As Nigeria expands autism services and specialist training, Greenfort University offers a fully online pathway to advanced behavioural-science education that professionals can complete without leaving the country.
Nigerian professionals working in autism care, education and therapy can now pursue a United States master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis without relocating, at a moment when the Federal Government is moving to expand specialist services across the country.
In August, the government announced plans to establish autism centres across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, alongside an expansion of specialist training aimed at strengthening diagnosis, therapy, rehabilitation and inclusive education. The initiative points to a challenge that has followed autism care in Nigeria for years: expanding services also means expanding the number of professionals trained to deliver them.
Greenfort University, a distance-learning institution based in Orlando, Florida, is offering its Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis, known as ABA, entirely online to professionals in Nigeria and other countries, positioning the degree as one route to building that workforce.
ABA is one of the scientific disciplines used internationally to understand behaviour and design evidence-based interventions. Although it is most often associated with autism, its scope is wider: behaviour analysts apply principles of learning and behaviour to education, developmental disabilities, healthcare, workplace performance and organisational management.
A U.S. master’s degree without relocating
The programme is a 40-credit graduate degree delivered fully online, designed for working professionals who need to combine study with clinical, educational or professional responsibilities. Students complete coursework remotely rather than moving to the United States.
The curriculum covers the foundations of behaviour analysis, research methods, conceptual analysis, ethics, behavioural assessment and intervention, and applications of behavioural science in schools and organisations, with applied components meant to connect academic concepts to situations professionals meet in practice.
For Nigerian practitioners, the format matters. Studies of autism services in the country have repeatedly pointed to shortages of specialised professionals and training opportunities, and more recent work has examined computer-based instruction as a way to widen access to behaviour-analytic training. Online graduate education offers one way for professionals to reach international faculty while continuing to work in their own communities.
Cost is part of that accessibility. The traditional route to an American master’s means relocating, which brings a student visa, international tuition and the expense of living in the United States for the length of the programme. Studying online removes most of that: students avoid relocation and overseas living costs and can keep earning while they study, which changes the overall economics of an American qualification for a professional based in Nigeria.
The international route to certification
Building that workforce depends on more than coursework. For any professional weighing an ABA degree, a practical question comes before the syllabus: which professional credential does it lead to, and where is that credential recognised?
The best-known credential in the field is the Board Certified Behavior Analyst, or BCBA, issued by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) in the United States. It is also, for most of the world, closed: the BACB restricts eligibility to the United States and Canada and no longer certifies new candidates in other countries, Nigeria included. For practitioners building a career outside North America, the relevant question is therefore not the BCBA but which bodies certify internationally.
Two of those bodies anchor Greenfort University’s programme. The Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board, or QABA, certifies practitioners across several levels, including the Qualified Behavior Analyst (QBA), and grants its credentials to candidates around the world. The International Behavior Analysis Organization, or IBAO, was created specifically to certify behaviour analysts internationally, with credentials such as the International Behavior Analyst (IBA). Both are open to practitioners in Nigeria in a way the BACB is not, which is why Greenfort’s curriculum is built around their standards.
Certification is not automatic. Each body sets its own requirements, and a degree alone does not guarantee it: candidates must still meet the education, supervised-experience and examination requirements of the organisation they choose. That framework is already taking root locally. Nigeria has professionals pursuing the QBA, and organisations in the country have begun developing their own ABA coursework, a sign of growing momentum toward a specialised behavioural workforce.
A faculty with international credentials
The programme’s faculty brings together academics and practitioners from several countries, with credentials including BCBA, BCBA-D, QBA and IBA and doctoral training in behaviour analysis, psychology and special education. Its faculty includes Mariela Feldman, BCBA and QBA, who chairs the International Development Committee for Applied Behavior Analysis at the QABA Credentialing Board; Juliana Aguilar, a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) who directs the ABA programmes at Purdue University; and Matthew Edelstein, a BCBA-D and clinical psychologist on the faculty of Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he directs the Brief Treatment Clinic at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Their experience spans universities, healthcare organisations, schools, autism services and behavioural organisations, and the curriculum reflects that range, covering clinical behaviour analysis, education, supervision, research and Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). The university says the aim is to expose students to different applications of behaviour analysis rather than the perspective of a single country.
Manuel Rodriguez, a BCBA who teaches Organizational Behavior Management on the programme, argues that the practical orientation of that faculty matters as much as its range. “After twenty-five years as a BCBA, I can tell you the difference between a program that teaches behavior analysis and one that trains practitioners,” he said. “The faculty here are active clinicians supervising real cases. The curriculum is built around real clinical scenarios. That is not a minor distinction; it is the difference between knowing the science and being able to use it.”
“Nigerian professionals deserve training at that level,” he added, “and now they have access to it.”
From awareness to workforce
The growth of autism awareness in Nigeria has made workforce development a pressing question. Discussion in the country has shifted from identifying children with autism to whether families can then reach qualified professionals, suitable schools and evidence-based services. In July, experts at the 16th GTCO Autism Conference in Lagos warned that autistic Nigerians still face barriers in education, employment and community life, and both Nigerian and international studies have found that access to specialists remains limited.
That means opening centres alone may not be enough. Sustainable autism and developmental services also depend on professionals who can assess behaviour, weigh evidence, design interventions, measure outcomes and work in multidisciplinary teams.
Elif Tekin Iftar, an IBA on the programme’s faculty who holds a PhD in Special Education and a bachelor’s degree in counselling and guidance, says that is where graduate training matters most. “Having worked in applied behavior analysis education, research, and graduate training for almost three decades, I have come to see graduate education as much more than the transmission of knowledge. High-quality ABA education should cultivate professionals who can think behaviorally, evaluate evidence critically, make ethically responsible decisions, and translate behavioral science into meaningful outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.”
“In that sense, expanding access to rigorous graduate education is not simply about increasing the number of professionals in the field; it is about strengthening the quality, scientific foundation, and sustainability of behavioral services,” she said. “For Nigerian professionals, this program represents an important opportunity to engage with graduate-level education in ABA while bringing that knowledge and expertise back to the contexts and communities they serve.”
For a psychologist, educator or therapist already working with children and families in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt or elsewhere, a fully online international degree makes advanced study possible without interrupting a career to move abroad. The programme is offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with English the direct route for Nigerian students.
An American institution with an international focus
Greenfort University is a private distance-learning institution based in Orlando, Florida. It is licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education, the state body that oversees private postsecondary institutions in Florida, and holds institutional accreditation from the International Association for Quality Assurance in Pre-Tertiary and Higher Education (QAHE), an independent international quality-assurance organisation. Its model centres on fully online graduate education for working professionals, and beyond ABA it offers graduate programmes in business, technology and health-related fields.
For Nigeria, ABA is a timely area. As the country debates new autism centres, inclusive education and expanded specialist training, the challenge is no longer only raising awareness of autism. It is building the professional workforce that turns awareness into qualified, ethical and evidence-based support.
For more information about Greenfort University and its Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis, visit greenfortuniversity.com
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