Addiction Neuroscience

Addiction Neuroscience Ph.D.

The Ph.D. in Addiction Neuroscience is a Purdue University degree offered in the Department of Psychology.

The is intended for students interested in the behavioral and brain sciences who seek research-based careers in behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology. The graduate training is designed to promote a comprehensive understanding of the neural bases of behavior, with an emphasis on the behavioral neurobiology of drugs of abuse.

You will gain expertise in integrative neuroscience and learn to apply current methods of cellular and systems neuroscience to key problems of drug abuse and addiction. Youll be prepared for a career in academia, medical neuroscience research, the pharmaceutical industry, or government research.

Youll work closely with a faculty mentor, often in collaboration with other faculty on campus. Your studies will focus on the actions and effects of alcohol and drugs of abuse on brain function and brain development, as well as on brain mechanisms of addictive behavior. Our faculty are experts in:

• behavior
• psychopharmacology and neurochemistry of alcohol and drugs of abuse
• genetic determinants of alcohol abuse
• mechanisms of alcohol-related behavior
• behavioral and neurobiological consequences of developmental exposure to drugs of abuse

Understanding your course requirements *denotes a required course

Core in Addiction Neuroscience (12 credit hours required)

• *PSY 615 - Behavioral Neuroscience (3 credits)
• *PSY-I 545 - Psychopharmacology (3 credits)
• *PSY 590 - Drugs of Abuse (3 credits)
• PSY-I 544 - Psychobiology of Motivation & Reward (3 credits)
• PSY 590 - Behavior Genetics & Animal Models (3 credits)

Core in Neurobiology (6 credit hours required)

• ANAT D527 - Neuroanatomy (3 credits)
• BIOL 571 - Developmental Neurobiology (3 credits)
• ANAT D526 - Methods in Cell and Neurobiology (4 credits)
• BIOC B835 - Neurochemistry (3 credits)
• PHAR F809 - Neuropharmacology (3 credits)
• ANAT D876 - Neurotransmitter/Neuroendocrine Cytology & Anatomy (3 credits)
• ANAT D888 - Developmental & Molecular Neurobiology (3 credits)
• BIOC B500 - (3 credits)
• ORCHEM 533 - Biochemistry (3 credits)

Core in Psychology

Quantitative Methods (6 credit hours required) 

• *PSY 600 - Statistical Inference (3 credits)
• *PSY 601 - Correlation & Experiment Design (3 credits)

Learning, Memory, & Cognition (6 credit hours required) 

• PSY 518 - Memory & Cognition (3 credits)
• PSY 622 - Animal Learning (3 credits)
• PSY 624 - Human Learning & Memory (3 credits)
• PSY 628 - Perceptual Processes (3 credits)
• PSY 655 - Cognitive Development (3 credits)
• PSY-I 675 - Human Neuropsychology (3 credits)

Clinical, Social, Developmental, and I/O (6 credit hours required)

• PSY-I 535 - Clinical Neuroscience (3 credits)
• PSY 570 - Industrial Psychology (3 credits)
• PSY 572 - Organizational Psychology (3 credits)
• PSY-I 591 - Psychopathology (3 credits)
• PSY 640 - Survey of Social Psychology (3 credits)
• PSY 655 - Cognitive Development (3 credits)
• PSY-I 670 - Ethical Issues in Psychology (3 credits)
• PSY-I 675 - Human Neuropsychology (3 credits)

Seminars & Professional Training (8, 1-hour seminar credit hours of 590 required)

• *590 - Addictions Seminar (1 credit per semester)
• N801 - Seminar-Topics in Medical Neuroscience (1 credit)
• N802 - Tech. of Effective Grant Writing (3 credits)
• G504 - Introduction to Research Ethics (2 credits)
• G556 - Humane Animal Experimentation (1 credit)
• *I595 - Seminar in Teaching Psychology (0-3 credits)

Every student is expected to serve in some teaching capacity for at least two semesters, either as a teaching assistant or as an instructor for an undergraduate psychology course.

Students who hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 on a 4.00-point scale, or with an overall “B” grade equivalent may be considered for admission to graduate degree programs in the School of Engineering and Technology. International applicants must submit official test score reports from the Educational Testing Service (ETS) for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to be considered for admissions.  Some graduate programs require official test scores for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) from both domestic and international applications.

All international students must demonstrate English proficiency for admission into IUPUI graduate and professional programs. Non-native English speaking domestic applicants may also be required to complete standardized testing dependent on their English proficiency.

There are many different ways to demonstrate your English proficiency to meet our graduate or professional admission requirements. Please make careful note of the different minimum requirements for Purdue and IU graduate programs shown below. Additionally, some graduate programs only accept the TOEFL, and some may require a score higher than the minimum campus standard. Verify this information with your program before selecting an alternative to the TOEFL.

Your first step is to talk to the academic department that offers your program. You will want to check their admission standards and deadlines before you start the application process.

You are required to submit some supporting documents for your department to make the initial admission decision. Each department has different requirements.