Student Records and Registration Policies
Degree-Bearing Transcript
You must submit acceptable documentation of all degrees earned prior to matriculation in your graduate program at Syracuse University by the end of your first semester of study. Federal loans cannot be disbursed until this documentation has been received and verified. If you do not meet this requirement you may be prohibited from further registration. The Newhouse policy is to add a hold to your record if you have not provided this documentation by July 15, thus prohibiting fall registration in August.
Communications Law Waiver Request
If you took a communications law course within the past five years, you may be able to waive this master’s program requirement and take another course in its place. You must have earned a B or better in a relatively recent course. A course description and syllabus are required. You must complete this online form by July 15 if you plan to request a waiver.
Waiving Requirements
Aside from communications law, as detailed above, you may use a Petition to the Faculty to waive other course requirements. You may be asked to provide a syllabus and obtain approval from another Newhouse department other than your own. Once a requirement is waived, you must take an additional course or courses to make up the credits. Please contact the Graduate Records Office for details.
Registration Information
You will register for classes using MySlice. View the Registration FAQ as well as academic calendars showing registration deadlines. Be sure to check and resolve Holds before you register. The GRO will email you information about advising and course registration before each new term. You should follow your most recent and approved term-by-term advising sheet for your program of study.
Joint Degree Programs
You may wish to seek out the resources and expertise of the faculty and staff in the school or college associated with your joint degree.
Audio Arts, The College of Visual and Performing Arts (home college)
- James Abbott, Co-Director
- Joseph Morley, Office of Research and Graduate Studies
Computational Journalism, College of Engineering and Computer Science
Media and Education, School of Education
- Jeff Mangram, Co-Director
- Maryann Barker, Office Coordinator
New Media Management, Whitman School of Management
- Theresa Jenkins, Academic Advisor
Public Diplomacy, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, PAIA
- Josh Kennedy, Associate Director of Graduate Student Services, 225 Eggers Hall
Joint law students should consult with the Office of Student Lifeat the College of Law.
Students enrolled in more than one graduate program at Syracuse University are required to complete 80% of each program. By petition, a dual degree student may transfer a maximum of 20% from the other degree program as long as you meet all requirements for your Newhouse program. All rules regarding transfer credit still apply.
You may wish to seek out the resources and expertise of the faculty and staff in the school or college associated with your joint degree.
Audio Arts, The College of Visual and Performing Arts (home college)
- James Abbott, Co-Director
- Vicki Smith, Office of Student Success
Media and Education, School of Education
- Jeff Mangram, Director
- Maryann Barker, Office Coordinator
New Media Management, Whitman School of Management
- Theresa Jenkins, Academic Advisor
Public Relations/International Relations, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, PAIA
- Josh Kennedy, Associate Director of Graduate Student Services, 225 Eggers Hall
Joint law students should consult with the Office of Student Affairsat the College of Law.
Students enrolled in more than one graduate program at Syracuse University are required to complete 80% of each program. By petition, a dual degree student may transfer a maximum of 20% from the other degree program as long as you meet all requirements for your Newhouse program. All rules regarding transfer credit still apply.
Course Selection
Before you register for your classes each term, you should attend the special advising session for your program of study and/or consult with your assigned Newhouse adviser or program director. Where choices of courses are allowed, your adviser will help you make appropriate decisions. However, even though you consult with an adviser, remember that the fulfillment of degree requirements is your responsibility as a graduate student.
Always check restrictions and/or prerequisites. You must take only graduate-level courses (courses numbered 500 and above) and follow the curriculum that has been established for your program of study. At least half of your course work must be at the 600-level or above.
Full-time graduate students are limited to taking a maximum of 15 credits each semester. A signed petition will be required by the Registrar’s Office to register for additional credits in a given term, even if those credits will be audited. Once a petition is submitted, the student must register for the number of credits specified.
Before you register for your classes each term, you should attend the special advising session for your program of study and/or consult with your assigned Newhouse adviser or program director. Where choices of courses are allowed, your adviser will help you make appropriate decisions. However, even though you consult with an adviser, remember that the fulfillment of degree requirements is your responsibility as a graduate student.
Always check restrictions and/or prerequisites. You must take only graduate-level courses (courses numbered 500 and above) and follow the curriculum that has been established for your program of study. At least half of your course work must be at the 600-level or above.
Graduate students are limited to taking a maximum of 15 credits each semester. A signed petition will be required by the Registrar’s Office to register for additional credits in a given term, even if those credits will be audited. Once a petition is submitted, the student must register for the number of credits specified.
Permission Numbers
You will need a permission number if you try to register for a course that has restrictions you do not meet or if you are trying to register for a closed course. If it is a Newhouse course, you must fill out a Wait List Form in the Academic Programs Suite, 318 Newhouse 3. If approved, the department coordinator will email you a permission number. Do not use the online wait list feature on MySlice for Newhouse courses. If it is a non-Newhouse course, you should contact either the instructor or department chair to find out the appropriate procedure for obtaining permission.
Adding/Dropping Courses
From the first day of registration, you may go on MySliceand adjust your schedule. View the deadlines for adding and dropping courses on the academic calendar on the Registrar’s website. After the add deadline, you may still drop courses until the drop deadline by using the Add/Drop form. After obtaining the required signatures, you must bring the form to the Registrar’s Office in 106 Steele Hall by the deadline in order to be processed.
Deadlines for adding, dropping, and withdrawing from courses are absolute. The Registrar’s Office will not honor adds, drops, or withdrawals received after the published deadlines. For fall and spring semesters, you have one week after the start of classes to add a course and three weeks to drop a course with a full refund. Different deadlines may apply for flex courses offered during only part of the semester. If you withdraw (this deadline is later than the drop deadline) from a course, the course will appear on your transcript with a “WD” (for withdraw), rather than a grade, and the tuition will not be refunded.
Auditing Courses
Master’s students may audit courses on a space-available basis. You do not earn credit for audited courses and these courses will not fulfill any degree requirements. If you register for nine credits in a given semester, you may audit additional courses free of charge. Otherwise, you must pay the tuition cost for the audited course. A grade of “AU” will show up on your transcript and it does not affect your GPA. The deadline to audit a course is two weeks after the start of the semester (or later if it is a flex class). We cannot make exceptions to this deadline. Students may not attend courses they have not registered for via MySlice.
To audit a Newhouse course, you must first fill out an Audit Request Form, obtained from the Academic Programs Suite or the GRO. Once completed, the GRO will submit it to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Once you have been approved to audit, you will be issued a permission number, if needed, and you must add the course via MySlice. Then you must fill out the audit section on a Grading Option Application, obtain the instructor’s signature, and take it to the Registrar’s Office, 106 Steele Hall before the published deadline.
To audit a course outside of Newhouse, please contact the department or school/college to find out the procedure.
The Pass/Fail option is not available to graduate students.
Master’s students may audit courses on a space-available basis. You do not earn credit for audited courses and these courses will not fulfill any degree requirements. If you register for nine credits in a given semester, you may audit additional courses free of charge. Otherwise, you must pay the tuition cost for the audited course. A grade of “AU” will show up on your transcript and it does not affect your GPA. The deadline to audit a course is two weeks after the start of the semester (or later if it is a flex class). We cannot make exceptions to this deadline. Students may not attend courses they have not registered for via MySlice.
The School incorporates the university’s auditing policies, with the exception that students will not be permitted to audit classes that are limited to 20 or fewer students unless they get the permission of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and instructor within the first week of class.
To audit a Newhouse course, you must first fill out an Audit Request Form, obtained from the GRO. Once completed, the GRO will submit it to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Once you have been approved to audit, you will be issued a permission number, if needed, and you must add the course via MySlice. Then you must fill out the audit section on a Grading Option Application, obtain the instructor’s signature, and take it to the Registrar’s Office, 106 Steele Hall before the published deadline.
To audit a course outside of Newhouse, please contact the department or school/college to find out the procedure.
The Pass/Fail option is not available to graduate students.
Independent Study
All graduate independent studies are registered as 690 courses (and completed in the department of the faculty sponsor). If you take an undergraduate course for graduate credit (see below) you will also complete it as an independent study. You register for a 690 by completing a Proposal for Independent Study and by taking the following steps:
- Identify and contact a faculty sponsor. Determine the goals and format for your independent study. Your faculty sponsor should complete items 1-4 and sign the form. Be sure the form states clearly and specifically the exact nature of the independent study, criteria for grading, and assignments on which the grading will be based.
- Get your program director or department chair’s signature and your adviser’s signature.
- Bring the completed, signed proposal to the GRO for the Associate Dean’s review and signature. The GRO will send it to the Registrar’s Office and they will add the course to your schedule. No additional online registration steps are necessary.
You may register for an Independent Study throughout the semester, up until two weeks before the last day of classes.
Special note regarding undergraduate level courses:
Graduate students cannot receive credit toward their degrees for undergraduate courses (courses numbered below 500). In some cases, however, a faculty member may allow you to attend an undergraduate course and supplement it with additional work, such as a special project, paper, or class presentation. If you work out such an agreement with a professor, you must register for an Independent Study in the same department in which the class is offered and follow the above instructions for doing so. You also must petition if this course is to fulfill a requirement in your program of study.
Internship
Unless you register for an internship class with an assigned department and number, Newhouse experience credits or internships are COM 670 courses (always completed under the COM department prefix). Students register for COM 670 by completing an Internship Proposal/Agreement and by taking the following steps:
- Find an internship by speaking to faculty or using resources available at the Career Development Center.
- Determine the number of credits. You can complete an internship for 1-3 credits. Some programs limit the number of internship credits students can complete so please check with your adviser. You must work 45 hours for each credit hour of experience credit earned, requiring a minimum of 135 hours’ work for a three-credit internship.
- Identify and contact a faculty sponsor. Determine the nature of faculty-student contact during your internship period. Your faculty sponsor should complete items 1-4 and sign the form. Be sure the form states clearly and specifically where and when the internship will take place, criteria for grading, and assignments on which the grading will be based.
- Get your program director or department chair’s signature and your adviser’s signature.
- Complete the required information on OrangeLink for the Syracuse University Center for Career Services (CCS), 235 Schine, ccsintps@syr.edu, 443-4271.
- Bring the completed, signed proposal to the GRO for the Associate Dean’s review and signature. The GRO will send it to CCS for a final signature and they will forward it to the Registrar’s Office. The Registrar will add the course to your schedule. No additional online registration steps are necessary.
You may register for an Internship throughout the semester, up until two weeks before the last day of classes.
Special Note: International students cannot do an internship until after they have studied at SU for a minimum of nine months, and must obtain approval for Practical Training from the Center for International Services prior to the start of the internship.
Internships may be completed as part of a specific internship class or you may earn credit for them by completing a proposal for COM 670 (always completed under the COM department prefix). Students register for COM 670 by completing an Internship Proposal/Agreement and by taking the following steps:
- Find an internship by speaking to faculty or using resources available at the Career Development Center.
- Determine the number of credits. You can complete an internship for 1-3 credits. Some programs limit the number of internship credits students can complete so please check with your adviser. You must work 45 hours for each credit hour of experience credit earned, requiring a minimum of 135 hours’ work for a three-credit internship.
- Identify and contact a faculty sponsor. Determine the nature of faculty-student contact during your internship period. Your faculty sponsor should complete items 1-4 and sign the form. Be sure the form states clearly and specifically where and when the internship will take place, criteria for grading, and assignments on which the grading will be based.
- Get your program director or department chair’s signature and your adviser’s signature.
- Bring the completed, signed proposal to the GRO for the Associate Dean’s review and signature.
- Complete the required information on OrangeLink. Click on “Register a credit” under shortcuts on the right-hand side of the page. Click on “Add New” and complete the form through the waiver agreement and click “Submit.”
- The GRO will forward it to the Registrar’s Office to be added to your schedule. No additional online registration steps are necessary.
You may register for an Internship throughout the semester, up until two weeks before the last day of classes.
Special Note: International students cannot do an internship until after they have studied at SU for a minimum of nine months, and must obtain approval for Practical Training from the Center for International Services prior to the start of the internship.
Request for Incomplete Grade
Incomplete grades can be granted only when exceptional circumstances prevent a student from completing a course within the usual time limits. To receive an incomplete, you must complete the Request for Incomplete Grade form. The form represents a contract between the student and the professor and specifies the reason for granting an incomplete and the conditions and time limit for removing it. All requests for an incomplete must be submitted prior to the completion of the semester. An incomplete is calculated immediately as an “F” in the GPA.
You must keep in mind that the granting of an incomplete is a special favor awarded by a professor, and evaluating work submitted to satisfy an incomplete often conflicts with the professor’s obligations to his or her subsequent students, which, of course, must take precedence. Thus, you should not expect work submitted in completion of an incomplete to be graded with the same promptness as work submitted on time in regularly scheduled classes.
Transfer Credit
You may transfer into your program of study a maximum of 20% of your program’s required credits. Specific credit earned at another accredited graduate school must carry at least a grade of B, must have been taken within seven years, must not have been used toward an undergraduate degree or its equivalent, must form an integral part of the degree program, and must be evaluated and approved by the academic department and the GRO. Details can be found in Academic Rules and Regulations, Credit. The same rules apply if the credits are transferred from another Syracuse University graduate program. You must fill out a petition form and submit a syllabus and an official transcript. You should complete petitions for transfer credit during your first semester of study.
You may transfer into your program of study a maximum of 20% of your program’s required credits. Specific credit earned at another accredited graduate school must carry at least a grade of B, must have been taken within seven years, must not have been used toward an undergraduate degree or its equivalent, must form an integral part of the degree program, and must be evaluated and approved by the academic department and the Office of Graduate Professional Programs. Details can be found in Academic Rules and Regulations, 20.0 Transfer Credit. The same rules apply if the credits are transferred from another Syracuse University graduate program. You must fill out a petition form and submit a syllabus and an official transcript. You should complete petitions for transfer credit during your first semester of study.
Full-Time Status
Students maintain full-time status during any one term by registering for six credits during summer sessions and registering for nine credits during fall or spring semesters. If you are not full-time, but believe to be doing full-time academic work, a Full-Time Status Form may be completed. If you have completed your coursework, but are working full-time on a thesis or project, you may register for GRD 998 and submit a full-time status form for a particular semester. Approval is up to the discretion of the program director and Associate Dean.
Good Academic Standing
The Graduate School has set a minimum grade point average for students to continue graduate work of at least a 2.8 out of 4.0 in the first 30 credits of graduate study. If you do not achieve this average, the Graduate School may cancel your matriculated status. Furthermore, to be awarded a master’s degree, you must have a 3.0 average overall in your official program of study and at least a 2.8 in all graduate courses taken at Syracuse University. The Graduate Records Office will notify you and put you on warning at the end of each term if the cumulative GPA has fallen below a 3.0.
In order to be considered to be making satisfactory degree progress, you must be enrolled in at least six credits per regular (fall, spring) semester. This rule may be waived for part-time students provided you have met with your program director and you have an agreed-upon plan for completing the degree in a timely manner.
The Graduate School has set a minimum grade point average for students to continue graduate work of at least a 2.8 out of 4.0 in the first 30 credits of graduate study. Your matriculation could be canceled if you do not meet this requirement. Furthermore, to be awarded a master’s degree, you must have a 3.0 average overall in your official program of study and at least a 2.8 in all graduate courses taken at Syracuse University. The Graduate Records Office will notify you and put you on warning at the end of each term if the cumulative GPA has fallen below a 3.0.
In order to be considered to be making satisfactory degree progress, you must be enrolled in at least six credits per regular (fall, spring) semester. This rule may be waived for part-time students provided you have met with your program director and you have an agreed-upon plan for completing the degree in a timely manner.
Leave of Absence and Withdrawal
If it is necessary for you to withdraw or take a leave of absence from the University, you should file an official Leave of Absence form. Even if you do plan to return, it is important that you complete the proper paperwork so that you will remain in good standing with the School. If you do not enroll in classes for a particular fall/spring semester you must complete a leave of absence form and then apply for readmission prior to being able to register for classes again.
If you are not making satisfactory progress toward your degree then you may be withdrawn from the program on the decision of the program director and the Associate Dean. You may also be withdrawn on the basis of academic or disciplinary reasons. Readmission in these cases is subject not only to space availability, but also to satisfaction of additional requirements specified in the terms of the withdrawal.
If you apply for readmission to a degree program in which requirements have changed since the time of withdrawal or leave of absence, you may be required to satisfy the requirements of the program of study as currently defined. The program director and the Associate Dean will determine which set of requirements apply.
You will not be readmitted until all prior Syracuse University financial obligations and disciplinary actions have been satisfied. If the leave or withdrawal from the University was for medical reasons, you must be approved for readmission by the office that originally authorized your departure. Readmission is also dependent upon space availability in the program.
Readmitted students are eligible to register for the upcoming semester during the regular registration period in the prior semester or on the registration day for new students at the beginning of the semester.
The full details of this policy are outlined in Academic Rules and Regulations, Leave of Absence.
If it is necessary for you to withdraw or take a leave of absence from the University, you should file an official Leave of Absence form. Even if you do plan to return, it is important that you complete the proper paperwork so that you will remain in good standing with the School. If you do not enroll in classes for a particular fall/spring semester you must complete a leave of absence form and then apply for readmission prior to being able to register for classes again.
If you are not making satisfactory progress toward your degree then you may be withdrawn from the program on the decision of the program director and the Associate Dean. You may also be withdrawn on the basis of academic or disciplinary reasons. Readmission in these cases is subject not only to space availability, but also to satisfaction of additional requirements specified in the terms of the withdrawal.
If you apply for readmission to a degree program in which requirements have changed since the time of withdrawal or leave of absence, you may be required to satisfy the requirements of the program of study as currently defined. The program director and the Associate Dean will determine which set of requirements apply.
You will not be readmitted until all prior Syracuse University financial obligations and disciplinary actions have been satisfied. If the leave or withdrawal from the University was for medical reasons, you must be approved for readmission by the office that originally authorized your departure. Readmission is also dependent upon space availability in the program.
Readmitted students are eligible to register for the upcoming semester during the regular registration period in the prior semester or on the registration day for new students at the beginning of the semester.
The full details of this policy are outlined in Academic Rules and Regulations, 15.0 Leave of Absence, Withdrawal and Readmission.