About the Comparative Literature Master’s Program
Administered by the Comparative Literature Committee, this interdisciplinary specialization gives students the opportunity to study literature from a global perspective, to study two or more national literatures, and to concentrate attention upon the following special fields: periods, genres, theories, or relationships between literatures and other arts and disciplines.
Students specializing in comparative literature at both the M.A. and Ph.D. levels must be admitted to the program in which they plan to major (e.g., English, Spanish). The graduate advisor of the program in comparative literature oversees the preparation of the comparative literature specialization.
Comparative literature candidates who are not international students should have completed sufficient language study to begin or continue graduate work in the literature of at least two languages. Inquiries concerning sound preparation for specializations in comparative literature at the master’s and doctor’s level should be addressed to the graduate advisor of the program in comparative literature.
Majors in classical humanities, English, French, German, and Spanish with specializations in comparative literature are available at the master’s level. Students are required to take at least five courses for the specialization at the master’s level, including at least two graduate literature courses in languages other than their major and at least two graduate comparative literature (CLT) courses. The fifth course may be an interdisciplinary elective approved by the graduate advisor of the comparative literature program. Degree plans must be approved by both the student’s major advisor and the graduate advisor in comparative literature.
