A constellation of core seminars is designed to foster a comprehensive understanding of scholarly method to expose students not only to contemporary texts and theorists but also to controversies and debates that have shaped the field historically.
At the heart of the doctoral curriculum are four foundational seminars: COLT 613 Graduate Studies in Translation, COLT 614 Graduate Studies in Comparative Literature: The History and State of the Discipline, COLT 615 Graduate Studies in Comparative Literature: Contemporary Theorists; COLT 616 Transmedial Aesthetics. From this core, our students work outward, collaborating on a broad range of comparative projects with faculty across campus.
First-year Conversation
At the end of your first year, every doctoral student meets with a committee of three comparative literature faculty members to discuss their plan for the years ahead. This first-year conversation focuses on your proposed fields and languages and allows us to collectively brainstorm connections with faculty across the university.
Second-year Statement
At the end of the second year, students work in consultation with their primary advisor to craft a statement that articulates and relates their three fields to a common question in their research. The statement is meant to provide an opportunity to situate their research and vision as a comparatist and is submitted to the Graduate Committee in Comparative Literature.
Third-year Article
We take mentoring in academic publications seriously, and a designated faculty member works with students during their second and third year on each stage of the writing process. There are workshops to assist students in translating a seminar paper into an article, finding an appropriate venue for publication, writing a cover letter for the submission, and even dealing with requested revisions. This process culminates during the fall term of the third year when students send an article out for peer review.
Qualifying Year
The fourth year is comprised of the qualifying examination and the prospectus defense. The written and oral exams are administered during fall term. Winter term is designated for the drafting of the dissertation prospectus, which is to be submitted to the dissertation committee and Director of Graduate Studies by week ten. A final, approved draft of the prospectus is due by week five of spring term. A prospectus conversation is scheduled for week seven through nine of the same term. Once the prospectus has been successfully defended, the student is admitted to candidacy.
Dissertation
For the writing of the dissertation, each student produces a draft of a chapter each quarter of their fifth year. There are workshops held in the department to help connect students with others who are also writing their dissertations.
Job Market Workshops
Our commitment to our doctoral students does not end with the dissertation, and we provide a set of workshops geared to prepare students to apply for postdoctoral fellowships and academic jobs. These workshops focus on grant proposals, cover letters and job applications, and practical timelines for submitting materials, filing the dissertation and pursuing their academic career.
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