Admission & Application
Apply online! NC State's Graduate School has implemented an online-only application process.
The application deadline is January 15 for the following fall admission. We do not accept students for spring or summer admission. We recommend that you begin the application process in the ApplyYourself Graduate School system at least four months prior to the deadline. It takes time for your information to migrate through the Graduate School system and be processed into the program's application center. Be advised that your GRE® scores, reference letters, and other required application components may not arrive at the Graduate School by our deadline should you delay preparation. Your references will need to use the ApplyYourself system to upload their recommendation letters and submit evaluation forms. They may be very busy at the time of your request and unable able to pull together their letters and complete the evaluation form by the deadline. They must also learn to navigate their section of ApplyYourself to upload their material.
ApplyYourself provides step-by-step instructions, including a detailed FAQs section on completing and submitting your application material. Contact links (including a "help" option) are listed at the bottom of each page should you have questions or issues about the process. Someone from the Graduate School will promptly contact you. The CRDM staff cannot assist you with technical application issues.
The Graduate School has a useful page of information for prospective students, with links to current information about tuition and fees, policies affecting graduate students, the Graduate Student Support Plan for students who would like teaching or research assistantships, and an "Arrival Survival" guide for new students. You may also check the status of your application in your ApplyYourself account.
We require GRE® scores for admission to the program. Please see the NCSU Graduate School GRE® time-window validity rule. As of August 1, 2011, the GRE® test was revised, so if you need to retake the test, we advise that you review information on the newly revised General Test.
Consult the Graduate School FAQs section for further questions about the test and submitting your scores.
The ETS institutional code for NC State University is 5496. You do not need a supplemental code to for this program.
If you did not earn your master's degree from a university in the United States, you must submit your TOEFL® scores. There is an area in ApplyYourself to enter your scores but you will be required to provide official score documents if you are accepted into the program.
Admission requirements
- Master's degree in Communication, English, Rhetoric, or other relevant field
- Master's GPA of 3.0 or better
- Master's level work should include one quantitative or qualitative methods course (this requirement may be met after admission from courses at NC State)
- Master's level work should include 9 credit-hours in an approved disciplinary area and 3 credit-hours in a second disciplinary area (this requirement may be met after admission from master's level courses at NC State)
Application process & materials
Within ApplyYourself, you will upload:
- Personal statement (background on your studies, your goals after receiving your Ph.D. degree, and why you would like to enroll in the program;
- Résumé;
- Academic writing samples (nonacademic sample will be accepted under certain conditions); and
- Unofficial copies of your undergraduate and master's transcripts.
Again - your references also will be required to upload their own letters of recommendation via the ApplyYourself system. Instructions are provided.
Do not send original transcripts or other hard-copy or application material to the CRDM office unless requested. Carefully prepare your materials before uploading. You should consider combining your transcript copies and writing samples into PDFs for uploading as upload options are limited. The NCSU Graduate School provides CRDM faculty with your application and all related, uploaded material. If you are accepted into the program, the Graduate School will ask you to contact the university/universities where you received your degrees and ask that official transcripts to be sent directly to the Graduate School.
The online application form includes the following sections, that also must be submitted electronically:
- Applicant information;
- Residency and English proficiency information (your legal residence, if you wish to qualify for the in-state tuition rate, and your English proficiency, if you are not a native speaker)
- Contact information;
- Application and standardized test scores (GRE® and/or TOEFL) (what degree, financial aid, and semester you are applying for)
- Education history
- Personal statement (your goals, research interests, and relevant experience that qualify you for this program)
- Names and addresses of three persons who will provide recommendations for you (the recommenders may submit their letters either online or on paper); please choose recommenders who can speak specifically to your academic abilities
The following supporting materials must be submitted separately to the Graduate School as indicated in the online instructions:
- official report of GRE® scores taken within the past five years
- official report of TOEFL® scores if you did not receive your master's degree in the United States;
- unofficial transcripts of from all colleges and universities previously attended
- nonrefundable application fee of $65 for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents or $75 for Non-Resident Aliens
We may wish to schedule a telephone or on-site interview with some applicants.
Financial aid
Teaching Assistantships
The CRDM Program offers six to eight Teaching Assistantships each year to newly admitted students, with a stipend of $14,500 and payment of health insurance and tuition (but not fees, which the student must pay; see Cashier's Office for current fees). Some appointments for Research Assistantships may also be available. The financial support, through the Graduate Student Support Plan, requires the student to be registered for 9 credit hours each semester. Teaching Assistants in the doctoral program are eligible for the tuition support and health insurance for a maximum of eight semesters.
Duties for Teaching Assistants will be assigned by the director of the program in which they work, usually the First-Year Writing Program, the Professional Writing Program, the Campus Writing and Speaking Program, or the Basic Course in the Department of Communication. Other teaching assignments may be given to advanced students. Work assignments are 8-9 credit hours or approximately 20 hours a week.
NC State's regional accrediting association requires that Teaching assistants have 18 credit hours of graduate coursework in the department in which they teach in order to be given responsibility for their own course. TAs who do not meet this requirement will be assigned other duties until they have enough coursework. TAs may also be required to take a training course to prepare them for a specific teaching assignment (this course usually fulfills the Professional Preparation requirement).
Research Assistantships
Faculty may have grant support for their research projects, and such grants may include support for a graduate Research Assistant. A Research Assistantship pays a stipend determined by the sponsoring faculty member or the granting organization and also provides payment of health insurance and tuition through the Graduate Student Support Plan. Fulltime RAships require the student to be registered for 9 credits each semester. Like TAs, RAs are eligible for tuition support and health insurance for a maximum of eight semesters.
The availability of RAships will vary from year to year. Applicants who indicate interest on their application forms by checking the “Research Assistantship” box will be contacted by the sponsoring faculty member or by the Director of the CRDM Program if they are eligible for any available RA positions.
SAS Institute Research Assistant: The SAS Institute Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric and Technical Communication provides support for one or more Research Assistantships each year, with a stipend matching that of TAs, along with tuition support and health insurance provided by the Graduate Student Support Plan. RAs will provide support for the Professor’s ongoing research and have the opportunity to develop their own related research projects. Contact Dr. Carolyn R. Miller, SAS Professor.
Digital Libraries Intern: The NCSU Libraries supports one CRDM student each year to work with library staff on projects to support the instructional and research mission of the library. The library is a leader in digital library services and has a staff of innovative professionals who are actively interested in supporting student learning and faculty research.
PCOST (Public Communication of Science and Technology): PCOST supports research on the factors that affect the public perception and acceptance of scientific and technological developments in the 21st century. One current project is the Nanotechnology Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT), exploring intuitive toxicology and risk perception associated with nanotechnology. Contact Dr. David Berube, Director.
“What happens when text moves from page to screen? First, the digital text becomes unfixed and interactive. The reader can change it, become writer. The center of Western culture since the Renaissance—really since the great Alexandrian editors of Homer—the fixed, authoritative, canonical text, simply explodes into the ether."
—Richard Lanham, The Electronic Word
