An exploratory study was conducted to compare addiction studies and community counseling students' attitudes toward research. A survey of 66 addiction studies and 17 community counseling students in graduate programs was used to explore interest and self-efficacy in research and the research training environment. A pre/post test design was used to measure differences in an addiction etiology and epidemiology course containing 14 participants. Differences between recovering and non-recovering students were also explored. Independent t-test analyses were conducted to detect significant differences between addiction studies and community counseling students (p less than 0.05), as well as significant differences in those students enrolled in the pilot course (p less than 0.05). No differences were noted among reported recovery status. Implications for graduate program development in addiction studies are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)