Laci Watkins, PhD, BCBA, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology. Her research and teaching are closely informed by her prior experience as a special educator in public schools and her continued work and collaborations in these settings. Dr. Watkins's research focuses on strategies to support the inclusion of autistic students in schools and communities, peer-mediated interventions and social interaction, examining the social validity of behavioral interventions, improving teacher implementation of evidence-based practices in authentic educational settings, and statistical analysis of single case experimental design research to better determine for whom and under what conditions certain practices are most effective. Dr. Watkins is also interested in multidisciplinary collaborations in autism research and training. She teaches courses on inclusive special education, behavioral interventions, and single case experimental design and provides training, supervision, and mentorship to graduate students. With her Autism & Inclusion lab group, Dr. Watkins and her team have been actively involved in community-based research partnerships seeking to improve outcomes for children with autism and developmental disabilities. Dr. Watkins has been awarded federal funding to support her work and received several recognitions for her high impact research.

Dr. Watkins is accepting PhD students for Fall 2024.