the national average is 100. Housing is the services-housing component; the second figure is the whole basket.

Housing price level

3.9% above the national average

BEA Regional Price Parity for housing, 2024; Boston runs 48.4% above

All-items price level

1.8% above the national average

BEA Regional Price Parity, all items, 2024

Transit

RIPTA bus and MBTA commuter rail to Boston

The MBTA Providence line connects to Boston; local coverage is adequate in the Providence core

Car

Required for fieldwork

A compact metro by American standards, but the bay divides it and Newport is a bridge away

Cross-border practice

Rhode Island and Massachusetts licenses

Rhode Island since 2012, Massachusetts since 2013; Fall River is 20 minutes from Providence

Tuition, Salve Regina M.S. (all students)

$800 per credit hour

Flat rate for residents and non-residents; 42 credits

Clinical fieldwork

BCBA certification in Providence: where Rhode Island students do supervised fieldwork

For a metro this size, Rhode Island's fieldwork infrastructure is remarkably complete. The state has a UCEDD at Rhode Island College, a LEND program at Rhode Island Hospital, and in Bradley Hospital a pediatric psychiatric institution that has been operating since 1931 and is affiliated with Brown. The Groden Center adds a long-established autism-specific provider.

Bradley Hospital

Bradley Hospital in East Providence was the first psychiatric hospital for children in the United States, founded 1931, and is affiliated with Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School.

Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities

The Sherlock Center at Rhode Island College is the state's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, working across training, research and community services.

Rhode Island LEND

Rhode Island Hospital hosts the state's LEND interdisciplinary training program in neurodevelopmental and related disabilities.

Hasbro Children's Hospital

Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence is the region's pediatric medical center, part of the same system as Bradley.

The Groden Center and Rhode Island districts

The Groden Center is a long-established Providence provider of autism services, and Providence Public Schools plus the surrounding districts host school-based placements.

Hiring market

Major ABA employers across the Providence metro

The Rhode Island market is small, institutionally dense and closely interconnected — Bradley, Hasbro and Rhode Island Hospital are the same system, Brown affiliates with all three, and Rhode Island College holds the UCEDD. In a state this size that means the professional network is genuinely small, which cuts both ways: it is easy to become known, and there are fewer places to move when you want a change.

Bradley Hospital

Children's psychiatric hospital

The first psychiatric hospital for children in the United States, founded 1931, affiliated with Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School and the region's pediatric behavioral health anchor.

Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities

University center for developmental disabilities

Rhode Island's UCEDD at Rhode Island College, working across training, research, community services and policy.

Hasbro Children's Hospital

Pediatric hospital

The state's pediatric medical center in Providence, part of the same system as Bradley, with developmental and behavioral services.

The Groden Center

Nonprofit autism services provider

A long-established Providence organization running school, home and community programs for children and adults with autism.

Providence Public School District

Public school district

The state's largest district, employing behavior specialists across special education services.

Metro pay

BCBA salary in the Providence-Warwick metro

Metro median

$59,120

National median

$59,350

10th percentile

$40,840

90th percentile

$95,780

BLS metro median, May 2025

$59,120

$230 below the national median

Cost of living, 2024

101.8

1.8% above the national average

Worth nationally

$58,075

the same pay in national-average dollars

Because prices run 1.8% above the national average, $59,120 here goes about as far as $58,075 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, Providence-Warwick, RI-MA. 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.

Salary distribution BLS OEWS · SOC 21-1018
Providence pay against the national figure
10th percentile (Providence)
$40,840
Providence median
$59,120
National median
$59,350
90th percentile (Providence)
$95,780

BCBAs are counted inside a broader occupation, so the median reads as a floor for the metro and the 90th percentile is the better guide to experienced BCBA pay.

The published figure for this metro is $59,120, the BLS OEWS May 2025 median for SOC 21-1018, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors, across the Providence-Warwick metro. That is $230 below the national median of $59,350 for the same code — level, to any practical purpose. BLS publishes no separate occupation for behavior analysts, and SOC 21-1018 also contains counseling roles requiring neither a master's nor board certification, so read $59,120 as a floor rather than as BCBA pay.

The 10th percentile is $40,840 and the 90th is $95,780. Prices across the metro run 1.8% above the national average, so $59,120 goes about as far as $58,075 would nationally — a small haircut.

The comparison that matters in New England is Boston, an hour north. Boston pays a $62,130 median, $3,010 more, against housing 48.4% above the national average where Providence sits at 3.9%. Cost-adjusted, Providence's $58,075 beats Boston's $57,368. Rhode Island also has an accredited program with evening classes at a flat rate, which Boston's accredited options do not match on accessibility. For anyone choosing between the two, the case for Providence is stronger than the headline salaries suggest. For national context see our BCBA salary guide.

Other cities

Other cities in Rhode Island

Providence is currently the only Rhode Island metro with its own guide. The state guide carries every program in Rhode Island plus the licensure picture.

All 50 city guides

Nearby metros

If you are flexible on metro

Providence sits an hour from Boston and shares a metro with Massachusetts towns, so the New England comparison is unavoidable. Hartford is ninety minutes west in a third licensing regime.

ABA Programs in Boston

An hour north, with the deepest program market in New England and housing 48.4% above the national average.

ABA Programs in Hartford

Ninety minutes west, in the Connecticut licensing regime, with three in-state master's programs.

ABA Programs in Rhode Island

The full state picture: Salve Regina's accredited program, the 2012 license, and the Bradley and Sherlock Center network.

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

01How many ABA programs are in Providence?+
One in the metro, and it is accredited. Salve Regina University in Newport runs an ABAI-accredited M.S. in Behavior Analysis, 42 credits over about twenty-one months, taught in the evening at a flat $800 per credit hour for residents and non-residents alike. Newport is about 35 miles south of Providence, which is an evening drive rather than a relocation. No other university in Rhode Island or in the metro's Massachusetts portion offers a qualifying ABA master's.
02Do I need a license to practice ABA in Providence?+
Yes, and possibly two. Rhode Island licenses behavior analysts through the Rhode Island Department of Health and has since 2012. Massachusetts licenses through its Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions and has since 2013. Because the Providence-Warwick metro includes Fall River, New Bedford and Attleboro in Massachusetts, a caseload that stays inside the metro can still cross a state line — Fall River is about twenty minutes from Providence. Your BCBA is the qualifying credential for both; what you duplicate is the application, the fee and the renewal calendar.
03Is Salve Regina worth choosing for the accreditation?+
The combination it offers is genuinely unusual. ABAI accreditation is a considerably more rigorous review than coursework alignment alone, and very few accredited programs are taught in the evening — most run daytime cohorts that require restructuring a working week. Salve Regina does both, at a flat $800 per credit with no out-of-state premium, completing in about twenty-one months. The trade is the location: Newport is 35 miles from Providence and further from the Massachusetts side of the metro, so two years of evening drives is the real cost. For someone already working as a behavior technician in Rhode Island, that is usually a manageable one.
04How much do BCBAs make in Providence?+
The official BLS figure for the metro is $59,120 (SOC 21-1018, May 2025), $230 below the national median for the same code — level in practical terms. The 10th percentile is $40,840 and the 90th is $95,780. That category mixes BCBAs with counselors who hold neither a master's nor board certification, so the 90th percentile is the better guide to experienced roles. Prices run 1.8% above the national average, so the median is worth about $58,075 nationally. The useful comparison is Boston: it pays $3,010 more nominally, but its housing runs 48.4% above the national average against Providence's 3.9%, and cost-adjusted Providence comes out ahead.
05What is Bradley Hospital and why does it matter?+
Bradley Hospital in East Providence, founded in 1931, was the first psychiatric hospital for children in the United States. It is affiliated with Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School and remains the region's anchor for pediatric behavioral health. For a trainee that means access to a clinical setting with nearly a century of institutional history in children's psychiatric care, and a caseload complexity that a community agency cannot offer. It sits within the same health system as Hasbro Children's Hospital, so the two together give a small state an unusually complete pediatric behavioral health infrastructure. Placements there are competitive.
06Is Providence a good place to start a BCBA career?+
For New England it is the best value in this guide. An ABAI-accredited evening program at a flat $800 per credit, a UCEDD at Rhode Island College, a LEND program at Rhode Island Hospital, and Bradley Hospital at the top of the clinical tier — that is a complete institutional set in a metro of 1.7 million. Costs run only 1.8% above the national average and housing 3.9% above, where Boston an hour north runs 48.4% above on housing. The limits are scale: a small professional network with fewer employers to move between, and a two-state licensing overhead inside a single commuting metro.

Sources

  1. Salve Regina University, M.S. in Behavior Analysis
  2. Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities, Rhode Island College (UCEDD)
  3. Rhode Island Department of Health, professional licensing
  4. BACB, U.S. Licensure of Behavior Analysts by State
  5. BLS OEWS May 2025, Providence-Warwick MSA (SOC 21-1018)
  6. Bradley Hospital, Lifespan
  7. ABAI Accredited Programs Directory

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