M.A. in Comparative Literature

The thesis-based M.A. program in Comparative Literature prepares students for doctoral research or professional employment. Our graduate students are supported by a large group of core and affiliated faculty in Comparative Literature. Our faculty hold cross-appointments with the departments of East Asian Languages and Cultures, English, French and Italian, German and Russian, Middle EastSouth Asian Languages, and Religious Studies. We welcome applications from students with a strong humanities background who wish to strengthen their expertise in comparative literature and criticism. The program combines core courses on the theory and practice of comparison with broad opportunities for work in specific languages and literatures. Students will write a Masters thesis with the support of a thesis committee and a collaborative thesis-writing group.The graduate program in Comparative Literature enables students to study several literatures in their original languages, in a theoretically and historically informed context, and from an interdisciplinary and multicultural perspective. Each student is able to design an individual program tailored to that student's unique interests and goals. Individually supervised instruction and specially designed qualifying exams permit students to pursue their interests in depth and with great flexibility. The department offers both the PhD and a two-year, thesis-based MA program. PhD students study three literatures in the original languages and have the option of being examined on a special topic of their own choosing instead of their third literature. The MA program combines core courses on the theory and practice of comparison with broad opportunities for work in specific languages and literatures. Students will write a Masters thesis with the support of a thesis committee and a collaborative thesis-writing group.