comparative literature phd rankings

Comparative Literature Graduate Programs in America

1-25 of 51 results

Stanford University Department of Humanities and Sciences

Stanford, CA •

Stanford University •

Graduate School

Stanford University ,

Graduate School ,

STANFORD, CA ,

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

New Haven, CT •

Yale University •

• • Rating 4.5 out of 5   2 reviews

Master's Student: The resources at Yale are outstanding. While some of the required courses are slow-moving and less informative, I do have more academic freedom in my second year to the program to take classes that I enjoy across all departments (including data science, statistics, computer science, and law). ... Read 2 reviews

Yale University ,

NEW HAVEN, CT ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says The resources at Yale are outstanding. While some of the required courses are slow-moving and less informative, I do have more academic freedom in my second year to the program to take classes that I... .

Read 2 reviews.

Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Cambridge, MA •

Harvard University •

• • Rating 4.56 out of 5   9 reviews

Other: I am Harvard Extension School student pursuing a master degree, ALM, in sustainability. I have achieved a 3.89 in this program so far and have qualified, applied, and accepted as a 'Special Student' in the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Through this School, I will be focusing my time at the John A. Paulson school of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Looking forward to wrapping up my final year on campus! ... Read 9 reviews

Harvard University ,

CAMBRIDGE, MA ,

9 Niche users give it an average review of 4.6 stars.

Featured Review: Other says I am Harvard Extension School student pursuing a master degree, ALM, in sustainability. I have achieved a 3.89 in this program so far and have qualified, applied, and accepted as a 'Special Student'... .

Read 9 reviews.

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ •

• • Rating 4.33 out of 5   3 reviews

Master's Student: The best part of the Princeton University mechanical engineering graduate degree is the excellent faculty that teach the courses. They are incredibly knowledgeable and also very willing to help students in office hours or in sponsorship of projects. The worst part of the Princeton University mechanical engineering graduate degree is the lack of structure for the graduate research program which can leave you feeling unsure on the direction of your research. ... Read 3 reviews

PRINCETON, NJ ,

3 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says The best part of the Princeton University mechanical engineering graduate degree is the excellent faculty that teach the courses. They are incredibly knowledgeable and also very willing to help... .

Read 3 reviews.

Brown University Graduate School

Providence, RI •

Brown University •

Brown University ,

PROVIDENCE, RI ,

School of Arts & Sciences - University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA •

University of Pennsylvania •

University of Pennsylvania ,

PHILADELPHIA, PA ,

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Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Evanston, IL •

Northwestern University •

Northwestern University ,

EVANSTON, IL ,

Washington University in St. Louis - Arts & Sciences

St. Louis, MO •

Washington University in St. Louis •

Washington University in St. Louis ,

ST. LOUIS, MO ,

Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies

Hanover, NH •

Dartmouth College •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   1 review

Alum: I had a beautiful life-changing experience at the grand Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies. The Guarini graduate program MALS created so many beautiful opportunities in interdisciplinary learning. Guarini is well integrated within the College, which provides a unique world-class learning experience. Guarini went beyond my expectations and made this experience the best I had and will ever have in my life. The only thing I would like changed is having a GRAD diploma in Latin instead of English to keep up with College tradition. ... Read 1 review

Dartmouth College ,

HANOVER, NH ,

1 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says I had a beautiful life-changing experience at the grand Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies. The Guarini graduate program MALS created so many beautiful opportunities in interdisciplinary... .

Read 1 reviews.

College of Arts and Letters - University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN •

University of Notre Dame •

Doctoral Student: The faculty at Notre Dame is excellent. The student to professor ratio makes for a wonderful one to one interaction between students and teachers. At Notre Dame, my interests, dreams, goals, research and career path matter. I loved this most. I feel taken seriously and supported with every possible resources for my mental, academic and career success. One gets many opportunities to grow talents through research, and presentations with helpful and supportive feedback from students and professors. For these reasons, I find it a place to be! On the down side, the weather is at first always a challenge for one who is not used to the harsh and gloomy midwestern winter. ... Read 2 reviews

University of Notre Dame ,

NOTRE DAME, IN ,

Featured Review: Doctoral Student says The faculty at Notre Dame is excellent. The student to professor ratio makes for a wonderful one to one interaction between students and teachers. At Notre Dame, my interests, dreams, goals, research... On the down side, the weather is at first always a challenge for one who is not used to the harsh and gloomy midwestern winter. .

Humanities Division - University of Chicago

Chicago, IL •

University of Chicago •

University of Chicago ,

CHICAGO, IL ,

Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Los Angeles, CA •

University of Southern California •

University of Southern California ,

LOS ANGELES, CA ,

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Cornell University College of Arts & Sciences

Ithaca, NY •

Cornell University •

Cornell University ,

ITHACA, NY ,

Rackham School of Graduate Studies

Ann Arbor, MI •

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   3 reviews

Master's Student: I was nervous about attending a prestigious school like The University of Michigan but once classes started I realized that I had made the right decision. Tuition is very expensive but I love my professors and I believe that I am getting the best education in the country! ... Read 3 reviews

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ,

ANN ARBOR, MI ,

3 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I was nervous about attending a prestigious school like The University of Michigan but once classes started I realized that I had made the right decision. Tuition is very expensive but I love my... .

UCLA College of Letters and Science

University of California - Los Angeles •

• • Rating 3 out of 5   1 review

University of California - Los Angeles ,

1 Niche users give it an average review of 3 stars.

Laney Graduate School

Atlanta, GA •

Emory University •

• • Rating 5 out of 5   2 reviews

Master's Student: I chose the graduate programs at Emory because they are ranked among the best in the country. The school of nursing also provides the clinical experiences, something many of the online only nurse practitioner programs do not do. ... Read 2 reviews

Emory University ,

ATLANTA, GA ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I chose the graduate programs at Emory because they are ranked among the best in the country. The school of nursing also provides the clinical experiences, something many of the online only nurse... .

UC Berkeley College of Letters & Science

Berkeley, CA •

University of California - Berkeley •

Blue checkmark.

University of California - Berkeley ,

BERKELEY, CA ,

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences - New York University

New York, NY •

New York University •

• • Rating 4.8 out of 5   10 reviews

Master's Student: I am enrolled specifically in the Magazine concentration. My professors have all been helpful with helping me succeed and are willing to stay back to go over something I don't understand. There are multiple points of resources at this program. A director is your main academic advisor. Aside from that, there is a pitch specialist to assist with freelancing and two wonderful career advisors. They help with setting up mingle sessions, job fairs, and internship talks. As of now, I haven't had bad experiences, however, I will say that the program is expensive and is an awkward three semesters. Those two things aren't ideal, however, its not too much of a dealbreaker. ... Read 10 reviews

New York University ,

NEW YORK, NY ,

10 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I am enrolled specifically in the Magazine concentration. My professors have all been helpful with helping me succeed and are willing to stay back to go over something I don't understand. There are... .

Read 10 reviews.

Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

Chestnut Hill, MA •

Boston College •

Boston College ,

CHESTNUT HILL, MA ,

College of Liberal Arts - University of Texas - Austin

Austin, TX •

University of Texas - Austin •

University of Texas - Austin ,

AUSTIN, TX ,

College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, WI •

University of Wisconsin •

• • Rating 4.22 out of 5   9 reviews

Alum: Aside from being really cold, UW-Madison is a great school. Needless to say, it is one of the top schools in the U.S. with a beautiful campus that has Lake Mendota and a lot of student life to enjoy. Academic was really good too, but given how the city is college town, you can feel the emptiness when students go back home during summer break. It is known as party school too with Mifflin Street Block Party. But it is also highly academically renowned school. So you can make your campus life as fun or as beneficial as you can. There are many gyms and libraries that can handle 40k + students. In addition, you have to check out Camp Randall, the football stadium and attend The MadHatters A Cappella show. I really miss this campus except for the weather. State street has many diverse restaurants that are authentic and delicious. One of the best campuses in the world. ... Read 9 reviews

University of Wisconsin ,

MADISON, WI ,

9 Niche users give it an average review of 4.2 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says Aside from being really cold, UW-Madison is a great school. Needless to say, it is one of the top schools in the U.S. with a beautiful campus that has Lake Mendota and a lot of student life to enjoy.... .

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences - University of Illinois

Urbana, IL •

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign •

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ,

URBANA, IL ,

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

Athens, GA •

University of Georgia •

Current Doctoral student: Overall it is a pretty good program at a school that is really becoming an academic powerhouse. Being at the flagship school of the state helps with certain benefits and great networking opportunities. ... Read 1 review

University of Georgia ,

ATHENS, GA ,

Featured Review: Current Doctoral student says Overall it is a pretty good program at a school that is really becoming an academic powerhouse. Being at the flagship school of the state helps with certain benefits and great networking... .

College of Letters and Science - UC Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA •

University of California - Santa Barbara •

University of California - Santa Barbara ,

SANTA BARBARA, CA ,

College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering - University of Rochester

Rochester, NY •

University of Rochester •

• • Rating 4 out of 5   2 reviews

Alum: The Optics program is the toughest offered at the school. Optics grads do twice as much (60 credit hours instead of 30) class work as other degrees. You learn a ton! The field is so diverse you can pick and choose what subfields to focus on, and all fields are offered. Amazing professors. In all my classes, I felt one professor was bad at teaching. All the others were very competent, and the best were extremely passionate about their class/field of research. ... Read 2 reviews

University of Rochester ,

ROCHESTER, NY ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says The Optics program is the toughest offered at the school. Optics grads do twice as much (60 credit hours instead of 30) class work as other degrees. You learn a ton! The field is so diverse you can... .

Showing results 1 through 25 of 51

Best Literary Criticism and Theory Programs

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For students who enjoy exploring the meaning behind literary works, specializing in literary criticism and theory can offer opportunities for analysis and investigation. These are the top schools for literary criticism and theory programs. Read the methodology »

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Comparative Literature

Degree Information

Questions to ask yourself when choosing a degree program, career overview, career/licensing requirements, salary information, related links, view all comparative literature schools by program.

African Studies

American Literature

Ancient Studies

Anthropology

Art History

Creative Writing

East Asian Studies

East European Studies

English Composition

International Studies

Latin American Studies

Slavic Languages and Literatures

RELATED GRADUATE PROGRAMS

English Literature

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Introduction To Critical Theory

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Problems In Comparative Studies

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Comparative Literature

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Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature is one of the most dynamic and diverse in the country. Its impressive faculty has included such scholars as Harry Levine, Claudio Guillén, and Barbara Johnson. You will study literatures from a wide range of historical periods and cultures while learning to conduct cutting-edge research through an exhilarating scope of methods and approaches.

Your dissertation research is well supported by Harvard’s unparalleled library system, the largest university collection in the world, comprising 70 libraries with combined holdings of over 16 million items.

Recent student dissertations include “Imagined Mothers: The Construction of Italy, Ancient Greece, and Anglo-American Hegemony,” “The Untimely Avant-Garde: Literature, Politics and Transculturation in the Sinosphere (1909-2020),” and “Artificial Humanities: A Literary Perspective on Creating and Enhancing Humans from Pygmalion to Cyborgs.”

In addition to securing faculty positions at academic institutions such as Princeton University, Emory University, and Tufts University, graduates have gone on to careers in contiguous fields including the visual arts, music, anthropology, philosophy, and medicine.  Others have chosen alternative careers in film production, administration, journalism, and law.

 Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Department of Comparative Literature and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Admissions Requirements

Please review admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Department of Comparative Literature .

Writing Sample

The writing sample is supposed to demonstrate your ability to engage in literary criticism and/or theory. It can be a paper written for a course or a section of a senior thesis or essay. It is usually between 10 and 20 pages. Do not send longer papers with instructions to read an excerpt; you should edit the sample so that it is not more than 20 pages. Writing samples should be in English, although candidates are permitted to submit an additional writing sample written in a different language.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose should give the admissions committee a clear sense of your individual interests and strengths. Applicants are not required to indicate a precise field of specialization, but it is helpful to tell us about your aspirations and how the Department of Comparative Literature might help in attaining these goals. The statement of purpose should be one to four pages in length.

Standardized Tests

GRE General: Not Accepted

Theses & Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Comparative Literature

See list of Comparative Literature faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

• Comparative Literature

The Department of Comparative Literature introduces students to the study and understanding of literature beyond linguistic or national boundaries; the theory, interpretation, and criticism of literature; and its interactions with adjacent fields like visual and material culture, linguistics, film, psychology, law, and philosophy. The comparative perspective invites the exploration of such transnational phenomena as literary or cultural periods and trends (Renaissance, Romanticism, Modernism, postcolonialism) or genres and modes of discourse. Students may specialize in any cultures or languages, to the extent that they are sufficiently covered at Yale. The Ph.D. degree qualifies candidates to teach comparative literature as well as the national literature(s) of their specialization.

• Programs of Study
• PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
• Combined PhD
• Department of Comparative Literature

Katie Trumpener

Director of Graduate Studies

• [email protected]

Sabrina Whiteman

Departmental Registrar

• [email protected]
• 203-432-2760

Admission Requirements

Standardized testing requirements.

GRE is not accepted.

Program-Specific Application Requirements

A writing sample is required by this program. 

English Language Requirement

TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic is required of most applicants whose native language is not English.

You may be exempt from this requirement if you have received (or will receive) an undergraduate degree from a college or university where English is the primary language of instruction, and if you have studied in residence at that institution for at least three years.

Combined Degree Program Application Deadline

*The deadline to submit an application to a combined program is always the earlier deadline of the two individual programs, or December 15, whichever comes first.

Academic Information

Combined phd information.

Comparative Literature offers a combined PhD in conjunction with Classics , and Film and Media Studies .

Program Advising Guidelines

GSAS Advising Guidelines

Academic Resources

Academic calendar.

The Graduate School's academic calendar lists important dates and deadlines related to coursework, registration, financial processes, and milestone events such as graduation.

Featured Resource

Registration Information and Dates

https://registration.yale.edu/

Students must register every term in which they are enrolled in the Graduate School. Registration for a given term takes place the semester prior, and so it's important to stay on top of your academic plan. The University Registrar's Office oversees the systems that students use to register. Instructions about how to use those systems and the dates during which registration occurs can be found on their registration website.

Financial Information

Phd stipend & funding.

PhD students at Yale are normally full-funded for a minimum of five years. During that time, our students receive a twelve-month stipend to cover living expenses and a fellowship that covers the full cost of tuition and student healthcare.

• PhD Student Funding Overview
• Graduate Financial Aid Office
• PhD Stipends
• Health Award
• Tuition and Fees

Alumni Insights

Below you will find alumni placement data for our departments and programs.

Comparative Literature PhD

Our graduate program is recognized as one of the top Comparative Literature programs in the country. The Comparative Literature department is a vibrant place for the research and study of literatures and cultures in an interdisciplinary framework, from transnational and cross-cultural perspectives. Our faculty and graduate students develop new historical and theoretical frameworks and rethink those we have inherited to open new perspectives on social and cultural forms and relationships.

Comparative Literature provides students with tools for analyzing texts, writing, editing, translating, and thinking across disciplinary and national boundaries. Our graduates engage a variety of literary traditions and historical periods, from Latin American concrete poetry to Yiddish experimental fiction to the discourses of political and race theory. The department offers rigorous training in the following areas, which are particular strengths of our internationally recognized faculty: French, German, Italian, Hebrew Studies, Classics, Critical Theory, East Asian Literatures and Arts, Performance Studies, Film and Media, Poetry and Poetics, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Postcolonial Theory, English and American Literatures, Early Modern and Renaissance Studies, and Slavic Literatures and Cultures.

All members of the department are deeply invested in the academic development of our students and value their work and research as an integral part of the Comparative Literature community at UC Berkeley. The department aims above all to develop students' creative and intellectual interests and talents. Graduate students receive the opportunity to pursue rigorous research in a variety of fields according to their interests, participate in discussions about political, aesthetic, and social issues, and develop a nuanced cross-cultural understanding of historical and social processes. Many graduate students present and publish scholarly writings in the most prestigious venues as well as producing translations and literary writings. All of our students work closely with cutting-edge scholars in their fields in small seminars, with extensive individualized work . Students participate in the designated emphasis programs on campus, including Critical Theory, Film and Media, Gender and Womens Studies, Renaissance and Early Modern Studies and Jewish Studies, or the Program in Medieval Studies. Students have opportunities to design and teach courses on their topics of interest. Our students form a well-integrated community, but have access to all of the resources of the entire Berkeley campus departments and faculty; in fact, our program requires that students take seminars in other departments for interdisciplinary training. We have one of the most successful placement records for our graduates of any program in the country, and of any Berkeley graduate program. Our doctoral graduates are prominent comparative literature and national literature faculty across the country and the world.

Contact Info

[email protected]

4125 Dwinelle Hall

Berkeley, CA 94720

At a Glance

Department(s)

Comparative Literature

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 4, 2023

Degree Type(s)

Doctoral / PhD

Degree Awarded

GRE Requirements

Graduate Programs

Comparative literature.

Comparative Literature at Brown is a vigorous and comprehensive program in literature and culture.

Since the founding of the graduate program in 1964, comparative literature has evolved to include not only Western cultures, both ancient and modern, but also Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. The department, in cooperation with the various literature departments and programs, offers a wide array of courses in literature, literary theory, and cultural studies.

The faculty includes over twenty-five members of professorial rank with appointments wholly or partly in the department. As members of a medium-sized department in a relatively small university, graduate students enjoy unusual opportunities for close contact in and outside of the classroom. Students receive close guidance, including job–search preparation. The program accommodates a wide range of individual emphases in literature and culture, periods, genres, history, criticism, and theory. We hold several colloquia, lectures, and forums each year.

Application Information

Application requirements, gre subject:.

Not required

GRE General:

Writing sample:.

Required (10 double-spaced pages maximum; we cannot read longer samples)

Dates/Deadlines

Application deadline, completion requirements.

Fifteen courses; three languages, one of which may be the candidate's native language; four semesters of teaching; professional competence in a major literature and in two others; major literature examination; a comparative project in the third year; dissertation and defense.

Alumni Careers

Contact and Location

Department of comparative literature, location address, mailing address.

• Program Faculty
• Program Handbook
• Graduate School Handbook

Comparative Literature Research MPhil/PhD

Key information

Joint PhDs available: Exciting opportunities to gain a joint PhD with Hong Kong University (HKU), the National University of Singapore (NUS)

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures offers research strengths and opportunities for PhD supervision in Comparative Literature across all periods of modern, medieval and classical literature in major western European languages and in the modern languages of India, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Special research focuses include: African literature, the literature of the Middle East, Romanticism and revolution, gender studies and classical reception studies. 

The Department has a vibrant and energetic research culture, in which postgraduate research students are fully involved. In the recent Research Excellence Framework assessment of our research (REF 2021) our research environment was rated 100% ‘world-leading’ (4*), and research impact was rated 87.5% ‘world leading’ and ‘internationally excellent’ (3*).

Current number of academic staff (permanent) : 11 (all research active).

Current Number of students: 14

Recent staff publications

• Not my time to die (translation of the novel by Yolanda Mukagusana)
• Epic Performances from the Middle Ages into the Twenty-First Century
• Rethinking Metonymy: Literary Theory and Poetic Practice from Pindar to Jakobson
• Complex Inferiorities: The Poetics of the Weaker Voice in Latin Literature
• Colonialism and Knowledge in Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India
• Nation and Region in Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India
• Realism and space in the novel, 1795-1869: Imagined Geographies
• The Friulian Language: Identity, Migration, Culture
• What Postcolonial Theory Doesn't Say
• Debating Orientalism
• Melancholia: The Western Malady
• Rhetorics of Belonging: Nation, Narration and Israel/Palestine

Current research projects

• Cultural responses to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda
• Radical texts in translation
• Classical reception in Caribbean and African diaspora literature
• Interactions between ancient and modern literature and thought
• National multilingualism in South Asia and the Horn of Africa
• Oral traditions in world literature
• Conceptualisations of the ‘global’
• Linguistic ideas, language and translation in colonial and postcolonial South Asia
• Domesticity in surrealism and the European avant-garde
• French writing on Iran in the long nineteenth century
• Literatures of the Middle East and North Africa (Arabic, English, French)
• Cultural activism and advocacy
• Goethe’s thought

Partner organisations : ongoing co-operation in research and student exchange takes place between the programme and the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the  University of North Carolina   at Chapel Hill.

Joint PhDs available : Exciting opportunities to gain a joint PhD with the University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore.

• How to apply
• Fees or Funding

UK Tuition Fees 2023/24

Full time tuition fees: £5,820 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)

Full time tuition fees: £5,820 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)

Part time tuition fees: £2,910 per year

International Tuition Fees 2023/24

Full time tuition fees: £22,900 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)

Full time tuition fees: £22,900 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)

Part time tuition fees: £11,450 per year

UK Tuition Fees 2024/25

Full time tuition fees: £6,168 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)

Full time tuition fees: £6,168 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)

Part time tuition fees: £3,084 per year

International Tuition Fees 2024/25

Full time tuition fees: £24,786 per year (MPhil/PhD, Comparative Literature)

Full time tuition fees: £24,786 per year (MPhill/PhD Comparative Literature Joint PhD Option with University of Hong Kong or National University of Singapore)

Part time tuition fees: £12,393 per year

These tuition fees may be subject to additional increases in subsequent years of study, in line with King’s terms and conditions.

• Study environment

Base campus

Strand Campus

Located on the north bank of the River Thames, the Strand Campus houses King's College London's arts and sciences faculties.

Postgraduate research environment

As a postgraduate research student in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures you will join a vibrant research culture which features sustained reflection and dialogue on our subject areas. You will work closely with designated primary and secondary supervisors, and benefit from regular feedback from other staff members. You will see your primary supervisor regularly and are strongly encouraged to attend research seminars and research-related events in the department and beyond. There are multiple opportunities to gain experience in the presentation and dissemination of your research and to exchange ideas with fellow students and members of staff.

Postgraduate research students in Comparative Literature have the opportunity to present their work at regular Departmental research seminars and to participate in the Comparative Literature Graduate Reading Group and the annual Comparative Literature Graduate Conference. You also attend other research seminars as appropriate including at the Global Institutes and the research centres of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.  The various Institutes of the University of London School of Advanced Study run a wealth of seminars. In addition, King's Comparative Literature plays a pivotal role in the London Intercollegiate Comparative Studies network, which hosts its own seminars.

We offer a dedicated study space for our postgraduate research students in the Virginia Woolf building.

Postgraduate training

Training for postgraduate research students is offered at various levels throughout PhD registration, including, at King’s, the courses and sessions offered by the Department, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the Centre for Doctoral Studies and the King’s Language Centre. Further afield training is offered by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership and the Institute of Modern Languages Research of the University of London. Research training will include a range of different kinds, including research ethics and integrity, bibliographic and referencing skills, the opportunity to learn or improve language skills, career support, job applications, networking, working with community partners, and much more.

• Entry requirements

Find a supervisor

Search through a list of available supervisors.

Accommodation

Discover your accommodation options and explore our residences.

Chat to students and staff

Chat to current students and staff to find out about life at King's.

Connect with a King’s Advisor

Want to know more about studying at King's? We're here to help.

Learning in London

King's is right in the heart of the capital.

COMPARATIVE LITERARY STUDIES PROGRAM

The PhD program in Comparative Literary Studies (CLS) at Northwestern provides students with rigorous training in several literary traditions, critical theory, and the methodology of comparative literature. Our program offers an interdisciplinary approach to comparative literature and opportunities for students to study internationally; attend conferences and colloquia; teach; and work collaboratively with faculty and students.

All students admitted to our PhD program are also admitted into a home department . The purpose of placing students in a home department is twofold: the departments provide professional training and accreditation in widely recognized fields of scholarship; and they prepare comparative literature students for academic positions in these fields. If admitted, CLS students complete certain requirements of the home department.

Departments currently functioning as home departments for graduate students in the CLS program are:

• Asian Languages and Cultures
• English  (including interest in African American literature)
• French and Italian
• Slavic Languages and Literatures
• Spanish and Portuguese
• Middle East and North African Studies
• Radio Television and Film (RTVF)
• Rhetoric and Public Culture

To learn more about our PhD program, please visit the following pages:

• Requirements
• Interdisciplinary Cluster Initiative
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Comparative Literature Graduate Program

The Ph.D. program in Comparative Literature is committed to providing students the resources and training needed to successfully complete a challenging and rewarding intellectual project. By "resources" we mean not only formal classes, libraries, and financial support in various forms, but also an open community of scholars and learners, both within Comparative Literature and the broader Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL), and also across a rich array of other departments, schools, and interdisciplinary programs, and tapping into our vibrant Stanford Humanities Center and its global online platform, ARCADE. The size of our graduate student community is small, which facilitates interpersonal dialogue and conversation. 

By "training" we mean formal classes on pedagogy, a regular and year-long colloquium where students present and discuss each others' work, close work with mentors and advisors, and workshops on topics suggested by both faculty and students. Finally, by "success" we mean not only satisfying departmental and university requirements, but more importantly achieving a sense of personal fulfillment at completing an original and creative exploration of a question of importance to the student.

Comparative Literature at Stanford believes in the importance of linguistic skills in at least three languages, deep historical thinking, and an understanding of the main currents of literary criticism and theory, past and present, and with an eye on emergent knowledge that may embrace fields outside of traditional literary studies. Our faculty includes specialists in Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, English, Hebrew, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and covering broad historical periods. We have a particularly well-established program in Philosophy and Literature, and welcome interdisciplinary projects that involve areas such as film studies, gender studies, studies in race and ethnicity, environmental studies, human rights, and other topics.

At base, the Ph.D. program is designed for students whose linguistic background, breadth of interest in literature, and curiosity about the problems of literary scholarship and theory (including the relation of literature to other disciplines) make this program more appropriate to their needs than the Ph.D. in one of the individual literatures. Students take courses in at least three literatures (one may be that of the native language), to be studied in the original. The program is designed to encourage familiarity with the major approaches to literary study prevailing today.

Before starting graduate work at Stanford, students should have completed an undergraduate program with a strong background in one literature and some work in a second literature studied in the original language. Since the program demands an advanced knowledge of two non-native languages and a reading knowledge of a third non-native language, students should at the time of application have an advanced enough knowledge of one of the three to take graduate-level courses in that language when they enter the program. They should be making enough progress in the study of a second language to enable them to take graduate courses in that language not later than the beginning of the second year, and earlier if possible. Language courses at the 100- or 200- level may be taken with approval from the Director of the department. Applicants are expected to take an intensive course in the third language before entrance.

The Ph.D. minor is designed for students working toward the Ph.D. in the various national literature departments. Students working toward the Ph.D. in English are directed to the program in English and Comparative Literature described among the Department of English offerings.

For more detailed information on our program, please see the corresponding pages in the Stanford Bulletin :

• Doctor of Philosophy in Comparative Literature
• Doctor of Philosophy Minor in Comparative Literature

Graduate Program Application Details

My experience in the Comparative Literature Ph.D. program was filled with intellectual exploration, learning new skills, and amazing mentorship in both research and teaching. Also, having had scholars from other departments to talk through my ideas and my professional plans, especially in ILAC and History, was instrumental for my success in pursuing the career I wanted.

Russell Berman Director of Comparative Literature Pigott Hall, Bldg 260, Rm 201 (650) 723-1069 berman [at] stanford.edu (berman[at]stanford[dot]edu)

John Giammalva In Memoriam, Student Services Manager Pigott Hall, Bldg 260, Rm 127 (650) 279-3630 dlclstudentservices [at] stanford.edu (dlclstudentservices[at]stanford[dot]edu)

PhD in Comparative Literature

International students: Check out the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS)  office for useful resources.

Questions? Contact [email protected] .

Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota has the distinction of being the first department to introduce continental European as well as Latin American and other non-European cultural and theoretical writings to English-speaking readers in the United States and abroad. Under the auspices of the University of Minnesota Press, our department launched the Theory and History of Literature series (1981–1998). We changed the landscape of comparative literary study via critical editions and translated writings of major figures such as Tzvetan Todorov, Vladimir Propp, Mikhail Bakhtin, Hélène Cixous, José Antonio Maravall, Malek Alloula, Gilles Deleuze, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Theodor W. Adorno (among others).

Today the department is a preeminent site for integrating conceptual, historical, literary, and philosophical scholarship. We engage literature, culture, and thought across Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Our PhD program in comparative literature emphasizes the importance of reading tradition against the grain—of national boundaries, textual practices, and intellectual production in the humanities. We conceive literature broadly—as a field of interrelation between word, image, and sound—and comparatism as a polycentric enterprise. Over the years, graduates of our program have been very successful at carrying forward our department’s critical comparatism and signature stress on word, image, and sound in their own scholarship. (View our  recent dissertations and job placement and achievements .) Our faculty teach seminars that explore a wide range of literary and cultural problems, embedding the understanding of texts within their material and discursive conditions of possibility. We regard comparatism as the heart and soul of cross-cultural inquiry and understanding and encourage students to pursue interdisciplinary projects that are at the same time disciplined and critical. 

Our PhD program admits a small cohort of students each year; we foster a close-knit and collaborative research and teaching community. As a graduate student in our program, you will work closely with departmental faculty (as well as affiliated faculty from across the university) who are committed to grasping the complexity and diversity of our contemporary world via engagements with forms of aesthetic, cultural, and philosophical expression from across the global North and South.

Our curriculum emphasizes seminars and independent studies that explore:

• Conceptual thought from a variety of perspectives—such as literary theory, feminist approaches, gender and sexuality studies, Marxism, psychoanalytic criticism, empire studies and postcolonial theory, critical translation studies, semiotic theory, intellectual history, visuality, and the sociology of literature and culture
• The politics and practices of comparatism
• Archival methods
• The analysis of form
• Disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity
• Historiography
• Translation and the circulation of intelligibility
• Geopolitics

Proficiency in two languages (other than English) is required for the degree. Students whose first language is not English may waive one of the two required languages; no other waivers are possible. For more information, see the Graduate Language Examination Policies .

• See further guidelines on committee composition .
• Enter your committee through our online system.
• If need be, you may  change your advisor or committee of record . 
• For guidelines on the written and oral preliminary examinations themselves, see Section IV of Doctoral Degree: Performance Standards and Progress .

College Resources for Graduate Students

Visit CLA’s website for graduate students to learn about collegiate funding opportunities, student support, career services, and more.

Student Services      Career Services     Funding & Support

Comparative Literature

Graduate program.

The graduate program in Comparative Literature at Brown offers a vigorous and comprehensive exploration of literature and culture.

The Doctoral Program

Since the founding of Brown's graduate program in Comparative Literature in 1964, the Department has evolved to include not only Western cultures both ancient and modern, but Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic, as well. The department, in cooperation with the various literature departments and programs, offers a wide array of courses in literature, literary theory, and cultural studies. Faculty include 25 members of professorial rank with appointments wholly or partly in the department. As members of a medium-sized department in a relatively small university, graduate students enjoy unusual opportunities for close contact in and outside of the classroom. Students receive close guidance, including job-search preparation. The program offers several colloquia, lectures, and forums each year.

For admission to the doctoral program, students usually will present evidence of sound training in literature written in three languages, one of which may be English. They will be expected to develop a strong enough competence in one of these literatures to be qualified to teach in a national literature department since comparatists are often hired in such departments or have joint appointments.

The major literature is studied in a cross-cultural context linking it with the other two diachronically or synchronically. Students may pursue literary currents or follow the evolution of ideas or themes across linguistic boundaries, or may study features of genre, style, convention, etc. The program may also emphasize theory including poetics, stylistics, semiology, feminist, socio-cultural, post-structuralist, and post-colonial approaches.

Comparative Literature Doctorate Program

Comparative Literature at Brown is a vigorous and comprehensive program in literature and culture.

Admission Procedure

The  Graduate School Admission Office  employs an  online application  by CollegeNET, the application hosting service affiliated with the school. The deadline for submitting applications for admission with financial aid is December 15. Inquiries may also be addressed to the Director of Graduate Study, Department of Comparative Literature, Box 1935, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 or by  emailing our Department .

The completion of the program requires development of language skills sufficient for advanced work in three literatures. The languages selected are chosen with a view to their appropriateness to the student's areas of special interest. The Department's major competence is in literary expression in western languages. However, our growing programs in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic provide opportunity for students trained in these languages.

In addition, the study of both ancient and modern Hebrew is available through Judaic Studies. In at least one of the foreign languages presented, near native proficiency in speaking and writing in the case of a modern language will be expected. See the Language Competence section of the Graduate Procedures for specific requirements .

Course Work

Students entering with the B.A. will normally take 15 advanced literature courses and graduate seminars, spread over three years in the proportions respectively of 8, 6, 1, two or three of which may be individual work supervised by a staff member. In special circumstances students may obtain up to a year of course credit for graduate work done at other institutions. Students who enter already having completed some advanced work may be asked to proceed more quickly. Individual programs are worked out in consultation with the Director of Graduate Study to include:

• a substantial core of graduate seminars whose primary department listing is in Comparative Literature, at least one per semester during the first two years of study
• a substantial core of courses primarily in one national literature along with significant related work in at least two others. Courses taken in the second and third literatures must include a minimum of two regularly scheduled graduate seminars (or 100 level where appropriate with approval of the Director of Graduate Study)
• a spread of courses comprising work in all three major genres (poetry, drama, narrative) and covering a significant range of distinct cultural epochs (medieval, romantic, modern, and so forth)
• some work in the area of literary theory, literary criticism, or literary translation.
• if pertinent, courses relating literature to other fields of inquiry or expression; for example, linguistics, philosophy, psychology, history, music, or the visual arts.

Comparative Project

While the historical "coverage" by itself is not the aim of comparative literature, the Department does require a major literature examination just before the fifth semester which has coverage as a partial goal, in order to demonstrate the student's professional capacities in her/his national literature. It also requires a written comparative project, to be submitted in writing and presented orally during the sixth semester. This project allows the student to treat work from more than one literary tradition, and may become part of the dissertation. A topic will be chosen in consultation with a faculty committee and worked out with the Director of Graduate Study. It is expected that the comparative project will be completed and approved, and the student advanced to doctoral candidacy, by the end of the third year. See Graduate Program Procedures.

The Dissertation

By the end of the third year of study the student is expected to select the area of focus for the dissertation. The student will ordinarily work under the close supervision of a member of the Comparative Literature faculty; the thesis must also be approved by two other readers, one of whom may be from outside the Department.

Teaching Positions

Training and experience in teaching are major features of our doctoral program in Comparative Literature. The Department makes every attempt to provide its graduate students with teaching experience at Brown in undergraduate courses suited to the graduate student's interest. Teaching assistants work under the direct supervision of members of the professorial staff. At least two years of work as a teaching assistant are required for the Ph.D. The Department will keep students informed of positions as they become available in pertinent departments and at other institutions, and will assist them in presenting their candidacy for such positions.

Advanced graduate students who have made substantial progress on their dissertations, who can document their success in the classroom, and who have the support of a faculty member willing to serve as a classroom mentor are invited to submit a proposal to teach an undergraduate course (below 1000-level) in the department. The proposal consists of a 100-word course description, a syllabus, a C.V. that includes a listing of teaching experience, and notes of support from the dissertation advisor and faculty mentor. It is due to the Director of Graduate Studies no later than October 31 of the academic year before the class is taught. The proposals will be evaluated by the department’s Graduate Committee on their merits; no more than two will be approved in any year; final approval will depend on the curricular needs of the department as determined by the Chair.

The M.A. Degree

The Department does not admit terminal M.A. candidates, nor does it require a Master's degree as a prerequisite for the doctorate. Students who are not recommended to proceed in the doctoral program at the end of the first year may take an M.A. by completing one year of full-time course work in residence (normally four courses each semester), satisfying two of the three language requirements for the Ph.D., and completing a Master's thesis consisting of an essay of 50-60 pages on a comparative subject. Alternatively, a student will receive the M.A. upon completion of the comparative project and advancement to doctoral candidacy.

Financing and Support

Students are supported by a fellowship in their first year.  Teaching responsibilities, and support in the form of a teaching assistantship, begin in the second year and continue through the fourth.  We offer a dissertation fellowship in the fifth year and a number of avenues to sixth-year funding, including interdisciplinary opportunities at Brown’s Centers and Institutes and stipend support from the department and the Graduate School.  In special cases, the Graduate School may cover tuition and health costs, but not stipend support, beyond the sixth year.  Please refer to the Graduate School website for further information about financing graduate study at Brown.

Graduate School -- Financing and Support

The decision to pursue graduate study represents a significant commitment of time, energy, and resources — yours and ours.

Related Departments and Programs

The language and literature offerings at Brown include the following: Classics (including Greek, Latin and Sanskrit), English, French Studies, German Studies, Hebrew, Hispanic Studies, Italian Studies, Portuguese and Brazilian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Linguistics, Slavic Languages.

Current Students

Handbooks & program procedures, reading lists.

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2024 Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools

College Factual reviewed 141 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of linguistics & comparative literature. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 8,539 degrees in linguistics & comparative literature during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

• Best Overall Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools List

Choosing a Great Linguistics & Comparative Literature School

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Linguistics & Comparative Literature Rankings by Degree Level

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings , including this Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat , our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology .

Best Schools for Linguistics & Comparative Literature in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of comparative literature degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

21 Top Schools in Comparative Literature

It is hard to beat Columbia University in the City of New York if you wish to pursue a degree in linguistics & comparative literature. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were about 41 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available.

It's hard to beat University of California - Los Angeles if you want to pursue a degree in linguistics & comparative literature. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 147 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Linguistics & Comparative Literature degree recipients from University of California - Los Angeles get an earnings boost of approximately $6,884 above the average earnings of linguistics & comparative literature majors.

Georgetown University is a good choice for students interested in a degree in linguistics & comparative literature. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.

There were roughly 56 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent data year.

It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a degree in linguistics & comparative literature. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 47 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available.

UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were about 96 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the comparative literature program report average early career income of $29,747.

Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 60 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the linguistics & comparative literature program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $7,829 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.

There were roughly 33 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year. Linguistics & Comparative Literature degree recipients from Duke University receive an earnings boost of about $5,424 above the average income of linguistics & comparative literature graduates.

Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #27 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 46 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available.

Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 49 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the comparative literature program state that they receive average early career earnings of $14,137.

Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 51 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were about 66 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. Those linguistics & comparative literature students who get their degree from University of Washington - Seattle Campus make $5,529 more than the typical comparative literature graduate.

Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 150 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the comparative literature program earn about $26,790 in their early career salary.

Located in the city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 77 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.

There were roughly 114 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the comparative literature program state that they receive average early career wages of $26,279.

Middlebury Institute is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Monterey. This school ranks 34th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 43 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at Middlebury Institute in the most recent year we have data available. Those linguistics & comparative literature students who get their degree from Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey make $29,911 more than the typical comparative literature student.

Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were about 21 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the comparative literature program state that they receive average early career wages of $28,130.

Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. This university ranks 6th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 44 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available.

BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Provo. This university ranks 1st out of 13 colleges for overall quality in the state of Utah.

There were roughly 79 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at BYU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the comparative literature program report average early career wages of $29,068.

Mizzou is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Columbia. This university ranks 4th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were approximately 45 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at Mizzou in the most recent year we have data available.

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 13th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 75 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, comparative literature degree recipients usually earn an average of $25,416 in the first five years of their career.

Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 56 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the comparative literature program earn around $27,205 for their early career.

Located in the large suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 28 colleges for overall quality in the state of Connecticut.

There were approximately 40 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UCONN in the most recent data year.

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 16 linguistics & comparative literature students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available.

Rest of the Top Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools

Additional noteworthy schools.

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools award.

Linguistics & Comparative Literature by Region

View the Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools for a specific region near you.

Other Rankings

Bachelor's degrees in comparative literature, doctor's degrees in comparative literature, highest paid grads in linguistics & comparative literature, best for veterans in linguistics & comparative literature, most popular in linguistics & comparative literature, most focused in linguistics & comparative literature, master's degrees in comparative literature, best value in linguistics & comparative literature, best for non-traditional students in linguistics & comparative literature, best online in linguistics & comparative literature, most popular online in linguistics & comparative literature.

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Rankings in Majors Related to Comparative Literature

Linguistics & Comparative Literature is one of 18 different types of Foreign Languages & Linguistics programs to choose from.

Comparative Literature Concentrations

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Most Popular Related Majors

View All Comparative Literature Related Majors >

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System ( IPEDS ) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s ( College Scorecard ).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Pandit Rahul Sanskrutayan, Banshidhar Mohanty .

More about our data sources and methodologies .

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Congratulations, david damrosch gives the acceptance speech for the 2023 balzan prize, november 17, 2023.

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David Damrosch, ed. and trans. Georges Ngal, “Giambatista Viko; or, The Rape of African Discourse”

Spring courses: complit 166/yiddish 166: jews, humor, and the politics of laughter (saul zaritt).

Beginning with jokes like this one, this course will examine the question of Jewish humor, exploring the concept of therapeutic joking, the politics of self-deprecation, and strategies of masking social critique behind a well-timed joke. Rather than reach some essential definition, we will instead investigate literature, stand-up comedy, film, and television of the twentieth and twenty-first century in order to 1) think together about the theory, mechanics, and techniques of comedy and humor and 2) ask how and when a text or performance gets labeled Jewish, by whom and for what purposes.

SPRING COURSES: CompLit 145: Prize-Winning Translations, 2010-2020 (Luke Leafgren)

In this course, students will read English translations of novels that have won major prizes. In addition to exploring themes of contemporary literature from around the world, special attention will be paid to the role of translation in shaping the work and its reception, and to the question of what makes for a prize-winning translation. Each week students will read a prize-winning translation alongside reports from the prize committee, reviews of the translation, and what the translators say about their work.

SPRING COURSES: CompLit 100: Contemporary Southeast Asia through Literature and Film (Annette Lienau)

This course will explore contemporary literature and cinema across Southeast Asia, focusing on regional developments after the Asian financial crisis of 1997 through the present. Themes discussed include literature’s relationship to economic turmoil and political change; questions of class and social mobility; anti-authoritarian writing and issues of censorship; literature, youth culture, and new media landscapes; and literary explorations of gender and sexuality. Readings will include a selection of critical essays to foreground these central themes of the course, along with poetry, short fiction, and films from: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Readings will be taught in English translation and films will be screened with English subtitles.

A message from the chair \ Jeffrey Schnapp

Reflecting the ongoing paradigm shift of comparative studies from an almost exclusive focus on Western European traditions to a newly global awareness, our faculty ranks have expanded in recent years to encompass a world-wide range of languages and cultures.

Emily Greenwood’s “Afro-Greeks: Dialogues between Anglophone Caribbean Literature and Classics in the Twentieth Century”

Lara Norgaard’s translation of Sabda Armandio’s “24 Hours with Gaspar”

Interested in concentrating in comparative literature.

Check out our Prospective Concentrators and Peer Advisors pages for more information.

Contact our Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Sandra Naddaff .

Featured articles

Attention translators: alta seeks social media interns, imperial media mix: japan’s failed attempt at asia’s first transnational girl group, an interview with david damrosch, more featured articles, positions open, position description.

The Department of Comparative Literature is currently carrying out two tenure-track searches during the academic year 2023-2024: one in Translation Studies , the other in Media History and Archeology . The department is also now accepting applications for a College Fellow in Translation Studies position in 2024-2025.

Founded as a graduate program in 1904 and joining with the undergraduate Literature Concentration in 2007, Harvard’s Department of Comparative Literature operates at the crossroads of multilingualism, literary study, and media history.

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Congratulations to Lara Norgaard: ACLA 2024 A. Owen Aldridge Prize Winner!

Application open for the delphic academy of european studies seminars.

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Comparative Literature

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Comparative Literature Departments and Programs

welcome to comparativeliterature.net

Our website seeks to provide a comprehensive list of Comparative Literature doctoral programs. This list includes Comparative Literature and related programs in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Just scroll down to see the list! If we have missed a program or if you see an error, don't hesitate to let us know!

United States

• Binghamton University Department of Comparative Literature
• Brown University Department of Comparative Literature
• City University of New York Graduate Center Program in Comparative Literature
• Columbia University Department of English and Comparative Literature
• Cornell University Department of Comparative Literature
• Duke University Program in Literature
• Emory University Comparative Literature Department
• Harvard University Department of Comparative Literature
• Indiana University Comparative Literature Department
• Johns Hopkins University Department in Comparative Thought and Literature
• Louisiana State University Program in Comparative Literature
• New York University Department of Comparative Literature
• Northwestern University Program in Comparative Literary Studies
• Ohio State University Department of Comparative Studies
• Penn State University Department of Comparative Literature
• Princeton University Department of Comparative Literature
• Purdue University Comparative Literature Program
• Rutgers University Program in Comparative Literature
• Stanford University Department of Comparative Literature
• Univerisity of Arkansas Comparative Literature & Cultural Studies Program
• University at Buffalo Department of Comparative Literature
• University of California, Berkeley Department of Comparative Literature
• University of California, Davis Comparative Literature Department
• University of California, Irvine Department of Comparative Literature
• University of California, Los Angeles Department of Comparative Literature
• University of California, Riverside Department of Comparative Literature and Languages
• University of California, San Diego Department of Literature
• University of California, Santa Barbara Comparative Literature Program
• University of California, Santa Cruz Department of Literature
• University of Chicago Department of Comparative Literature
• University of Connecticut Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies Program
• University of Georgia Comparative Literature Department
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Program in Comparative and World Literature
• University of Maryland Comparative Literature Program
• University of Massachusets, Amherst Program in Comparative Literature
• University of Michigan Department of Comparative Literature
• University of Minnesota Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature
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Comparative literature graduate program to mark a milestone, posted on march 15, 2024 by arts and sciences.

Emerging scholars, literary translators, and other champions of culture strengthen their voices through the Dartmouth master's program in comparative literature, which will mark its 30th anniversary in 2025.

German studies professor Yuliya Komska, right, works with Tetiana Savchynska, Guarini ’18, who has translated numerous English texts into Ukrainian under contract with the Old Lion Publishing House, one of the biggest Ukrainian publishers.

Dartmouth's MA Program in Comparative Literature recently received more than 100 applications from college graduates around the world—nearly triple the number received in previous years. 

As the graduate program approaches its 30th anniversary in 2025, its alumni can be found enriching the study and practice of the humanities through an array of roles in academia and beyond. Emerging scholars, literary translators, creative writers, and other champions of culture find their footing at Dartmouth—a factor many attribute to the program's small size and dedicated faculty.

The highly selective Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies program will welcome 11 graduate students in the fall, each of whom will pursue a self-directed curriculum of learning, reading, and research in the comparative study of literature and culture. All accepted students receive a full-tuition waiver and a stipend to cover the majority of living expenses for nine-and-a-half months.

Because as many as 40 faculty and postdoctoral scholars are affiliated with the Program in Comparative Literature , many holding joint appointments with departments across the Arts and Sciences, students have a wide array of mentors to choose from.

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German Studies Associate Professor Veronika Fuechtner , chair of the comparative literature program, says the large, yet close-knit faculty prepare students for a wide trajectory of careers. Graduates go on to top humanities PhD programs around the world as well as professions that benefit from academic training in the humanities, such as the visual arts, music, and film production.

"For example, Veronika Yadukha, Guarini '23, from Ukraine, is a translator and curator," Fuechtner says. "Rachel Starr, Guarini '13, now works at the library at Dartmouth after adding a degree in library science to her comparative literature degree."

Tetiana Savchynska, Guarini '18, has translated numerous English texts into Ukrainian under contract with one of the biggest Ukrainian publishers, including the novel The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro, which she finished just as he was awarded the Nobel Prize—an experience Savchynska wrote about in an essay (that originated in one of her classes at Dartmouth) in the blog of the Los Angeles Review of Books .  

Still another graduate success story: Torry Peters, Guarini '13, whose novel, Detransition, Baby won the 2021 PEN/Hemingway award for debut fiction. It was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Awards and the Brooklyn Public Library Award.

While a majority of students complete their master's as a stop on their way to a PhD program, some discover that they don't want to continue in academia. 

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"We think this is an equally valid outcome—better to take a year to figure that out than five or six years into a PhD program—and we incorporate conversations about nonacademic or academic-adjacent career paths into the programming for all the master's students," says Ainsley Morse , associate professor of East European, Eurasian, and Russian Studies, who serves this year as the master's program's graduate director. 

"Students get a lot of individual attention from our faculty—the dedicated faculty who teach graduate seminars, the wonderful faculty members who agree to serve as advisors for the MA students, and the broader network of faculty who host them in their regular classes," Morse says. 

"I have heard many times from students who come here from bigger institutions that they are really delighted by the availability and generosity of the faculty here."

Innovative from the Start

With its focus on incorporating primary sources from multiple languages and cultures into original research, the study of comparative literature benefits from mastery of more than one language. 

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"Dartmouth was especially well suited to launch a graduate program in comparative literature because of our strong language programs, including the method developed by John Rassias , which brought people up to speed very quickly," says one of the program's earliest faculty members, Irene Kacandes , the Dartmouth Professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature

"The program founders, including, among others, Susanne Zantop, Marianne Hirsch, Monika Otter, and Diana Taylor, designed something very interesting, with a creative approach."

Literary theory, Kacandes recalls, was then less prominent in undergraduate foreign language curricula, so it became a core part of Dartmouth's graduate curriculum. 

The master's program also fosters a close relationship with Dartmouth Libraries. Librarian Jill Baron teaches a graduate seminar and works closely with students to help them develop their projects and take advantage of the institution's collections. 

With its multicultural focus, the program has always drawn diverse applicants. About half of the comparative literature master's degree candidates come from outside the United States. 

This year's graduate cohort, for example, includes South African poet and writer Lethokuhle Msimang, whose semi-autobiographical 2023 novella, The Frightened , draws on her experiences in France, China, Spain, and South Africa.

Tom Abi Samra, Guarini '22, was born in Lebanon and earned his undergraduate degree at NYU Abu Dhabi.

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"I wrote my thesis about a 17th-century scholar from Damascus who wrote travelogs that included a lot of poetry," he says. "My argument is that there's a shift in poetic sensibility around that period when poetry becomes no longer a high, timeless thing, as it gets situated in time and space—more in harmony with prose in a way that maybe we don't really see before."

Abi Samra says serving as a teaching assistant helped him realize that he enjoyed both teaching and research, so he is now pursuing a PhD in Near Eastern Studies at Princeton.

"The tremendous diversity of our students, who come to us from all over the world and from many different walks of life, is both another thing that makes our program stand out and something I find especially enriching and exciting about working with them," Morse says. 

"Each of the students is a remarkable individual with unique intellectual and life experience, and when they get together in a cohort of 10-12 and start discussing aesthetics, politics, theory and so on, the synergy is incredible!"

Some students enter the program after trying other career paths. Emily Oliveira, Guarini '22, earned her undergraduate degree in comparative literature at Harvard and moved to Los Angeles to work in the film industry for several years before resuming academic studies at Dartmouth. She's now at Columbia, pursuing a PhD in Latin American and Iberian Studies.

"At a critical time in my life when I was trying to choose a career path, Dartmouth offered a perfect opportunity to experience a combination of requirements, exposing me to graduate level discussion and paper writing and workshopping, getting and giving feedback among my cohort, and at the same time acknowledging that the very heart of academic inquiry is flexibility," she says.

Dartmouth faculty also value and model flexibility, as they combine research, teaching, and administration. Next year, Rebecca Biron , professor of Spanish and Portuguese and the director of the Leslie Center for the Humanities , will become the program's graduate director. She says Dartmouth has earned and maintained a place of distinction in the broadening field of comparative literature programs because of the breadth and depth of faculty willing and able to guide students with strong minds of their own.

"The master's is deliberately structured to be student-project-driven, so they come in knowing what they want to work on for the year, and we help them write a professional quality paper on that topic," says Biron. "Everyone benefits from a year of reflection on the role of language and national literary study within larger globally centered questions of meaning production and literary traditions."

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"It's awe-inspiring how many graduate students who come in as active translators, writers, or critics manage to balance work and study," says Associate Professor of German Studies Yuliya Komska , who has also served as graduate program director. "Their accomplishments make the strongest case possible for funding the arts." 

Department of Comparative Thought and Literature

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The  Department of Comparative Thought and Literature comprises scholars who share a commitment to philosophical questions as they relate to art, literature, film, and history. Collaboration, exchange of ideas, and intellectual freedom are at the department’s core.

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Students work with faculty members to design an individual program of study and are encouraged to spend at least one year abroad.

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Take courses which provide a broad introduction to comparative approaches to human expression across linguistic, cultural, and temporal boundaries.

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Generations of german studies faculty have collaborated with faculty across languages and literatures departments to make the program what it has become., german studies faculty help comparative literature graduate program shine at 30, posted on march 19, 2024 by yuliya komska.

Tetiana Savchynska (left) confers with her adviser, Yuliya Komska, an associate professor of German. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)

At its 30th anniversary, Dartmouth's Comparative Literature M.A. program continues to graduate illustrious alumni who go on to become or continue as writers, translators, or academics. It also remains one of the best-funded and supportive M.A. programs nationwide. Generations of German Studies faculty have collaborated with faculty across languages and literatures departments to make the program what it has become. Read about the impressive trajectories of our alumni and current students and about the faculty who've volunteered their time and intellectual energies to growing the program and mentoring the wonderful students from across the globe. And: apply!

Read the full story here:

https://faculty.dartmouth.edu/artsandsciences/news/2024/03/comparative-literature-graduate-program-mark-milestone