Program Requirements

The M.S. in Addiction Policy & Practice program is an in-person course of study that provides a unique combination of training that brings together the fields of public policy, neuroscience, psychiatry, epidemiology, and social sciences. Courses are scheduled during both day and evening hours, depending on the semester. The program takes one calendar year to complete and requires 30 credits. Because of its highly integrated curriculum, the program is intended for full-time students. Classes begin the first week of July and finish at the end of the following June.

Academic Requirements

Academic requirements for the M.S. in Addiction Policy & Practice program are:

  • Satisfactory completion of 24 credits from core courses, a mentored capstone experience and the integrative seminars.  The remaining 6 credits will include a course in epidemiology or public health and an elective.
  • Maintain a 3.0 GPA
  • Successfully complete a capstone project.

Curriculum Components

The curriculum consists of five components:

  1. A sequence of courses on policy development, the history of US drug and addiction policy, mental health and addiction law, and a comparative course on international approaches to addiction policy;
  2. A course covering the neurobiology of addiction;
  3. A sequence of courses on the psychiatric aspects of addiction, including risk factors, comorbidities, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery;
  4. A capstone project; and
  5. An integrative seminar in the fall and spring semesters, taught by the Program Director and designed to insure integration of the various components of the curriculum. The integrative seminar will include an observational component.