Psychoactive pharmaceutical grads share program insights
Are you interested in the treatment of various neuropsychiatric conditions through controlled psychoactive substances? UW–Madison’s Pharmaceutical Sciences: Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation (PPI) MS and Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation (PPI) Capstone Certificate programs could be your ticket to learning and career advancement. The two graduate-level programs provide innovative education for students exploring careers in psychoactive pharmaceuticals, health care and other industries.
This fall, four PPI alumni joined a panel with Enrollment Coach Anna Denuci to share their experiences in these fully online programs. Watch the full panel discussion here.
Sonya Sakaske, a community pharmacist and mother who completed the MS program, said the experience was life-changing, equipping her with advanced skills in the field of pharmaceuticals and helping her better serve her patients.
Emily Bussiere, a program director at Genentech, praised the program’s “accessible and fun” coursework, providing her with foundations for a new think tank initiative at her company.
The PPI master’s prepares graduates to take on researcher, technician, scientist or similar roles, particularly for employers focused on psychedelic, entheogen and cannabinoid research. The PPI capstone gives students essential knowledge and skills in the field, and successful completion of certificate courses can be applied to the master’s program. Both the master’s and certificate programs yield expertise in regulatory control, research ethics, drug synthesis and more.
Below, learn more about the programs and other insights alumni shared in the panel.
Comprehensive courses work together
The PPI programs offer a wide array of subjects, from legal processes and science to business and marketing, preparing students to navigate the rapidly evolving field of psychedelic drug development. The capstone certificate offers 12 credits across seven courses:
- Current Trends in Drug Discovery and Development
- Bioethics and Scientific Integrity
- Cannabinoids in Science and Society
- Appropriate Use of Abused Drugs
- Psychedelic Drugs in Science and Society
- Legal Structures for Controlled Substances
- Drug History: Dangerous Drugs and Magic Bullets
The master’s program curriculum offers 30 credits across 14 courses, including the same courses as the capstone certificate along with the following:
- Introduction to Regulatory Practice
- Pharmaceutical Economics and Project Management
- Survey of the Neuroactive Drug Development Process
- CNS Drug Designs, Actions, and Applications I
- CNS Drug Designs, Actions, and Applications II
- Two electives
Alumni on the panel said they enjoyed the regulatory affairs series, calling it challenging but rewarding. The professors “made super dense material really interesting,” said Shay McLean, an associate scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific. McLean, a recent chemistry graduate from the University of Iowa, was a teaching assistant in the UW–Madison chemistry department when his advisor encouraged him to look into the PPI program. McLean knew he wanted to go into a career with natural products chemistry, and he found the perfect fit.
Students said the PPI program’s wide array of courses were useful and interesting.
“I feel like this program does a good job of considering the big picture of how all these classes fit together,” Sakaske said. She started the program during the COVID-19 pandemic, found the courses complemented her pharmaceutical work and became more connected to the subject due to a family member who would have benefited from psychoactive therapy.
Building foundations, advancing careers
PPI program graduates have found success across diverse industries, such as clinical research, community pharmacy and pharmaceutical testing.
The PPI program emphasizes various technical skills, including critical, in-depth knowledge of Central Nervous System (CNS) drug development principles, research question identification and experimental design, data analysis and biostatistics. Furthermore, students have the opportunity to apply experimental techniques and learn best practices and ethical principles for working in regulated environments.
“The program runs through all of the kinds of methods you would use in neuroscience for different experiments, which was just the coolest thing ever to me,” said Anna Przybelski, a clinical research coordinator at UW–Madison.
During her undergraduate studies, Przybelski did not know what she wanted to do after graduation. She began working for a research lab studying Alzheimer’s and dementia, leading her to become interested in neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and reorganize its neural networks. After talking to a faculty coordinator, Przybelski applied to the PPI program with a newfound interest in the use of psychedelics in neurological psychiatry.
Bussiere, who had taken an organic chemistry course more than 15 years ago during her undergraduate studies, said the program helped her better understand concepts in organic chemistry. “A better foundation in science is helpful in any field,” she said. Similarly, McLean believed that the PPI coursework helped him build his knowledge base in biochemistry.
The PPI program also shapes students’ 21st-century skills — including professionalism, work ethic, critical thinking, problem-solving and communication —which are important to employers. Furthermore, the programs foster teamwork and leadership skills.
On top of picking up skills and knowledge, Bussiere emphasized the multitude of networking opportunities available to students. “I feel like the coursework and networking are two of the best benefits of the program, even if you’re doing it remotely,” she said. Bussiere attended the Psychedelic Symposium last year in Madison with classmates who she still keeps in contact with.
Pathways, tuition and deadlines
The PPI programs are flexible. The capstone certificate must typically be completed in two years, and the master’s degree can be completed in 1-3 years. The programs admit students for fall and spring terms. See below for tuition.
| PPI program | Master’s degree | Capstone certificate |
| Courses | 14 courses | 7 courses |
| Total credits | 30 credits | 12 credits |
| Price per credit | $1,500 (in and out of state) | |
| Total tuition | $45,000 | $18,000 |
| Application deadlines | Fall 2025: April 30, 2025Spring 2026: August 31, 2025 | Fall 2025: May 31, 2025Spring 2026: September 30, 2025 |
Both the capstone and MS programs have a variety of faculty experts to answer questions and mentor students along their journey, and advisors are available to support students.
Alumni on the panel said they have found opportunities and success through these graduate-level programs, and they emphasize the importance of taking on new challenges and opportunities. “I have a bunch of new friends, I have new research opportunities, and it seems like I’m where I’m supposed to be now,” Przybelski said.
Prospective students can connect with Anna Denucci, enrollment coach, at [email protected], for personalized guidance on the psychoactive pharmaceutical master’s and capstone programs.
