Department of Comparative Literature

Graduate Program

Application Information

A bachelor's degree in literature, ancient or modern, is a prerequisite for admission to the Ph.D. graduate program in Comparative Literature. Applicants whose BA program lacks a literature major are required to demonstrate the equivalent knowledge and comprehension of one literature before being considered a graduate student in good standing. Applicants are expected to have at least a 3.5 grade-point average in upper division literature courses. Literary proficiency in one foreign language and at least an elementary knowledge of a second one are expected. For students entering with an MA degree, the graduate advisor may agree to waive some of the normal course requirements.

Although the Department of Comparative Literature offers both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, we admit only those students who plan to ultimately pursue a Ph.D. We do not offer a terminal M.A. The program requires full-time attendance, and classes are held during the day. The Department requires all degree candidates to demonstrate linguistic, historical, and critical competence in two or more literatures. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree are examined in three fields. These fields may include three literatures with an emphasis on a single period, or two literatures and, by petition, a related interdisciplinary field such as Music, Film, or Art History.

The Department admits students for the Fall Quarter only and does not allow deferred admission. The deadline for receipt of the complete application package is December 1st and results can be expected in March. Late applications for the Fall quarter will be reviewed when received, but chances for admission are slight.
The typical class size of entering graduate students per year is seven to ten. We make admissions offers to 15-20 applicants per year, from an applicant pool of approximately 100.

You must apply electronically for graduate admission and financial aid. The address for the online admissions application is http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu. Please note the university does not provide paper applications. If you have difficulty accessing the on-line application, please contact the Graduate Admissions office at gadmission@gdnet.ucla.edu.

We expect all eligible students (permanent residents and U.S. citizens) to establish state residency after their first year of graduate study. Once residency has been established, a student is exempt from non-resident tuition and pays only the registration fees.
Applicants are asked to submit the following directly to the Comparative Literature department office:

A statement of purpose, explaining their background for graduate study in literature and their language areas. Please include immediate and long-range goals in the field in the statement. Statements of purpose should primarily focus on intellectual interests and research plans, though autobiographical material can be useful where it is clearly relevant.
Applicants should also have three scholars under whom they have studied submit recommendation letters about their potential in literature, languages and general intellectual qualifications.
The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required; students living abroad can get information about taking these exams from the US Embassy or Consulate. We do not require the subject test portion of the GRE. Applicants should take the exams no later than October or November. We will accept scores from exams taken within the past five years.
Applicants must submit official records (transcripts) from each academic institution attended. These must bear the actual signature of the Registrar and the seal of the issuing institution.
Applicants must submit a research paper or other piece of writing (no more than 15 pages) in literature. Please do not submit your entire thesis. Please do not submit more than one paper. Additional papers will be returned to the applicant and not considered in the file. This part of the dossier is very important, and is often given more weight in admissions decisions about admissibility than anything else, since it (potentially) provides evidence of the ability to pursue original research in the field. Applicant files will not be considered complete if a research paper is not included.
International applicants whose first language is not English must certify their proficiency in English. Such applicants must submit scores received on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A score of at least 560 on the paper and pencil test or 220 on the computer-based test is recommended for applicants.
International applicants must complete and return the Confidential Financial Statement.

CHECKLIST
To the Admissions Office:

Online Application
$60 Processing Fee
Financial statement (international students only)

To the Department (mailing address, Box 951536, 350 Humanities Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1536)

GRE/TOEFL scores
Statement of Purpose
3 Letters of Recommendation
Transcripts
Writing Sample (only 1, no more than 15 pages!)
Fellowship application (optional)

Program Requirements (effective Fall 07)

Foreign Language Requirement
Literary proficiency in the major and minor languages is an essential prerequisite for courses and degrees in Comparative Literature. Students should be able to take graduate courses conducted in the languages of their specialization, speak the major foreign language adequately, and read literary texts in that language with literary proficiency (in other words, with sensitivity to stylistic nuances).
Before completing the Ph.D. degree, students must demonstrate knowledge of two foreign languages. Proficiency in one language must be certified by completing two or more upper division and/or graduate literature courses in the appropriate language department. Students must prove more than elementary language competency in order to take these courses. The second language requirement may be satisfied by completion of one upper division literature class. For students who are not planning to pursue doctoral research and writing immediately, but who wish to receive the M.A. degree, the second language requirement may be fulfilled by either completion of two years of language course work, or by one upper division literature course. In rare cases that require departmental approval, students may substitute a translation examination administered by a departmental faculty member in place of coursework.

Course Requirements

During the first two years of study toward the Ph.D. degree students are required to complete 13 letter-graded courses, the minimum also required for the master's degree, as follows:
(1) Five graduate courses in comparative literature: Comparative Literature 200A and 200B; one course whose primary focus is theory; two courses that deal with primary texts in a comparative context (courses on genre, period, or a special topic that examines primary texts).
(2) Five courses (a minimum of three must be graduate courses; the other two may be upper division) in the major literature.
(3) Three courses, at least one of which must be graduate, in the minor literature. Periods, genres, or problems in the minor literature which lend themselves to comparison with similar elements in the major literature should be studied.
In general, the department discourages the use of 500-series (independent study) courses toward the requirements for the degree. However, of the above required courses, it is possible in certain instances for eight units to be from the 500-series courses. If these were used, courses 596 or 597 could be applied toward the minimum course requirement, but only one of the courses could be applied toward the graduate course requirement. Students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies to determine if this is acceptable.

Teaching Experience

Although teaching experience is not required, students may have the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant after spending at least one year in the program. Teaching assistantships are not automatically offered to students but are awarded on the basis of merit.

Field Experience
Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

Students who plan not to pursue doctoral research and writing immediately may choose to take an oral examination in conjunction with the second year review (see Doctoral Degree, Advising) and thereby fulfill the master's comprehensive examination requirement and receive the M.A. degree. This two-hour oral examination entails the discussion of two seminar papers with three faculty members. The examination is given between the seventh and tenth weeks of the Spring Quarter. The examination committee includes one of the graduate advisers from Comparative Literature and at least one other Comparative Literature faculty member. The student is responsible for contacting the graduate adviser to make arrangements for the examination as early as possible, but no later than the third week of the quarter. If the student passes the examination and has satisfactorily completed the 12-course, foreign language, grade and residency requirements, the M.A. degree is awarded.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

See under Doctoral Degree.
Doctoral Degree

Advising

Graduate advisers may be contacted at the departmental office. Students should meet at least quarterly with one of the advisers. Student records are reviewed on a regular basis by the core department faculty. Students whose grade-point average falls below 3.4 are sent a warning by the chair and may be placed on departmental academic probation.

First Stage Evaluation

At the end of the first year for those students entering with a master's degree or the second year for those students entering with the bachelor's degree, there is a meeting with the student and three faculty members to assess progress. This early review takes places between the seventh and tenth week of the Spring Quarter. The review committee includes one of the graduate advisers from Comparative Literature and at least one other Comparative Literature faculty member. The student is responsible for contacting the graduate adviser to make arrangements for the review, as early as possible in the quarter but not later than the fifth week. It is essential that students declare who the Chair of the PhD Exam Committee will be by the time of the second year review, that is, just before the end of the second year. (Those students entering the program with an MA can petition the Director of Graduate Studies for an extension to this deadline.) This way they will have a year to work with the person to put together the lists and the committee for the exams (see below). Major Fields or Subdisciplines
During the third and fourth years of study, the study plan combines the work in a major and a minor field by focusing on a limited area in which these fields may be explored. These areas may be a literary period or a particular aspect common to several literatures (for example, a genre like tragedy or the novel, or a phenomenon like neoclassicism or the baroque). They may also concern a critical or theoretical problem, involving analyses of styles or modes of interpretation; comparisons of classical and modern genres and themes; questions about the artistic process in different art forms; or problems in literary aesthetics or epistemology. The minor can be a second literature as described above, or another discipline such as art history, film, or gender studies, but in all cases knowledge of the relevant language(s) and literature(s) must be demonstrated. Students must have their major and minor fields approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.

Foreign Language Requirement

In addition to the course requirements for the major and minor fields, students must have literary proficiency in at least two foreign languages before taking the qualifying examination, to be demonstrated either by examination or by having taken upper division or graduate courses in that language. Additional details on fulfilling the requirement are included under Master's Degree. A reading knowledge of a third foreign language is strongly recommended. Two of the three languages offered for the Ph.D. must be from different language groups (i.e., Romance and Germanic, English and Slavic, Chinese and Arabic). A classical language is usually necessary for anyone majoring in a period prior to the 19th century.
Students who select a non-literary minor must still demonstrate the ability to read literature in two foreign languages. Students are examined in at least one foreign language as part of the course and examination requirements for the doctoral degree, and must also demonstrate literature reading proficiency in a second foreign language by taking an upper division course in that language. For example, a student who selects French (major) and film (minor) as areas of specialization is expected to demonstrate literature reading proficiency in another foreign language, for example, Spanish,German, Arabic, etc.

Course Requirements

For the first and second years of study, see under Master's Degree.
For the third and fourth years of study, students are expected to complete the following course requirements: two courses in comparative literature; two to three courses in the major literature; two to three courses in theminor; and one course in the second foreign language if recommended by the adviser.

Teaching Experience

Although teaching experience is not required, students may have the opportunity to serve as a teaching assistant after spending at least one year in the program. Teaching assistantships are not automatically offered to students but are awarded on the basis of merit.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass University written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations the University oral qualifying examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to University requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

First Qualifying Examination

By the ninth quarter students will have 72 hours to complete a take home examination in the major literature based on a reading list of approximately 50 works; 15-20% of which will be theoretical works related to the field. This examination in the major area is meant to demonstrate competence in the broad historical scope of the student's literature as well as of a more specific period. Therefore, the reading list may be weighted toward a 100-year period but must cover at least 200 years (some areas will be much broader and will need to be established with the student's major examiner and one of the Comparative Literature graduate advisers) and give some indication of knowledge of the broader history of the major area. Before taking the major written examination, the student also must submit a reading list of approximately 30 works based on the minor area, of which 15-20% will be theoretical works that pertain to the topic.. The reading list for the minor area is intended to represent works covered in course work. The exam lists have to be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies at least a quarter before the scheduled exams. Field changes cannot be made by the student or the supervisor without approval by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Upon completion of the written examination and before the end of the ninth quarter, the student sets up a three-member faculty committee (which includes the faculty member who wrote the major examination and at least two faculty members from Comparative Literature) for a follow-up one hour oral examination that covers the major and minor areas. All examining faculty must be familiar with both lists and the written exam before conducting the oral examination. A student may attempt one or both parts of this examination a maximum of two times.

Second Stage Evaluation

In the tenth quarter, students enroll in a 597 course with their major adviser to begin work on the dissertation prospectus and to discuss the integration of the major literature focus with a comparative literature focus. This 35- to 50-page prospectus, which includes a substantial bibliography, a review of the relevant secondary literature, and a critical or theoretical perspective, may be submitted as early as the sixth week of the eleventh quarter, but it must be submitted no later than the sixth week of the twelfth quarter. At the time students submit their prospectus, they must formally nominate a doctoral committee.

Second Qualifying Examination

As early as the end of the eleventh quarter, but no later than the end of the twelfth quarter, students must take a two-hour University Oral Qualifying Examination, which is based primarily on the prospectus.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of the Dissertation)

Not required for all students in the program. The decision as to whether a defense is required is made by the doctoral committee.

Time-to-Degree

Year one: By the end of the third quarter, students must have completed six to eight courses chosen in consultation with the Comparative Literature graduate adviser.
Year two: By the end of the sixth quarter, students must have completed 12 courses chosen in consultation with the graduate adviser and major field adviser.
Year three: By the ninth quarter, students must have completed the written examinations in the major and the one-hour oral examination, including the minor literary fields, and must have completed 15-16 courses, including three to four courses chosen in consultation with the graduate adviser and major field adviser. By the end of the ninth quarter, students must organize a prospective dissertation committee.
Year four: By the end of the twelfth quarter, students must have completed 18 to 20 courses chosen in consultation with the graduate adviser and major field adviser, and must have completed the qualifying examinations and been advanced to candidacy.
Years five and six: The dissertation normally takes one to two years to complete. It must be completed no later than the end of the seventh year or twenty-first quarter.