This causal comparative study examines if Addiction Studies (AS) courses affect college students' knowledge and behaviors surrounding substance use. There are two focus areas of this study. First, to examine if AS courses predict a change in drug and alcohol use behaviors in college students. Second, to gain an understanding surrounding a drug and alcohol curriculum and if this curriculum can aide in college students' understanding of the effects of substance use. The study examines if an increase in knowledge mediates the connection between AS course participation and substance use behaviors. The participants in this study were 659 college students at a Midwestern college, surveyed at the beginning and end of the fall semester 2016. The students were asked to participate by an email from the dean or professor in their respective program. A pretest-posttest survey design with a control method was used in this study. Students that were not in one of the two introductory AS courses were in comparable courses in terms of college level. This study observes whether AS courses have an impact on students' substance use behaviors and knowledge. The primary analytic techniques used to explore the hypothesis were Chi-square, ANCOVA and multinomial logistic regression. The age of a student has a statistically significant relationship to substance use at Time 1, the younger cohort used considerably more alcohol and drugs than the older group. When controlling for Time 1 substance use, course taken (AS or control) did not predict Time 2 substance use. In addition, course taken did not mediate knowledge or substance use change. This study suggests finding and quantifying the effects from an AS course is an elusive task and further research is needed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]