The program of Comparative Literature enables students to study the production, reception, and
interpretation of written texts and related media from a comprehensive perspective. Comparative
Literature has long crossed national linguistic frontiers. The discipline today questions the very
basis of such boundaries, exploring the construction of national literatures, languages, and
traditions and, insofar as this can be read in and out of verbal and other media, of nations and
national consciousness itself. Extending its reflections on limits still further and in dialogue with
other disciplines, the interpretive perspectives of Comparative Literature are not only crossdisciplinary,
multi-media, and multilingual, but global. The aim is to analyze the world's
cultures both as expressions of the various interdependent histories that have framed them, and
as manifestations of the multifacetedness inscribed in the different forms by which human beings
shape and communicate their experience. These forms can range from a single literary genre,
period, movement or tradition to larger concepts and constructs such as gender, sexuality, theory,
or culture. Areas of analysis may also include authorship and the literary work, literacy, genre,
literary history, and the canon.
Not all comparatists will focus on these issues; indeed, the future of Comparative Literature will
pose other, as yet unarticulated, questions. It is thus central to the discipline, and essential to the
intellectual vitality of the community of comparatists, that each student construct a program of
study tailored to meet their particular disciplinary and methodological training needs. The
courses and colloquia offered in the program bring together graduate students and faculty from
various literatures as well as from a changing set of complementary fields (such as philosophy,
history, anthropology, and law). In this way, the student's comparative studies create an
intellectual and pedagogic space in which boundaries between traditional humanistic disciplines
can themselves be transgressed and challenged.
The Comparative Literature Program offers both an M.A. and a Ph.D. program in Comparative Literature.
The M.A. is intended as either a preparation for doctoral study in the field or as a terminal degree
in its own right. In addition to an undergraduate major in a relevant field, students applying for
admission to the M.A. program in Comparative Literature should have completed three years of
college level study or its equivalent in one foreign language. Students are also encouraged to
begin study of a second foreign language before applying.
Students are accepted for doctoral study in Comparative Literature directly from the B.A. or after
completion of an M.A. in Comparative Literature, a national literature, or a related discipline.
All students seeking admission to doctoral study must show evidence of advanced knowledge in
one foreign language (ability to take fourth year college literature courses in this language) and
intermediate knowledge (at least two years of coursework at the college level) of a second
foreign language. More details on the language requirements for admission to each of the degree
programs are given in the MA Guidelines and PhD Guidelines documents.
 MA Guidelines
PhD Guidelines
Degree Requirements for the M.A.:
30 hours coursework, 6 thesis hours
- Proseminar in Comparative Literature and Introduction to Literary Theory;
- nine additional hours in Comparative Literature and
- fifteen hours in the primary and secondary literatures or fields;
Degree Requirements for the Ph.D.:
36 hours coursework*, 30 dissertation hours
- Proseminar in Comparative Literature, Introduction to Literary Theory;
- twelve additional hours in Comparative Literature
- eighteen hours in the primary and secondary literatures;
- a comprehensive examination on the student's primary literature, literary theory, and three special topics;
- thirty dissertation hours and a final, oral examination, largely on the dissertation and related areas.
* coursework hours may vary depending on the degree with which a student enters the Ph.D. program. Please see PhD Guidelines.
Financial Aid:
Fellowships and teaching assistantships are available to qualified graduate students. Students may teach in any of the language and literature departments and programs. College-level teaching experience is an integral part of the professional preparation offered by the Comparative Literature Program. Graduate students are also encouraged to apply directly for financial aid through the office of Financial Aid, (303) 492-5091.
The Program in the University:
The Comparative Literature Program constitutes the graduate portion of the Department of
Comparative Literature and Humanities. Its faculty and fellows are drawn from a wide range of
departments throughout the university.
The Department of Comparative Literature and Humanities sponsors or co-sponsors a rich
program of speakers, colloquia, and conferences throughout the academic year. In addition to
individual departments ranging from Anthropology to Philosophy, Comparative Literature
regularly cooperates with the campus Center for Humanities and the Arts to organize visits and
colloquia.
The Community:
Located 30 miles northwest of Denver and within sight of the Continental Divide, Boulder is a
planned growth city of 90,000, equally noted for its recreational and cultural attractions. A mild,
four-season climate makes Boulder a center for skiing, hiking, climbing, running, cycling, and
year-round tennis and golf.
Cultural attractions in Boulder include the Colorado Music Festival, the Colorado Dance
Festival, and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival; the Takács String Quartet is in residence at the
College of Music; and the Naropa Institute is a center for contemporary poetry and Buddhist
culture. Within an hour's drive may be found Rocky Mountain National Park, the Central City
Opera, and Denver, with its symphony orchestra, theaters, museums, opera, and professional
sports franchises.
For Further Information:
Further information about the Program may be obtained from:
Comparative Literature and Humanities
University of Colorado at Boulder
331 UCB, Ketchum Room 233
Boulder, Colorado 80309-0331
Or by calling (303) 492-7376. Applicants should submit their applications no later than January
1 preceding the Fall of the year they hope to enter. Foreign applications should be submitted by
December 1. Applicants are encouraged to use the university's online application system.
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