Comparative Literature Hero - Books

Comparative Literature

The Comparative Literature program trains students in literary history and literary theory through courses in literature, theory, criticism, aesthetics, and translation.
Request Information
Comparative Literature Hero - Books

The Comparative Literature program trains students in literary history and literary theory through courses in literature, theory, criticism, aesthetics, and translation.

Request Information

Degree Offered

Ph.D. in Comparative Literature

Full-time

Ph.D. in Comparative Literature with Italian Specialization

Full-time

M.A. in Comparative Literature

Full-time/Part-time

Admissions Deadlines

January 1 for fall enrollment (Ph.D. and M.A.)
(No spring enrollment)

OUR PROGRAM

Students in Comparative Literature come from over twenty-five countries and are native speakers of as many languages. They bring a range of cultural and intellectual interests and have given the program in Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center an international character second to none that mirrors New York City in all its depth and complexity.

In recent years our students have accepted teaching positions at Barnard, Williams, Yale, Hamilton, Mount Holyoke, Vanderbilt, Harvard, UCLA, Penn State, Rutgers, The University of Massachusetts, and at a number of CUNY colleges. They have also found positions in Italy, Germany, and Turkey.

View Admissions and Aid

OUR COURSES

The M.A. and Ph.D. Program in Comparative Literature offers courses in Comparative Literature, as well as coordinated courses in English, American, French, German, Italian, Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures, Slavic, Ancient Greek, and Latin literatures.

Students at the Graduate Center are encouraged to tailor a course of study that reflects their own interests and orientation, while meeting the requirements for the terminal degree. By the completion of the degree, students will be able to read two modern languages with complete fluency and demonstrate competence in at least one national literature taught at the Graduate Center.

The Graduate Center also encourages its students to take advantage of the Greater New York interuniversity doctoral consortium. Our partnership with other schools gives students the opportunity to register for courses at such institutions as Columbia University, Princeton University, New York University, Rutgers University, and the New School of New York.

Students can find resources, including the Comparative Literature Student Handbook, to assist them during their studies at the Graduate Center on the Student Resources page.

View our courses

Our Approach

The Program is committed to train students in both literary history and literary theory, and students should master and practice a range of critical approaches, from the established to the very recent. Most of our doctoral faculty have joint appointments with other programs at the Graduate Center, and therefore seminars and tutorials cover a broad variety of subjects and methodologies. Students may study courses in a variety of disciplines, from the visual arts, music, theatre, and cinema to history, anthropology, and philosophy. Students are encouraged to pursue course work in these areas, as well as in the Graduate Center's Ph.D. programs in foreign languages and literatures.

View Curriculum and Degree Information

From Our Faculty

Bilingual writers are not Russian and (say) French writers... They are something else entirely, not necessarily more or less, but something definitely different... The conscious awareness of option is both the greatest blessing that bilingualism provides the writer and the greatest curse.

— Elizabeth Klosty Beaujour

Professor Emerita

Close up of writing with a fountain pen
Certificates

Our Certificates

Special certificate programs in combination with the Comparative Literature program are available in Critical Theory, Medieval Studies, Global Early Modern Studies, Women’s Studies, and Film Studies. The Program in Comparative Literature has just created a certificate program in Critical Theory.

View Certificate Programs
New York City buildings

TEACHING

As part of their professional training, students in our doctoral program are encouraged at some point after their first year to teach undergraduate courses at one of the many colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY) or at other New York institutions. As in most universities, this entails teaching a foreign language and courses in world literature; but unlike other graduate students, ours are, from very early on, encouraged to create and teach their own courses for undergraduates and develop their own syllabus.

photo of three students working in a library computer area; center student is in focus, wearing glasses, with a light moustache and beard; student on the right is facing away from the camera, also wearing glasses, and gesturing to the student in the middle. student on the left is absorbed in her work.

THE BROADER ACADEMIC COMMUNITY

Our program offers small stipends for students to present at conferences around the country. Students are strongly encouraged to present their research from early on and to make connections in the broader academic community. Moreover, each year, the students in the program organize two conferences: one meets in November and is devoted to literature, the other meets in April and is focused on theory. Over the past years these conferences have been very successful and have attracted participants from around the world. Students are also encouraged to publish both in scholarly journals and mainstream publications. Some of our most recent graduate students' publications are listed on the "On Book Reviewing" page and in the student bios.

View Current Student Profiles

Recent News

Request Information

Tell me more about this degree!

Thank you for your interest in the Graduate Center. Please fill out the form below to be added to our mailing list.

CAPTCHA This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
3 + 11 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.

Contact Us

Giancarlo Lombardi

Executive Officer and Professor, Comparative Literature; Professor, French; Professor, Film Studies

Carol Pierce

Assistant Program Officer, Comparative Literature