Graduate Program
Graduate study in this program requires completion of graduate courses in comparative literature in addition to courses offered by other departments and programs. These include graduate courses in literature offered by the departments of Classics, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, English, French and Italian, Germanic and Slavic Studies, and Spanish and Portuguese, and Theater. Graduate course work can also be done in related departments such as Anthropology, Communication, Film Studies, History, History of Art and Architecture, Linguistics, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Religious Studies, Sociology, and Feminist studies. The M.A./Ph.D. is normally a six- to seven-year program. Students who enter with an M.A. should take no more than five to six years to complete the program. Applicants to the Comparative Literature Program should confirm that appropriate resources are available for their desired course of study.
Admission
In addition to fulfilling all university requirements for admission to graduate status, described in the “Graduate Education” section of this catalog, applicants to the M.A./Ph.D. program will normally have completed an undergraduate major in comparative literature or a related field. For admission to the Ph.D. program, applicants must have completed an M.A. in comparative literature or a closely related field. Application packets for both programs should consist of the following: 1) Copies of official or non-official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions uploaded in the online application. If admitted into our program, official transcripts will need to be sent directly by your institutions to our Graduate Division [international applicants should upload the original language transcripts and a certified English translation, as well as the degree certificate as one document. The translation must be done by the school or an official agency]; 2) three letters of recommendation, submitted by recommenders electronically [letters should be signed and printed on departmental/institutional letterheads]; 3) if the applicant is not from an English-speaking country, official TOEFL scores (sent electronically by ETS); 4) a writing sample of no more than 25 pages in length [writing samples should be substantial papers written in an upper-division or graduate literature course; it could also be a portion of a Master thesis]; 5) a statement of purpose and a statement of personal achievements/contributions, and a detailed curriculum vitae; 6) demonstration of competence in a foreign language; 7) the Program’s foreign language form. Foreign language proficiency can be demonstrated by (a) submission of a writing sample in a foreign language, (b) evidence that the applicant is a native speaker of a foreign language, or (c) level of proficiency tested by official agencies, when available.
In addition to meeting program requirements, candidates for graduate degrees must meet university degree requirements found in the “Graduate Education” section of this catalog.
Optional Interdisciplinary Emphases
Students pursuing a doctoral degree in Comparative Literature may petition to add the following Optional Interdisciplinary
Ph.D. Emphases: Applied Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Environment and Society, European Medieval Studies, Feminist Studies, Global Studies, Translation Studies, Writing Studies.
Requirement sheets for each emphasis may be found on this page.