Welcome
The Comparative Literature Graduate Group enables students to study several literatures in their original languages in a theoretically and historically informed context and from an interdisciplinary and multicultural perspective. Comparative Literature at UC Davis provides each student the opportunity to create an individual program tailored to that student's unique interests and goals. Individually supervised instruction and specially designed qualifying exams permit students to pursue their specific interests in depth and with great flexibility. Ph.D. students study three literatures in the original languages and have the option of being examined on a special topic of their own devising instead of on their third literature.
Please see the full Ph.D. Requirements [pdf].
Students are encouraged to participate in one or more of the interdisciplinary Designated Emphases that are awarded in conjunction with the Ph.D. degree:
- Critical Theory
- Feminist Theory
- Native American Studies
- Second Language Acquisition
- Social Theory and Comparative History
- Performance Studies
At a time when colleges and universities are seeking greater flexibility in hiring, the degree in Comparative Literature offers the advantage of qualifying its holders to teach in two or more literatures and languages, as well as in general programs such as comparative literature, world literature, critical theory and the humanities.