Program Overview

Comparative Literature Program

The Comparative Literature Program at Dartmouth College is a welcoming, nourishing, and intellectually stimulating place for the comparative study of literatures and cultures. The program has been in existence for over twenty years and is limited to 10-12 students. It has more than twenty-five faculty members, some directly affiliated with the program and others at home in a variety of humanities departments and interdisciplinary clusters, who teach and mentor in the program to create the support system for which it is known.

About the MA Program

The MA program in Comparative Literature aims to introduce students to graduate education and advanced scholarly work through application-focused courses on theory and methods and basic pedagogical training. The program seeks to deepen and broaden students' personal interests and help them learn something about themselves in the process. Some alumni decide to pursue advanced graduate degrees, while others find jobs outside the academy. The program supports students with all their applications and runs professional development workshops to help them map the wide horizons of the professional world connected to the comparative study of literatures and cultures.

Program Details

• The program is fully funded.
• It has a limited enrollment of 10-12 students.
• There are more than twenty-five faculty members affiliated with the program.
• The program offers equal financial support to all admitted applicants.
• It fosters solidary and collegial relationships within each cohort.

Learning Outcomes

In the COLT MA program, students will learn to:

• Incorporate primary resources from multiple languages/cultures/historical periods into original research.
  • Evidence: Completion of two Annotated Bibliographies, one for the COLT 700 Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research course and one for the MA Essay.
  • Rubrics for evaluation:
    • Clarity of essay question
    • Identification of appropriate primary and secondary sources in multiple languages
    • Clarity of bibliographical summary
    • Clarity of review of the sources' applicability to the essay question
• Analyze and apply literary theory and methodology.
• Identify and interpret primary sources of multiple kinds (prose, poetry, film, music, visual arts, oral literature, theory, criticism, etc.).
• Creatively and critically analyze primary sources from a comparative perspective.
• Give effective oral presentations of original research.
• Practice pre-professional teaching and discussion-leading at the university level.

MA Essays

The program's MA essays are published on Dartmouth Digital Commons (DDC), a publishing platform and repository for scholarly, research, and educational outputs created by the faculty, staff, and students of Dartmouth.

Graduate Alumni

The program has a strong network of graduate alumni, with some pursuing advanced graduate degrees and others finding jobs outside the academy. The program supports alumni with all their applications and runs professional development workshops to help them map the wide horizons of the professional world connected to the comparative study of literatures and cultures.

Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies

The Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at Dartmouth is committed to fostering postgraduate academic programs of the highest quality, catalyzing intellectual discovery, and preparing a diverse community of scholars for global leadership. The school has launched GuariniGRAD, a new initiative designed to support the academic, career, professional, and personal development of Dartmouth's graduate students and postdocs.

Inclusivity

Dartmouth is committed to academic excellence and encourages the open exchange of ideas within a culture of mutual respect. The college values diversity and promotes inclusivity, recognizing that people with different backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives make the Dartmouth community diverse, which enhances academic excellence.