CRS Graduate Students

As one of the oldest and consistently top-ranked programs in the country, our M.A. program provides more than just a chance to advance your scholarship. It provides access to a community of scholars, activists, and professionals seeking to make the world a more equitable and diverse place.

The following Answers section is for the graduate students of the CRS program within the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. Here you will find internal policies and procedures, forms and applications, and documentation needed during your time as a graduate student within the program.

If you don't find what you need on this page, use the drop-down navigation on the left.

From Graduate Program Director Erin Rand:

Welcome to the CRS Graduate Program site for current graduate students. We are delighted you are with us! At this site, you will find calendars, forms, links to funding and other resources, an anonymous suggestion box (that will be checked periodically), and more. If you would like something added to the site, please let me know. 

Please come by or email if you have any concerns. We want to make your graduate school experience productive, invigorating, and even fun.

105 Sims Hall
ejrand@syr.edu
315-443-5134

Program Information: Curriculum

All students are required to complete a minimum of 33 credit hours of graduate level coursework. In addition:

• At least 24 credit hours must be Communication & Rhetoric courses
  • At least 15 credit hours must be 600 level or above
• A maximum of 6 credit hours of “Independent Studies” are allowed
• All students are required to complete the following 6 credit hours of core coursework:
  • CRS 601 Language, Interaction & Culture
  • CRS 603 Contemporary Theories of Rhetoric 

Students may take a maximum of 9 credit hours from other graduate programs within the University. These “other” courses should be clearly related to the student’s individual emphasis and cannot be taken as substitutes for communication and rhetorical studies courses.

Academic Resources

• Graduate Student Manual
  • General information for CRS graduate students.
• Form A First-year Assessment
  • Form for assessing the student’s progress/achievement.
• Form B Exit Option Declaration
  • Form for declaring a program exit option (thesis or comps).
• Form C Thesis and Comps Committee
  • Form for listing potential thesis committee members.
• Form D Thesis Proposal Defense
  • Form to fill after successful defense of the thesis proposal.
• Program of Study Form
  
  • Form for organizing and delivering details of study program.
• Request for Examination Form
  • Form for requesting examination in preparation for exiting the program.
• “What You Need to Graduate” Information from SU Graduate School
  • Helpful information from the Graduate School.
• CRS Graduation Checklist
  • Complete list of all forms and tasks to be completed for graduation.

Additional Resources

• Grad Orientation Presentation 2018 [PowerPoint 2250KB] 
• CRS Consolidated Events Calendar [Google Calendar]
• Schiappa’s “Professional Development During Your Doctoral Education” [PDF 562KB] 

CRS Travel Forms

Here are CRS Travel Forms and information about the CRS Travel Policy!

• CRS Conference Travel Policy
  • Important things to know before you travel!
• Graduate Student Travel Funding Application [PDF 22KB]
  • Form for requesting travel funding from CRS.

Other Travel Funding Opportunities

• VPA Funding Opportunities
• GSO Travel Grant
  • This is a graduate student organization grant for conference travel.