Alcohol and Drug Abuse

The Graduate Certificate in Alcohol and Drug Abuse provides a multidisciplinary, balanced orientation to theory and practice, considers a breadth of contemporary issues, and emphasizes all methods for dealing with the problems of substance abuse.
Students receive training for dealing with varied aspects of substance abuse, including prevention, community education, treatment and rehabilitation, program management, and evaluation. Program graduates are employed by many public and private organizations, including social agencies, psychological clinics, family counseling services, alcohol and drug councils, hospitals, schools, and industries.

Typical students in this program are those who are obtaining their Master’s degree in Counseling Education/Counseling Psychology.  However, many others look to this certificate to help with their careers, including those in Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Education.

Program Benefits:

Where do alcohol and substance abuse personnel work?

Completion of the program enhances employability for a number of careers in both public and private sectors. Some examples are:

What do alcohol and substance abuse personnel do?

The course of study addresses varied aspects of service delivery such as continuum of care, prevention, assessment, treatment, and clinical supervision. Professionals in various fields, e.g., psychology, social work, corrections, sociology, management, and community education use the knowledge and skills they acquire through the program to specialize in a variety of job settings where substance abuse and alcoholism demand attention.

• private practice
• inpatient, residential, & outpatient chemical dependency treatment programs
• public schools, colleges, and universities
• public health organizations
• law enforcement agencies
• local, state, and federal substance abuse policy-making organizations
• employee assistance programs
• churches

Admission requirements and procedures

Students must submit a graduate certificate program application and official transcripts to the university Office of Admissions and Orientation (http://www.wmich.edu/admi/) Graduate College. Students wishing to combine the certificate program with a graduate degree program should apply for admission to the desired degree program. Both types of enrollment also require the submission of a program application and references to the SPADA office. The office will provide application packets upon request.  Persons who are eligible for graduate credit may apply for admission to the SPADA Program.

Each student will satisfactorily complete a program consisting of twelve semester hours of courses related to substance abuse and a six-hour field placement in one or more agencies dealing with some phase of substance abuse. Credit for the field placement will be elected from the courses designed for such activities in a department or school in which the student earns his or her graduate degree or in the certificate program. In some graduate degree programs the required SPADA courses may be integrated with the regular degree requirements. Specific requirements of this integration vary and can be determined for each department or school. In addition to the six semester hour field training experience, the following courses are required in the Graduate Certificate Program in Alcohol and Drug Abuse: