Collin Gifford Brooke, Chair of the Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition
239 H.B. Crouse Hall
315-443-1091

Faculty

Lois Agnew, Patrick W. Berry, Collin Gifford Brooke, Kevin Adonis Browne, Lenny Grant, Alicia Hatcher, Krista Kennedy, Brice Nordquist, Eileen E. Schell, Tony Scott, Joseph Wilson

The Syracuse University Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition has been a national leader in the field of rhetoric and composition for almost 30 years. Chartered in 1987, the department was at the forefront of a national trend of establishing independent academic units focused entirely on writing research and instruction. Since then, we have maintained our strong focus on introductory writing and professional communication, while expanding our scope to create an innovative curriculum that engages with writing studies at every level.

The department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition is also home to The Writing Center (H.B.Crouse 101; 315-443-5289), a resource for all writers at Syracuse University. See our web site at wrt.syr.edu for more information.

Major in Writing Description

As a Writing and Rhetoric Major, you will explore the power of language across a range of genres in ways that will help you to compose in a rapidly changing world. Our major offers classes that will give you the opportunity to practice digital, argumentative, research, civic, science, professional, and technical writing as well as creative nonfiction. You will also consider culture, ethics, identity and language as they relate to writing in and out of school.

Working in small, student-centered classes taught by attentive, award-winning faculty, you will gain the skills needed for a variety of today’s existing careers as well as the adaptability to succeed in jobs that are just emerging.

Graduates of the Writing and Rhetoric Major have gone on to be successful in a variety of careers including public relations, marketing, public advocacy, editing and publishing, teaching, and business. Some go on to pursue advanced degrees in law, medicine, and the humanities. The major is both rigorous and flexible, allowing students to pursue what they love while deepening their critical thinking, composing, and creative problem-solving skills. The major is open to any SU student, and many find it to be an excellent second major.

The Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition is home to a highly ranked doctoral program. Our faculty invite students to examine language as embedded in history and culture, from diverse rhetorical traditions to emerging technologies to ethics, investigating the relationships among writing, rhetoric, identity, literacy, and power.

If you would like to learn more about the Writing and Rhetoric Major, feel free to email us at writing@syr.edu or phone at (315) 443-1091. We can arrange an opportunity for you to meet our faculty or majors and see our dedicated study space.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Produce well-reasoned, well-evidenced arguments
2. Produce texts that exhibit an ethical stance toward topic and audience
3. Produce rhetorically astute work in multiple modalities
4. Produce texts that engage with issues of the interactions of power, identity, culture, and literacy in their rhetorical and social complexity
5. Produce texts that engage the historical and cultural contexts of genres and practices of writing
6. Engage in primary and secondary research and reflect on their research practices and processes

Requirements

To qualify for a B.A. degree in Writing and Rhetoric, students complete a total of 30 credits of coursework. These credits include the required core courses WRT 255 Advanced Argumentative Writing, WRT 302 Advanced Writing Studio: Digital Writing, WRT 307 Advanced Writing Studio: Professional Writing, WRT 413 Rhetoric and Ethics, three courses from Genres and Practices, and three courses from Histories and Theories.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Core Courses
WRT 255	Advanced Argumentative Writing	3
WRT 302	Advanced Writing Studio: Digital Writing	3
WRT 307	Advanced Writing Studio: Professional Writing	3
WRT 413	Rhetoric and Ethics	3
Genres and Practices
Select three of the following:		9
WRT 240	Writing through Health, Wellness, and Illness
WRT 301	Advanced Writing Studio: Civic Writing
WRT 303	Advanced Writing Studio: Research and Writing
WRT 304	Indigenous Writing and Rhetoric
WRT 308	Advanced Writing Studio: Syle
WRT 331	Peer Writing Consultant Practicum
WRT 340	Advanced Editing Studio
WRT 417	Technical Documentation & Usability
WRT 419	Advanced Technical Writing Workshop
WRT 422	Studies in Creative Nonfiction (repeatable) *
WRT 425	Digital Identities
WRT 427	Emerging Technologies in Professional & Technical Writing
WRT 470	Experience Credit (community or business-based internships: http://wrt.syr.edu/undergraduate/internships.html)
Approved Genres and Practices non-WRT Courses
WRT 401	Advanced Workshop in Technical Communications: Design Methodology
ENG 403	Advanced Writing Workshop: Fiction
NEW 205	News Writing
PRL 214	Writing for Public Relations: Media and Messaging
Histories and Theories
Select three of the following:		9
WRT 423	African American Rhetoric
WRT 424	Studies in Writing, Rhetoric, Identity (repeatable) *
WRT 426	Studies in Writing, Rhetoric, and Information Technology (repeatable) *
WRT 428	Studies in Composition, Rhetoric and Literacy (repeatable) *
WRT 436	Feminist Rhetoric(s)
WRT 437	Rhetoric and Information Design
WRT 440	Studies in the Politics of Language and Writing (repeatable) *
WRT 447	Professional & Technical Writing in Global Contexts
Approved Histories and Theories non-WRT courses:
CRS 336	Communication and Organizational Diversity
CRS 338	Communication in Organizations
CRS 355	Political Communication
CRS 455	Rhetorical Criticism
CRS 483	Rhetoric of Film
ENG 325	History and Varieties of English
ENG 420	Topics in Cultural Production and Reception
ENG 440	Topics in Theorizing History and Culture
Total Credits		30

Note

*These courses are repeatable.

**At most, a total of two approved non-WRT courses (6 credits) from the above lists can be used toward the major.

Declaring a Major

To declare a Writing and Rhetoric Major, students should complete the electronic Declaration of Major form in MySlice.

Distinction in Writing and Rhetoric

Students may earn the award of Distinction in Writing if overall cumulative GPA of 3.4 and a minimum GPA of 3.5 in WRT after taking at least four Writing and Rhetoric major courses to be eligible to enroll in WRT 495 Senior Research Seminar I  in the fall (one credit) and WRT 496 Senior Research Seminar II in the spring of their Senior year (two credits) during which students must complete a thesis-length independent research or creative project. 

College of Arts and Sciences Requirements 

For all Arts and Sciences|Maxwell students, successful completion of a bachelor’s degree in this major requires a minimum of 120 credits, 96 of which must be Arts and Sciences|Maxwell credits, completion of the Liberal Arts Core requirements, and the requirements for this major (30 credits) that are listed above.

Dual Enrollments:

Students dually enrolled in Newhouse* and Arts and Sciences|Maxwell will complete a minimum of 122 credits, with at least 90 credits in Arts and Sciences|Maxwell coursework and an Arts and Sciences|Maxwell major.

*Students dually enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences|Maxwell as first year students must complete the Liberal Arts Core. Students who transfer to the dual program after their first year as singly enrolled students in the Newhouse School will satisfy general requirements for the dual degree program by completing the Newhouse Core Requirements.

Undergraduate University Requirements

The following requirements and experiences apply to all Syracuse University Undergraduate matriculated degree programs.

• ​IDEA Course Requirement 
• First Year Seminar