NYU > CompLit > Undergraduate Program

The Major
The Minor
Restrictions
Honors Graduation
Double Major
Internships

Declaration of Major

To declare a major, it is recommended that students complete one course originating in the Department of Comparative Literature. As with other CAS majors, such a declaration must be made by students who have earned 64 or more points. Because of the rigorous academic requirements of Comparative Literature, however, students with fewer than 64 points are strongly encouraged to declare the major as early in their academic career as possible.

Special Note: Students planning on Junior Year/Term Abroad, must consult and declare with the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Comparative Literature before their departure.

Major

The major has two tracks, each consisting of 10 4-point courses organized as follows:

Track 1: Literature. This track includes the following courses:

Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature, including Introduction to Comp Lit and the Junior Theory Seminar.
Four courses in a national literature department at the 100 level or above conducted in the language of that literature (including the prerequisite course).
Two courses in a related cultural field or discipline. Fields could include history, art history, religion, philosophy, classics, politics, cinema studies, and so on and could also be another foreign language or literary area. If the national literature department selected for specialization is English, these two courses must be in a foreign language. The choice of these courses will be made in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to form a coherent intellectual field and a defined objective in the major.

Track 2: Literary and Cultural Studies. Track 2 includes the following requirements:

Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature, including Introduction to Comp Lit and the Junior Theory Seminar.
Four courses in a related cultural field or discipline. Fields could include history, art history, religion, philosophy, classics, politics, cinema studies, and so on. The choice of these courses will be made in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies to form a coherent intellectual field and a defined objective in the major.
Two courses in a foreign literature department in the language of that literature, normally at the 100 level or above.

Minor

Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature, including Introduction to Comp Lit, and advanced proficiency in one language other than English.

Restrictions for the Major/Minor

Step 1 of either Track 1 or Track 2 requires "Four courses originating in the Department of Comparative Literature . . ." as stated above. This is the department's minimum requirement and should be satisfied with courses taught on the Washington Square campus by the Department of Comparative Literature full time faculty.

Honors Graduation

To be eligible for honors graduation a student must maintain at least a 3.65 average in both CAS and the 10 courses in the Comparative Literature major. The student choosing honors status is also required to write a senior thesis. This thesis is written in the context of the Senior Seminar in Comparative Literature (V29.0400) or, with special approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies, as an independent study under the supervision of a Comparative Literature faculty member.

All honors work is in addition to the 10 courses of the Comparative Literature major.

Double Major

As a promoter of interdisciplinary work, the department encourages double majors between Comparative Literature and other departments. The possibility of pursuing a double major should be discussed with the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Internships

The Department of Comparative Literature encourages students to explore potential careers and engage in experiential learning outside of the classroom through participation in unpaid internships. Comparative Literature students most often choose internships in publishing, but other fields are possible choices and should be discussed with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. In the past, students have worked in a variety of organizations, ranging from online poetry journal start-ups to leading companies such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, or CNN. Students fulfilling all the requirements noted below typically receive two credits for their internship work. These credits do not count towards the fulfillment of The Comparative Literature major requirements.

The following guidelines are closely based on the general CAS internship guidelines and are further adjusted for Comparative Literature Students.

Credit-bearing internships in the College have to meet minimal standards for rigor, supervision, time commitment and reflective experience.

--As an education experience, credit-bearing internships must be unpaid. Issues around satisfactory work for wages can not be allowed to intercede upon the workplace-as-classroom.

--“Fieldwork” (for 2-credits) should be for a minimum of eight hours a week, though for the student and agency ten to fifteen hours usually permit more meaningful work. We frown upon more as potentially exploitative.

--The Internship fieldwork must also be supervised, meaningful work; no more than a third of it should be clerical tasks.

--The supervisor is expected to provide mid-term and final evaluations of the student, and the student completes a final evaluation of the internship. Please download the evaluation forms [LINK] and complete them in time.

The College recognizes some employers offer unqualified but much desired opportunities, but only if students receive academic credit for them. Typically these are paid or clerical/ menial work, and thus these experiences can not receive credit as “fieldwork.” However, student who contract to work for the minimal eight hours a week, can, as room permits, enroll in a CAS Internship Seminar for 2 credits. For more information, please contact Daniel J. Walkowitz, Director of Experiential Education, 41 E. 11th St., rm 705.

It is expected that students will enroll for internship in their major department if the work relates to the major, even if the department does not count the credit toward the major.

Students completing internships that are far from their major should enroll in the CAS Fieldwork and Internship Seminars, V98.0980, V98.0981. For advanced registration, students need the approval of their Agency and Planning Forms from Professor Daniel J. Walkowitz, Director of Experiential Education, Social & Cultural Analysis, 41 E. 11th St., rm 705, or Dean Willie Long or Charlene Visconti, Advisement Office, Silver Center.

Internship Evaluation and Grading:
The Internship is graded pass/fail. Students need to complete the hours, submit Internship Goals and the evaluations in order to pass.

Internships do not count towards the Comparative Literature major credit.