USC rolls out new master’s degree in addiction science

A new master’s program in addiction science will be offered starting Fall 2023 in a joint venture between the Keck School of Medicine, the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and the School of Pharmacy. 

The degree will be offered by the USC Institute of Addiction Science, which was founded in 2018 to promote research and education in addiction science across scientific disciplines. 

“[The program is] really the first of its kind in the country that approaches addiction from a transdisciplinary educational standpoint,” said Jennifer Lewis, the IAS training consortium co-leader.

Beyond the master’s program, IAS Associate Educational Program Director Terry Church said the institute hopes to grow its educational programs to create certificate and Ph.D. programs in addition to the undergraduate minor in addiction sciences IAS already offers. Currently, the master’s program does not have a progressive degree option. USC also offers the Rising STARS program, which provides career development opportunities in addiction science for undergraduates. 

The master’s program is 32 units in total and includes a few core classes that touch on foundational material in addiction science and also offers students research and clinical experience. At the end of the program, students will write a master’s thesis relating to pharmacy, medicine and social work. 

IAS Ph.D Director Adam Leventhal said the interdisciplinary nature of the degree allows students to study addiction from many different perspectives. 

“We’re looking at addiction from a very broad lens, from biology to psychology to society, to even economics and policy,” Leventhal said. 

Many of the courses students can take will be electives, allowing them to choose the dimension of addiction they want to focus their studies on. 

As the program is a collaboration among the Schools of Medicine, Social Work and Pharmacy, students can take courses in any of these schools to count toward their degree. They can also choose to have either a clinical or research concentration. 

“You can take [the courses] in the pain clinic … you can take them in pharmacy, you can take them in social work, in nursing, and obviously in medicine, so it actually spans a lot of different kinds of courses that allows you to do a little customization for your master’s degree,” Lewis said.

One such course is called Buzz, which centers on modern substance abuse and addiction, offered through the School of Pharmacy.

Lewis said she expects graduates to use the skills gained from the program to work in a variety of fields, such as therapists, counselors, researchers, rehabilitation center supervisors or directors and public policy advocates related to addiction. 

Church said he hopes the program will help destigmatize addiction and emphasized that the program is open to all students. 

“If you have ever known anyone who’s been touched by addiction in any way — and most people know at least one person — then our classes might be of interest to you,” Church said. “They will give you ways to understand not only what the person is going through but [also] how best to help them.” 

IAS is looking to expand beyond USC into the larger South Los Angeles community, possibly including a program for high schoolers, as Church said. 

The expected length of the program is two years and applications are currently open for Fall 2023 enrollment.