Addiction Counseling, Post-Master's Certificate

The Post Master’s Certificate in Addiction Counseling provides advanced training to professionals in counseling and other mental health disciplines in their preparation to treat substance use disorders and addictive behaviors. This program further enables candidates to take on management and leadership roles in substance use disorder treatment and a variety of social service settings where clients with substance use disorders are served.  

The Addiction Counseling certificate aligns with the curricular requirements of the CT Department of Public Health Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC) credential. These include ethics, HIV/AIDS, pharmacology, assessment and treatment planning in addictions, and cross-cultural, special populations and ethnically diverse groups. The PMC is administered completely online.  

Candidates for this program must provide verification of a master’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education in Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Counseling, Psychology or a related field that included a minimum of eighteen graduate semester hours in counseling or counseling related subjects.

Required - 12 credits

CSP 611 Biology and Pharmacology of Substance Use Disorders (3 credits) 
CSP 612 Theories of Substance Use Disorders (3 credits) 
CSP 613 Evaluation & Treatment of Substance Use Disorders (3 credits) 
CSP 614 Ethics, Diversity, and Social Justice in Addiction Counseling (3 credits) 

Admission to the Program is based upon following criteria: 

• Minimum graduate GPA of 3.0.
• Recommendations from at least THREE individuals who know the candidate in professional and/or academic setting.
• Personal essay explaining the candidate’s reasons for pursuing the PMC. The essay should be approximately 250-500 words in length.
• A current professional resume or vita.

Steps to Admission and Deadline 
Admission to the program occurs once per year. To be matriculated in Fall semester, all admission materials must be received by January 15.  

In order to apply, please follow the steps below:

• Make a formal application and submit a non-refundable fee to Southern Connecticut State University's Graduate School. The application can be found and completed online.
• All applicants must submit ALL transcripts with their application. If you have attended SCSU, you only need to indicate this on your application: you do not need to send your official SCSU transcript.
• Upload your personal essay to the same portal to which you logged in to apply.
• Upload your professional resume or vita to the same portal to which you logged in to apply.
• Have THREE recommenders upload their recommendations directly into the system via a personalized link sent to them when you applied.

Important Information Regarding Credentialing
Applicants considering the Addiction Counseling Certificate must be aware that the state certification/licensure process is separate from completion of the PMC at SCSU. Applicants, not SCSU, are solely responsible for completing requirements related to eligibility for state certification/licensure, as requirements may differ depending upon each applicant’s preparation and coursework completed prior to matriculation into the PMC Program. If applicants wish to pursue additional clinical credentials such as certification or licensure, they must apply to the State of CT Department of Public Health for these credentials, or to the state licensing board in the state in which the applicant intends to practice. Part of that process may involve a criminal record background check.