THE Master of Arts Program

The Master of Arts in Comparative Literature requires the successful completion of the following:

1. 24 credits in Comparative Literature including C.L. 702, a course in literary criticism (CL 771), and at least one seminar (800 or 900 level course);

2. an overall G.P.A. of 3.5;

3. the Examination in a Second Language (please see Language Requirements);

4. the Second Year Examination.

Course load: Three graduate level courses (8-9 credits) per semester are required until preliminary examinations are passed. Reduced loads may be approved by students' committees to accommodate special circumstances. A TA or PA may carry a reduced load.

Please note: A student without basic knowledge of the literary tradition and the history of literary criticism may be required by the advisor to remove these deficiencies through coursework in addition to the basic M.A. program

Quality of Work:

Students must maintain a 3.5 average each semester.

Incompletes may be granted only in emergency situations. No student is allowed to carry more than one incomplete in a semester on his/her record. To be considered as making satisfactory progress, incompletes in one semester must be removed within the subsequent semester.

Faculty Advisor:

The Director of Graduate Studies will assign each new graduate student to a temporary faculty advisor who will help guide the student during the first semester. After the first semester of classes, the student may select a permanent advisor, who will also be the chairperson of the student's Second Year Examination committee.

Terminal Master's Degree:

Students who are not interested in pursuing the Ph.D. in Comparative Literature may elect to offer an M.A. thesis in place of the seminar requirement. In such cases, the student must work under the direction of a departmental faculty member who will act as supervisor of the thesis. The thesis will be presented to a committee of three faculty, including the supervisor, and defended in an oral examination. A bound copy of the thesis must be deposited with the Department. Otherwise, the Second Year Examination will be the subject of the Master's Oral examination.

NOTE : Students intending to go on to the Ph.D. will earn an M.A. en passant through successful completion of the Second year examination.

THE MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAM

The Second Year Examination

The Second Year Examination is a written take-home examination in which the student demonstrates knowledge of literary criticism and theory and the ability to use that knowledge fluently in the analysis of literary texts. The Second Year Examination is taken in the fourth semester of the graduate student's program. If a student enters with an M.A. in Comparative Literature from another institution, the Examination is taken in the second semester. If a student enters with an M.A. in another discipline, the Examination may be taken either in their second or fourth semester in the Program. Any request for exceptions to this schedule must be by written petition to the department.

The Second Year Examination is administered yearly in the second week of April ; the questions are typically given to the student at 4 p.m. on Monday to be completed and returned by 4 p.m. on the following Monday. The Examination will be based on selected titles from a standardized and annually reviewed reading list on literary criticism and theory. The list includes three categories, from each of which the student will read specified texts. (Please see Second Year Examination Reading List.).

As early as possible but no later than the end of their first year of study, the student will make his or her selections from the Second Year Examination Reading List and submit it to the Chair of his or her Examining Committee (his or her graduate advisor) for the approval of the Committee. Within three weeks of the student's submission of the proposed list, the Committee Chair will respond on behalf of the Committee concerning the status of the list. Upon Committee approval, a copy of the student's finalized list will be placed in the student's file.

The Examination is administered by three members of the Department Graduate Faculty proposed by the student and by a Rotator (from departmental faculty or faculty affiliates), assigned by the Director of Graduate Studies.

An oral examination based on the Second Year Examination Reading List and on the written responses to the examination questions is scheduled for two to three weeks following the completion of the Examination.

The Second Year Examination has three grades:

Pass: qualified for the Ph.D., M.A. awarded en passant;
Pass: terminal M.A.;
Fail.

The Second Year Examination can be taken only once.

Following the successful completion of the Second Year Examination, the Chair of the Examining Committee will meet with the student to formalize areas of specialization and to guide the constitution of reading lists for the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examinations.