MAJOR IN ADDICTION AND RECOVERY

In this major, students will gain a scientific understanding of addiction and the process of recovery, along with ways to prevent, treat, and advocate for policy changes that will help address the epidemic that is affecting our community, nation, and world. Students will learn how individual, family, peer, school/work, and community factors may serve as both risk and protective factors in the development of addiction, and how these factors are essential to successful outcomes for prevention, treatment, and recovery. With this training, students will be prepared to enter the workforce in a variety of settings or to continue their education in graduate school, medical school, or law school. This program of study is ideal for students interested in pursuing careers in counseling, family therapy, prevention, policy, community outreach, ministry, medicine, or law. This major has a one-semester internship requirement. Students who choose to gain additional hands-on experience (beyond the internship) at prevention agencies or treatment centers may apply for certification as prevention specialists or alcohol/drug counselors through Alabama Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (AADAA).

INTERNSHIPS

Students in the major will gain practical field experience before graduating. There are several options for internships, including working alongside counselors in addiction treatment centers, following physicians in the field of Addiction Medicine, assisting prevention specialists in nonprofit drug prevention agencies, engaging in legal or policy matters in the community, participating in multidisciplinary groups for grant-funded projects addressing the opioid crisis, or traveling to another campus as part of a NIDA-sponsored research internship.

CAREERS

Upon graduation, our students typically join the workforce in addiction prevention, treatment, or policy, or they decide to continue their education in medical school or graduate school in Marriage and Family Therapy, Counseling, Social Work, Public Health, Prevention Science, etc.

Contact us: If you have any questions about this major or minor, please email Dr. Tricia Witte