C. Dennis Simpson, Director
Jeanine Bartholomew, Advisor
2125 College of Health and Human Services

Western Michigan University’s Specialty Program in Alcohol and Drug Abuse (SPADA) provides professional education for all those who are interested in the substance abuse field. Multidisciplinary in nature, SPADA provides a balanced orientation to theory and practice, considers a breadth of contemporary issues, and emphasizes a variety of methods for dealing with the problems of substance abuse.

SPADA offers a Graduate Certificate in Alcohol and Drug Abuse which can be earned as an independent certificate or can be used to supplement graduate education in related fields such as biological sciences, counseling psychology, occupational therapy, psychology, public administration, social work, and sociology, as well as other related disciplines. Specifically, the graduate certificate may be earned in one of three ways; as a post-baccalaureate certificate, in conjunction with a graduate degree, or to complement an earned graduate degree. Courses are offered at the main campus as well as the regional locations of Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, Lansing, Traverse City and Metro Detroit. For more information about which courses are being offered, please visit the websites for these perspective regional locations. Courses are also offered online. Please visit the website of Extended University Programs for information about which courses are being offered.

Graduates of SPADA are prepared to serve the profession in ways that address the personal, social and economic costs of the use and abuse of psychoactive substances.