I. INTRODUCTION TO THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Comparative Literature at New York University is a doctoral program which requires Ph.D. candidates to earn an M.A. degree in the process of working towards the Ph.D.

We are committed to providing an innovative and rigorous approach to comparative literature as an inquiry into the nature of literary language, an investigation of literary representation in relation to other forms of cultural expression, and an exploration of the social, political, and aesthetic contexts of literary practice. Comparative Literature is also the home for interdisciplinary and cross-cultural work engaged with philosophical and theoretical problems of language and interpretation. For these intellectual reasons, the department’s graduate students are required to work in several linguistic traditions, to acquire an expertise in literary criticism, theory, and history, and to develop an awareness of the larger disciplinary and cultural implications of literary analysis.

While such a course of study is rewarding in itself, the graduate program at NYU also presumes that most of its students will ultimately seek academic jobs. Consequently, the program is designed to prepare students for success on the academic job market. The requirements and guidelines which follow are meant to enhance the intellectual goals with which all students enter, and simultaneously to provide the best and most pragmatic training for future job placement.

Courses are chosen in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies and, by the third year of coursework, with a faculty adviser who shares the student’s intellectual and/or linguistic interests. It is crucial to remember that the purpose of coursework is to provide a foundation for structuring the student’s doctoral exams, formulating and carrying out the dissertation project, and preparing for an academic career. It is also intended to help students develop interests beyond those with which they entered the program. Students should aim for both depth and breadth in their studies, making sure not to take courses in one period, genre or theory to the exclusion of others. In other words, keep a literary, historical, and theoretical balance in mind--students who focus on twentieth-century modernism, for example, should be sure to do work in earlier periods and in other modes.

Because the majority of Ph.D. candidates intend to become professors, students are required in their doctoral exams to demonstrate an expertise in a particular field, called the teaching field, as well as more specialized knowledge of theory and of a field encompassing a specific comparative focus and, in some cases, broadened by genuine knowledge of a non-literary discipline (see below). It is this combination which seems to give comparative literature students an edge over job candidates trained in a single national literature.. The competition for jobs and fellowships, and the special challenges and benefits a comparative literature degree provides, make a six-year plan to the degree ideal. Financial aid possibilities, teaching opportunities, and professional advancement are all strongly affected by the timely pacing of graduate studies. For example, students are often ineligible for NYU awards and summer fellowships unless they have completed their coursework and exams; faculty recommendations often hinge on adherence to the six-year plan outlines. Faculty Advisers, the Chair and the Director of Graduate Studies, as well as the Graduate Secretary and the Departmental Administrator are all dedicated to making this progress a reality for students.

Not everyone will want to use their doctorate to enter the academy. Our department acknowledges the range of other job possibilities and makes such opportunities known to students whenever possible. Graduates will find that career opportunities in academic administration, positions in international foundation and associations, jobs in publishing and translating, and openings in business, political, and entertainment fields are enhanced by the Ph.D. degree in Comparative Literature.

II. IDEAL TIME-PLAN TO 6-YEAR Ph.D.

YEAR ONE

Semesters 1 & 2

· Finish 24 points of coursework (3 courses at 4 points each per semester. Three four-point courses total 12 points; 12 points constitutes full time status).

· Satisfy or prove proficiency in 2 languages.

YEAR TWO

Semester 3

· Finish M.A. coursework (8 points)

· Begin coursework toward Ph.D.

· Satisfy any outstanding language proficiencies.

· Hand in Qualifying Paper.

· Receive M.A. by the end of the third semester.

Semester 4

· Finish all outstanding M.A. requirements (hopefully none).

· Continue coursework toward Ph.D.

· Second Year Review, typically conducted with the student by the DGS and the Department Chair.

The M.A. degree should be received by the end of the 3rd semester.

If not, it must be received before the end of the 4th semester.

You need a total of 32 points for the M.A.

YEAR THREE

Semester 5

· Finish Ph.D. coursework.

· Satisfy third language proficiency (or non-literary disciplinary field).

Semester 6

· In semester six, take required exam preparation course.

*The final language requirement and/or completion of the non-literary disciplinary

field must be completed before the doctoral preliminary exam can be taken.

· The student completes the Take Home Written Comprehensive Examination, administered by a three-faculty exam committee. The written exam should be taken as soon as possible after completion of the exam preparation course, if not by the end of the 6th semester, then at the beginning of the summer following that semester[1]: it does not require the examiners’ physical presence, since examiners’ questions and candidates’ responses may be distributed by e-mail through the Graduate Secretary.

· After the student has passed the Written Comprehensive Examination, preparation for the Dissertation Prospectus Conference begins. The student must at this time convene a dissertation committee comprised of a director, second, and third reader. In many cases, members of the dissertation committee will have been members of the student’s doctoral exam committee. Nevertheless, students are free to constitute the dissertation committee differently after passing the written doctoral exams if that is their preference. In either case, students should arrange to meet with their intended dissertation director in order to get that faculty member’s explicit consent to serve in that position, and should communicate with the remaining two members of the proposed dissertation committee to secure their agreement to serve as either second or third reader on the committee. The student will be asked to bring a form for signature to their meeting with their prospective dissertation director which lists the members of the committee and records the title of the dissertation (the title may change in the course of writing). This form will be placed in the student’s file in the Graduate Secretary’s office.

· Students should be prepared for the Dissertation Prospectus Conference within four months following the written exam, preferably at the end of that same summer or as close to the beginning of semester 7 as possible. The prospectus must be submitted beforehand to the student’s dissertation director for approval before the conference can be scheduled.

· Once the conference has been convened and final approval of the prospectus given, a copy of the prospectus is turned in to the Graduate Secretary to be kept in the student’s file and made available to other students.

You need a total of 40 points of courses after your M.A. totaling 72 points for the Ph.D.

YEAR FOUR

Semester 7

· Admission to Candidacy (ABD) is achieved when the dissertation prospectus has been approved (see immediately above).

· Start (or continue) dissertation research and writing.

· First class taught (usually as a preceptor in MAP).

Semester 8

· Continue dissertation research and writing.

· Second class taught (also usually as a preceptor in MAP).

YEAR FIVE

Semester 9

· Continue dissertation writing.

· Third class taught.

· Explore and apply for competitive dissertation fellowships (including the Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship and other outside fellowships)

Semester 10

· Fourth class taught.

· Continue Writing

YEAR SIX

Semester 11

· Complete dissertation writing (preferably for a final version to be given to the first three readers by late November/early December with the understanding that one or all of these readers will have been reading the dissertation since its inception).

Semester 12

· Register for graduation

· Defend dissertation.

· Graduate.

There are a few ABSOLUTE DEADLINES within this schema:

1. The M.A. degree should be received by the end of the 3rd semester. In the event that it is not, it must be received before the end of the 4th semester.

2. All IPs must be completed before scheduling your written examination. IPs cannot be carried more than a semester after the term.

3. All language requirements and/or completion of the “third field” must be satisfied by the end of the 6th semester. These must be completed before you can schedule your examinations.

4. All Exams must be completed before a student teaches any stand-alone undergraduate course.

5. Terminal M.A. degrees must be granted by the end of the student’s third year.

6. Your Dissertation Prospectus Conference must take place no later than four months after your Written Examination. This means that a dissertation committee must be formed in the interim between Written Exams and Dissertation Prospectus Conference, and the signature of your dissertation director secured on the form you will file with the Graduate Secretary stating the names of committee members and the prospective title of your dissertation.

7. Ph.D. Degrees should be received by the end of the sixth year of matriculation. In any event, they must be completed by the end of the tenth year (or seventh if the student began the program with an M.A. degree).

THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THESE DEADLINES IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES. IF YOU FEEL YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES MERIT SPECIAL CONSIDERATION, SEE EITHER THE DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE STUDIES OR THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. FAILURE TO MEET THESE DEADLINES WILL RESULT IN ACADEMIC PROBATION.

III THE M.A. DEGREE

A. COURSE WORK

· 8 courses (32 points ) TOTAL , or which:

· 5 courses (20 points) are in the department.

· 3 courses (12 points) are outside the department (and relevant to the student’s teaching and research goals).

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

1. “Seminar in Literature: Research Methods and Techniques - Practice and Theory” to be taken in the FIRST year at NYU.

2. Literary Criticism/Theory before 1800.*

3. Contemporary (20th Century) Literary Criticism/Theory.*

4. One pre-1800 literature course in addition to #2. (A second pre-1800 literature course is required in order to complete your Ph.D. coursework.)

* Both theory courses may be satisfied in or out of the department. 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. When in doubt, consult your adviser.

The student may transfer up to 2 graduate courses (8 points of credit) for classes taken at another institution and not already credited towards a B.A. or M.A. with the approval of the DGS.

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

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

3. An upper level, undergraduate LITERATURE class, taught in the language, taken at NYU for which you received a ‘B’ or better. **

4. Translation exams are administered (for a fee) three 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.

**Note: if you choose to satisfy your language requirements using any of the first 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 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 in 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 (Master’s Thesis)

The qualifying paper must be written and approved WITHIN THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF COURSEWORK (and preferably 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. Since it is to be rated “publishable,” it must fall between 20-35 pages inclusive of footnotes.

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 DGS to initiate this process. At least one of the two readers must be a member of the Comparative Literature Faculty or associated faculty.

Approved qualifying papers should be submitted to the Graduate Secretary at least two weeks before graduation deadlines (in January, May, and September). This means that qualifying papers must be submitted to both readers well in advance so that they have the time to read your work and you have time to make all required changes and submit the paper again for their approval. Consult the Graduate Secretary each semester to find out about these deadlines.

D. SECOND YEAR REVIEW

During your 4^th semester, you will participate in a Second Year Review, typically conducted by the DGS and the Department Chair. The review provides an opportunity for ensuring that you have completed your requirements to date, and discussing the plans you are beginning to formulate for your upcoming Doctoral Preliminary Examinations.

E. PROCEEDING TO THE Ph.D. PROGRAM

Full-time students who have not received their M.A. by May of their second year will be placed on “probational” standing , meaning that their status will be under serious review.

Should the student fall behind, the university will still demand that the student register to maintain matriculation while completing outstanding requirements, an unnecessary and unwelcome financial burden. In addition, this may jeopardize the student’s financial aid status.

Though you are continuing on to the Ph.D. portion of your coursework, you will still need to register for graduation to receive your M.A. You cannot register for the MA or MPHIL degrees on Torchtone because it will activate you for the Ph.D. graduation. You must call Graduation Services instead.

IV. Ph.D. PROGRAM

A. CONTINUATION FROM M.A. PROGRAM

The continuation from the M.A. to the Ph.D. is not automatic; successful and timely completion of the M.A. is required for admission to the Ph.D. program.

B. INCOMING M.A. STUDENTS

Those entering the program with a transferable M.A. (or equivalent) from another university must apply WITHIN THE FIRST YEAR OF COURSEWORK for a transfer of up to thirty-two points towards the Ph.D. Application during this time is absolutely imperative. First see the Director of Graduate Studies for approval and then see the Graduate Secretary for procedure. Students in this situation may be exempt from the departmental M.A. requirements (see III A & B), but must demonstrate proficiency in three languages (or two plus a third field). Any requirement exemptions granted by the DGS must be entered in the student’s file. The student should confirm with the Graduate Secretary that they have been entered. Note: if you are the recipient of a MacCracken Fellowship, and you transfer your M.A., this reduces your 5-year fellowship to 4 years.

C. COURSEWORK

· 10 courses (40 points) TOTAL past the M.A., of which:

· 5 courses (20 points) are in Comparative Literature, one of which is a 4 point “Exam Preparation” course.

· 5 courses (20 points) are taken outside the department.

Students entering the doctoral program with the M.A. in comparative literature from another institution divide their 40 points between courses in comparative literature and courses in a national literature or literatures. After consultation with the DGS, they can also include appropriate non-literature courses.

Students entering the doctoral program with a master’s degree in a national literature must discuss their course requirements carefully with the DGS.

Doctoral students must take a full year of study in criticism and theory, one course of which must be of criticism before 1800. Other required courses are the “Research Methods and Techniques” and another pre-1800 literature course. The DGS may make an exception if a student can show that these requirements have been satisfied during their M.A. program. Any such exemptions must be entered in the student’s file.

The student’s program of study should be designed around the formation of a primary field, your intended teaching field, as well as a secondary field of specialized interest and a theory field. By teaching field we mean the area of expertise the student will claim as a scholar and an academic on the job market—e.g., Renaissance drama, comparative modernism, the history of the novel, Caribbean poetry, etc. The secondary field will be formulated with specific reference to the proposed dissertation research.

Courses should be chosen in consultation with an adviser.

D. THIRD LANGUAGE/NON-LITERARY DISCIPLINARY FIELD

Doctoral candidates who have completed all the M.A. requirements may replace the third of their three (non-English) languages with genuine advanced knowledge of a non-literary discipline: past examples include History, Anthropology, Performance Studies, Cinema Studies, Political Science. The department in question must offer the doctoral degree. This option is available only in cases where the non-literary discipline is certain to become an integral part of a student’s doctoral research and dissertation. It can be taken only after discussion with the student’s departmental adviser and must be approved by the other department. It requires a minimum of three doctoral level courses in that department, where the student must also have an adviser (usually chosen, or at least envisaged, by the student after having taken a first course in the field). That adviser must participate as a member of the doctoral exam committee, and eventually serve as one of the first three (of five) readers of the dissertation. Initial formal contacts with the Chair or Director of Graduate Studies of the other department and the prospective adviser are made by the student’s Comparative Literature adviser or appropriate Comparative Literature faculty member. Due to time constraints and other requirements, a student choosing this option will often need to start preparing for it (and probably take a first course in the field) during their M.A. coursework.

Remember that before the non-literary disciplinary-field adviser can be officially appointed, a formal request must first be made to that effect by the DGS or Chair.

E. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS

1. Take Home Written Comprehensive Examination

· There is one comprehensive written examination to which you will have devoted a research course the previous semester. Your comprehensive exam is administered by the faculty committee of three who will normally, though not in all cases, serve on your dissertation committee as well and thus participate in your Dissertation Prospectus Conference (see page 5 above for constitution of the dissertation committee). You must solicit their participation well in advance of the comprehensive exam, since one or more of them will be needed to administer the required independent exam study course for credit.

· The examiners forward their questions to the Graduate Secretary at least two weeks before the exam is scheduled. The Graduate Secretary sends the questions to the DGS to make sure there is no overlap. The committee chair also approves the questions, to make sure they constitute a fair and comprehensive exam. The graduate secretary formats the exam and prepares it for the student.

· Please note, you must also submit your reading lists to the DGS to be reviewed in conjunction with the exam questions.

The take-home exam is a rigorous one, consisting of three sections, each of which is made up of one primary question which may be divided into parts.

1. The first exam section is tailored to the literary critical or theoretical area most germane to the student’s interests and prospective dissertation topic.

2. The second exam section is based on the student’s major or teaching field. This will entail a comprehensive approach to a field roughly corresponding to the broad designations found in the MLA job list, e.g., “Renaissance Drama” or “20th Century Latin American Fiction.”

3. The third exam section entails preparation for the dissertation work itself and may be the most useful in writing your dissertation prospectus in preparation for the Dissertation Prospectus Conference. This may involve some particular critical perspective, historical or thematic aspect, theoretical issue, or further explorations in your non-literary discipline. If the student has chosen this last option, the third section may be the appropriate place for its examination: remembering that this non-literary discipline has to be an element of the dissertation.

The student is allotted one calendar week (Monday to Monday or Friday to Friday) for the comprehensive exam. The first (critical-theoretical) and the third (dissertation preparation) sections each have one question on the exam, and the answers to these questions may be correspondingly shorter than to the two-question second (teaching field) section. The maximum page length of the entire exam is roughly thirty typed, double space pages, so one might offer a 15 page teaching field answer, and a 7-8 page response to the other two sections. When preparing the lists for the exam itself, the same proportions should roughly obtain. In other words, the teaching field will have the largest number of primary and secondary texts, around 40-50 depending on the field, while the criticism-theory and dissertation preparation field will be shorter -- perhaps 20-30 texts each. Recall that the lists can include chapters, excerpts, and essays as well as entire works. Sample lists will be made available in the department office.

A great deal is expected in this exam: demonstration of solid coverage of an extensive reading list, substantive grasp of key issues in comparative literary analysis and theory, and firm grounding in the field of your primary interest. Remember that you will have had a semester-long course allowing you to prepare your lists and embark on the reading itself.

The take home comprehensive written exam can be repeated once if the student does not pass all or part of it. All three faculty read the entire exam, but evaluate only the section they have written.

After successful completion of the written exam(s), students proceed to the Dissertation Prospectus Conference. The time between the two parts of the exam may be no more than four months without the explicit consent of the DGS:

2. Dissertation Prospectus Conference

The Dissertation Prospectus Conference is to be scheduled after your dissertation director approves an initial dissertation prospectus (please see Semester 6, Year 3 on p. 5 above for information about constituting the dissertation committee and appointing a director). The prospectus conference committee is comprised of your dissertation committee members (director, second, and third readers). In most cases, they will be the same three faculty members who administered the written exam. After the written exam has been passed, however, students may consider changes as they are putting their dissertation committees together in advance of the Dissertation Prospectus Conference. For all committees, at least one of the three members must be a Comparative Literature Faculty Member or an Associated member of the department’s faculty.

· This prospectus is 15-25 typed pages, including the dissertation bibliography. Its basic organization is as follows:

1) Your thesis: the argument you plan to make and explanation of the materials that are the focus of your critical and scholarly interests (usually 7-8 pages). 2) Annotated preliminary table of contents (also around 7-8 pages). 3) Preliminary bibliography (around 5 or so pages). The whole constitutes a “road map” of your dissertation.

· It must be circulated to the entire three person committee no later than three weeks before the Dissertation Prospectus Conference and approved by your director in order for the Conference to be scheduled. The director’s approval signals his or her confidence in the viability of the prospectus and your readiness for the Conference.

· The purpose of the Dissertation Prospectus Conference is to give your dissertation committee the opportunity to discuss and perhaps recommend changes to your prospectus so that you are in the best possible position to initiate dissertation research and writing immediately. Official approval of the prospectus will be granted at this meeting, unless the committee feels at the Conference that major adjustments must be made in advance of their approving your prospectus. In that case the committee will set a deadline by which changes should be made; in no case will this be more than one month after the Dissertation Prospectus Conference was held. Once the prospectus is approved, the student is required to submit a copy to the graduate secretary to be kept on file in the department as a resource for review by other students in the department.

F. DISSERTATION

For rules and regulations regarding the length, form, and procedures surrounding the Dissertation, please pick up a Formatting Guide from the Office of Student Affairs at ½ Fifth Avenue. (University guidelines allow the candidate to use MLA or Chicago style. Additionally, you may use endnotes or footnotes. You may choose which best suits your work, but you must be consistent throughout.)

1. Financial Support While Completing the Dissertation

· If you run beyond your MacCracken, consult the Director of Graduate Studies early each semester to discuss applying for university fellowships as well as to discuss external fellowships for which you may be eligible. Attend the grant-writing and fellowship workshops offered by the