Comparative Literature

The Department of Comparative Literature invites students to approach literature from a broad, cross-cultural perspective. The curriculum encompasses literatures, languages, and cultures from around the world--including those of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East--as well as interdisciplinary work of many types. While each student in the department is expected to focus his or her studies on a particular foreign language and literature, an interest in the way different literatures illuminate one another, or enter into dialogue with other disciplines, media, or forms of art, is fundamental to our work. Students motivated by a desire to understand literature in the broadest terms, as well as those interested in particular examples of literary comparison, will find an intellectual home in the Department of Comparative Literature.

The flexibility of the concentration has always been one of its strong points. With the guidance of the director of undergraduate studies and the junior and senior faculty advisers, each student creates a program of study tailored to his or her intellectual interests, choosing courses and independent projects that contribute to the whole.

Graduates successfully pursue many diverse careers, including law, medicine, business, foreign service, computing and technology, international investments and banking, creative writing, publishing and journalism, filmmaking, and education at the secondary and university levels. Many comparative literature students have gone on to graduate study in the field and now teach at a wide range of institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

Students in comparative literature select courses from a wide range of offerings throughout the University and are encouraged to construct a program of study to match their individual interests. Nine departmental courses are required of each student, chosen according to the type of comparative work pursued. COM 300, the Junior Seminar, counts as one of the nine. This course is especially designed to introduce students to the history and methodology of the field, as well as to different avenues of comparative study. Concentrators must take the course in the fall term of their junior year, unless they are studying abroad, in which case the course may be taken in the senior year instead. Two other courses must be taken within the Department of Comparative Literature (i.e., listed or cross-listed as a COM course).

Regardless of the area of study elected, all concentrators must take four upper-level courses in a non-English-language literature departments. Students in the department have studied foreign language literatures in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Swahili, Hindi, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Syriac, and Armenian. Upper-level courses generally are 300- or 400- level courses, but reading-intensive 200-level courses may be counted with permission from the director of undergraduate studies. These courses must entail study of texts in the foreign language, not in translation.

The remaining two courses are taken in appropriate departments throughout the University according to the student's area of study. Course selections generally fall into one of the areas described below. Each represents the study of literature in a different comparative context and includes all nine required courses:

Path A. Comparative work in literatures in at least two languages. Students in this track choose four upper-division courses in non-English-language literature; three courses listed or cross-listed with comparative literature (one of which is COM 300); and two upper-level courses in literature in any other language (including English and courses on readings taught in translation).

Path B. Comparative work in literature and a traditional textual discipline (that is, in the humanities [e.g., philosophy, art and archaeology, classics, or religion] or social sciences [e.g., anthropology, history, psychology, sociology, politics, economics, or public policy]). Students in this track choose four upper-level courses in non-English-language literature; three courses listed or cross-listed in comparative literature (one of which is COM 300); and two upper-level courses in the relevant textual discipline.

Path C. Comparative work in literature and another medium (that is, photography, film, art, art history, architecture, or music). Students in this track choose four upper-level courses in non-English-language literature; three courses listed or cross-listed in comparative literature (one of which is COM 300); and two upper-level courses in the relevant medium. Both courses must be in the same medium.

Path D. Comparative work in literature and regional or ethnic studies (that is, African [AFS], African American [AAS], American [AMS], East Asian [EAP or EAS], European [ECS or EPS], Hellenic [HLS], Judaic [JDS], Latin American [LAS], Latino [LAO], Near Eastern [NES], or South Asian [SAS].) Students in this track choose four upper-level courses in non-English-language literature; three courses listed or cross-listed in comparative literature (one of which is COM 300); and two courses in the relevant region or ethnicity.

Path E. Comparative work in literary study and the creative arts, (that is, creative writing [poetry, the novel, short stories, drama, memoir], screenwriting, translation, dance, theatrical performance, visual arts, film, or video). Students choose four upper-level courses in non-English-language literature; three courses listed or cross-listed with comparative literature (one of which is COM 300); and two courses in the relevant creative art. Both courses must be in the same area of study. Students entering the department select this program provisionally. Final admission depends upon the acceptance of the creative thesis proposal by the department and by an adviser from the relevant creative arts program.

Departmental Distribution Requirement. One course, which may or may not be one of the nine courses taken for the major, must be dedicated in its entirety to historical periods, literature, or cultures before 1800 C.E.

Theory and Methods of Comparative Literature. Theoretical issues naturally arise in the study of comparative literature. They may also function as the main focus of a student's work. Theoretical issues are specifically addressed in two departmental courses: COM 303, Comparative History of Literary Theory and COM 301, Theory and Methods of Comparative Literature: Critical and Literary Theory. Upper-level courses in theory, methodology, and criticism are offered by other humanities and social science departments as well.

Independent Work

Junior Year. Concentrators must write two junior papers. The first paper, some 3,000 words in length, will normally involve the close study of a work from one of the non-English-language literatures in which the student has linguistic competence. Its purpose is to develop the student's basic skills as a reader of complex texts. The second paper should be wider in scope, and might serve as the beginnings of a senior thesis. It will normally be some 8,000 words in length.

Senior Year. Concentrators must write a senior thesis, normally between 15,000 and 20,000 words, which is comparative in nature and should reflect the student's ability to relate and analyze materials in the area chosen. Creative theses must be accompanied by a substantial critical essay.

Senior Departmental Examination

Concentrators must take the senior departmental examination, which tests their ability to analyze texts and make connections among them. The student consults with his or her senior faculty adviser to select specific titles from a broad reading list, reads them, and answers questions based on the student's particular language proficiency and chosen program of study. Students will also be asked to analyze a passage in their primary language.

Study Abroad

Summer Study Abroad. There are numerous opportunities for summer study abroad, some partially supported by University funds. A summer abroad can increase fluency in the language of concentration. It may also be an effective way to satisfy the departmental requirement of acquiring reading knowledge in a second foreign language. For further information about available programs, students should consult Princeton Summer Abroad Study Programs. Some departmental funding is available for summer language study for concentrators.

Summer Work Abroad. Princeton offers some excellent work abroad programs, including Princeton-in-France and the German summer work abroad program, to which qualified students from the department are encouraged to apply. The Office of International Programs also offers a selection of worldwide summer internships for which comparative literature students may be eligible.

Study and Work Abroad

The department strongly encourages its students to undertake a semester, a year, or a summer abroad, in order to gain fluency in the language of concentration and to pursue further study in its literature and culture. Many opportunities are available for study abroad.

Certificate Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication. Since concentrators in comparative literature consider texts from an international and interdisciplinary perspective, and often with an emphasis in the creative arts, questions of translation and intercultural communication often arise. Majors in the department may write translation theses, for instance, or put theoretical problems associated with translation or cross-cultural comparisons at the center of their departmental work. In these cases, they might choose to combine the concentration with a certificate in the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication.

Certificates in University Programs. Students in comparative literature frequently choose to combine their concentration with certificates from Princeton programs and centers. Concentrators interested in these certificates should consult with the director of undergraduate studies and the director of the relevant program.

1. Submit
   • A Completed Application. You must submit your application online through either the Common Application, Coalition Application or the Universal College Application. 
   • Princeton's Supplement. In addition to the application provided by the Common Application, Coalition Application or Universal College Application, all applicants must submit the Princeton Supplement. You should submit the Princeton Supplement online through the Common Application, Coalition Application or Universal College Application website. 
   • Application Fee or Fee Waiver. You may submit a fee waiver one of two ways: 1) Select the fee waiver option on the Common Application, Coalition Application or Universal College Application. Your college or guidance counselor must approve your fee waiver request online or submit your fee waiver form by mail or fax. 2) Select one of the following fee waiver options on the Princeton Supplement: Princeton-specific, ACT, College Board, NACAC or Realize Your College Potential. All low-income students are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. Students named QuestBridge Finalists should select the QuestBridge fee waiver. If you use the Princeton-specific fee waiver, you do not need to get approval from your college counselor. Learn more about fee waivers on the How to Apply page.
2. Request
   • Transcript. An official transcript must be sent by a guidance counselor or school official.
   • School Report (SR). The SR form is available from the Common Application and Universal College Application websites. Please ask your guidance counselor or other school official to complete and submit the SR form. If you are using the Coalition Application, the SR and counselor recommendation are uploaded as one item.
   • Counselor Recommendation. If you are using the Common Application online, please note that the SR and the Counselor Recommendation are separate items. Be sure to 'invite' your guidance counselor or academic adviser to complete both items. If you are using the Coalition Application, please invite your counselor to upload the counselor recommendation and school report.
   • Two (2) Teacher Recommendations. Please ask two of your teachers from different academic areas of study to complete and send the teacher recommendation forms, available on the Common Application, Coalition Application and Universal College Application websites. Choose teachers who have taught you in higher-level courses.
   • Mid-year School Report. Please ask your guidance counselor or other school official to complete and submit this form when your mid-year grades are available. The form may be found on the Common Application, Coalition Application and Universal Application websites.
3. Report
   • SAT with Essay or ACT with Writing. Early action applicants are strongly encouraged to complete their SAT with Essay or ACT with Writing test before the Nov. 1 deadline. Regular decision applicants should take the SAT with Essay test by the January test date or take the ACT with Writing by the December date. When registering for the SAT or ACT, use the following codes to ensure your scores are sent to Princeton: SAT: 2672 and ACT: 2588. Learn more about standardized testing for admission.
   • SAT Subject Tests. We recommend, but do not require, the submission of two SAT Subject Tests, which often assist us in the evaluation process. We have no preference for the specific SAT Subject Tests applicants might choose to take. However, if you apply for the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree, we recommend that you take mathematics Level I or II, and either physics or chemistry. If you decide to submit Subject Tests, early action applicants should take them by the November test date, and regular decision applicants should take them by the January test date. Learn more about standardized testing for admission.
   • TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic scores. If English is not your native language and you are attending a school where English is not the language of instruction, you must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System Academic (IELTS Academic) or the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), in addition to the SAT with Essay or ACT with Writing. You are not required to take the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic if English is your native language or if you have spent at least three years at a secondary school where English is the primary language of instruction. Please have your scores sent directly to Princeton: TOEFL: 2672

Optional Application Components

• Arts Form, if applicable. If you've excelled in architecture, creative writing, dance, music, theater or visual arts, and would like us to consider your talent, consult Princeton's online Optional Arts Form. Early action applicants must submit digital arts materials by Nov. 7; regular decision applicants must submit digital arts materials by Jan. 6. You can only submit your online Optional Arts Form after we have received the Common Application, Coalition Application or Universal College Application. If you are unable to submit online, please use the paper Optional Arts Form. For a list of acceptable file formats and submission types, review our Optional Arts Form page. For more information on the optional arts supplement, please visit our FAQs page.
• Interview. Depending on availability, once you have applied, you may be invited to interview with a member of one of our Princeton Alumni Schools Committees. If so, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Interviews take place after the Admission Office has received your application. Many Princeton Alumni Schools Committees have enough volunteers to offer every applicant an interview. As the interview is not a required element of the application, you will not be at a disadvantage if an interview is not available in your area. We do not offer on-campus interviews. Please visit our FAQs page for more information.

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