Comparative Literature appeals to the desire to transcend cultural borders in the study of literature and related media, both contemporary and historical. It supports sustained engagement with great imaginative works from around the globe deemed world literature as well as examines and critiques the intellectual and scholarly traditions that have yielded these judgments. It lends particular attention to encounters between literary cultures as they borrow, adapt, exchange, and translate cultural materials and to the pathways and modes by which these transformations take place. PhD students in Comparative Literature are expected to have deep knowledge of one language in addition to English and reading knowledge in yet another language, languages pertinent to their transcultural engagements.
Financial Support
The PhD Program in Comparative Literature provides students admitted into the program with full financial support for five years as long as the student remains in good academic standing. Funding includes full tuition remission and a generous stipend.
In addition, departmental funding, students can apply for competitive university fellowships with enhanced funding for outstanding students in select target groups. Visit the Office of Graduate Studies in Arts & Sciences website for more funding information.
Teaching and Internships
The Comparative Literature Program at Washington University provides graduate students with exceptional training and mentoring for their teaching both here at Washington University and in their future careers. Our students have an opportunity to assist with and teach a wide variety of courses, including introductory through advanced German, as well as courses in Comparative Literature, Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Film and Media Studies. At the beginning of their teaching experience, students work in close collaboration with the Foreign Language Pedagogy specialist, as well as other faculty members, who serve in a variety of capacities as mentors and advisers. As they gain more experience and prove themselves, students have the opportunity to teach their own courses under the supervision of a faculty mentor.
The Comparative Literature Program also offers its graduate students an opportunity to do semester-long internships (Mentored Professional Experiences, or MPEs) to help them develop skills that translate across professional fields. MPEs may take place on or off campus in the St Louis area. Recent placements include Arts & Sciences College Office, Olin Library, Special Collections, Center for the Humanities, Public Scholarship, Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri History Museum. Students will be matched according to their scholarly interests and/or the professional skills they are looking to develop.
For more information about our pedagogy program for graduate students and the MTE and MPE requirements for the degree, please contact our Director of Graduate Studies.
