A copy of the brochure of the CAS/GSAS COMBINED BACHELOR'S/ MASTER'S PROGRAM (PDF), which outlines the general curriculum, admissions, scholarship, and financial aid of the program is also available at the College Advising Center, located in Silver 905. As noted in the brochure, students may apply to the program "once they have completed a minimum of 48 credits toward the bachelor's degree, but not more than 96 credits or six semesters, whichever comes first." Students interested in the program should meet with an advisor in the College Advising Center. 

In addition to requirements outlined in the CAS/GSAS brochure, students must meet the following curricular and procedural requirements specific to the Comp Lit BA/MA program.

Requirements for the M.A. in Comparative Literature

The student must include the three following requirements within the first 32 points:

1. "Seminar in Literature: Research Methods and Techniques - Practice and Theory" to be taken FIRST term at NYU. (required only of students entering the program in or after Fall 1995.)

2. Literary Criticism/Theory before 1800* (NOTE FOR BA/MA STUDENTS: This course is normally offered every other year. Students in the BA/MA Program should enroll in the "pre- 1800" course in their senior undergraduate year or their MA year.)

3. Contemporary (20th Century) Literary Criticism/theory

* Both theory courses may be satisfied in or out of the department; they need not be survey courses; advisor's approval required. If you take a course outside the department to satisfy one of the above requirements, you have the option of having it count for one of the three required "outside" courses, but it need not preclude your taking additional courses outside the department. Consult your advisor.

The student may transfer up to 2 courses (8 points of credit for GRADUATE classes taken at another institution and not already credited towards a degree (including B.A.). With an advisor's approval, the student may count transferred courses towards part of the year-long criticism/theory requirement or as part of distribution requirements.

B. LANGUAGES

For the M.A. degree, the students must demonstrate proficiency in two non-english languages. You may do this in one of the following ways:

1. Translation exams are administered (for a fee) several times a year by Graduate Enrollment Services. Register at ½ Fifth Avenue. Note that registration dates are usually at least a month in advance of the exam.

2. Native proficiency demonstrated by a degree from a non-Anglophone foreign university.

** 3. A graduate level literature course, taught in the language, (grade of 'B' or better) in any of the language departments at NYU.

** 4. An upper level, undergraduate LITERATURE class, taught in the language, taken within two years of your fist registration at NYU for which you received a 'B' or better.**

**Note: if you choose to satisfy your language requirements using any of the last three methods, you must apply for "language equivalency." This means that even if you take 3 courses, for example in the Spanish department, or you are from Austria, or you had an undergraduate major in French, and so forth, you will not have proven any proficiency until you have applied for such with the departmental Graduate Secretary. You are strongly encouraged to apply for language equivalency as soon as you are able -- in the cases of undergraduate equivalency and native speakers, for example, you should apply your first semester. Similarly, after you have finished a graduate course in a national language, apply immediately. Failure to do so may result in extremely tedious complications which can interfere with obtaining your degree in a timely manner.

C. QUALIFYING PAPER (aka Master's Thesis)

The qualifying paper must be written and approved WITHIN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF COURSEWORK (ideally by the end of the third semester). The paper is meant to be one which you have already submitted for a seminar and to which you would like to return in order to polish the argument to a "publishable" standard. In this instance, "publishable" means: that the paper should be grammatically and stylistically beyond reproach; that the issues and arguments of the essay are presented in a comprehensive and knowledgeable way; and that the essay makes a genuine contribution to scholarship and enters into current debates and issues in the field. Ultimately, the paper should be one which could or will be presented at a conference or published in a journal. This includes review essays, which often provide excellent opportunity for your first publication.

Guidelines for the Qualifying Paper:
- It must be typed and legible.
- Length is variable, but often ranges from 20-35 pages.

The final version must be preceded by a title sheet.
- The Qualifying Paper is read and approved by TWO readers, each of whom MUST SIGN BOTH THE TITLE PAGE AND A GREEN "MASTER THESIS READER SHEET" (available from the Graduate Secretary).
-The readers are to be chosen by the student in consultation with the department. The first reader is generally the faculty member for whom the paper was originally written. Students should meet with The Chair or DGS to initiate this process. At least one of the two readers must be a member of the Comparative Literature Faculty.