Find a Comparative Literature degree

Throughout time, authors have struggled to find their location and identities in often chaotic and unsettling worlds. From the 8th century classical Chinese poet Du Fu, to the Native American novelist Louise Erdrich, creative writers have tried to find company and community to guide them.

The MLitt in Comparative Literature explores the transnational understanding of literature and culture, providing students with a critical evaluation of classical and contemporary theoretical approaches combined with the intensive study of a broad range of texts across national, cultural, and linguistic borders, and the relations between them.

The MA in Comparative Literature course is ideal for students who want to look beyond conventional literary canons and engage in a comparative study across a wide range of cultures. Study literature from five different continents covering over 2,500 years, and compare literature written in many different languages from across the world and from antiquity to the present day. We offer a unique range of options from the ancient world right up to twenty-first-century European, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, and American literature as well as the opportunity to develop your language skills.

We offer MPhil and PhD research programmes in English (including American Studies), Comparative Literature or Linguistics for full or part-time study.

The MLitt in German and Comparative Literature offers a unique opportunity to gain a comparative perspective on German literature through a joint qualification from the University of St Andrews (MLitt) and the University of Bonn in Germany (MA).

The University Master's Degree in Comparative Literature is conceived as an initiation Master's Degree in Research in Literary Studies of European tradition. The Master is proposed as a way to specialize the already graduated student in the theoretical and methodological knowledge of Comparative Literature and in European literary studies. In the first dimension, with special emphasis on those theoretical-critical currents and methodological approaches of greater validity and current influence. In its development, the Master's study plan is conceived as a support for the historical knowledge of the European literary tradition through the study of various literary traditions in their interconnection, that is, as networks of fluid transversality and mutual influence.

The master's degree in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature offers studies in literature and in various areas of critical thinking. Students gain advanced training in the main trends in Literary Theory, in the most relevant current debates in this area of knowledge, and in the various methods for analysing and interpreting texts. With this training, students gain the skills required to create their own discourse on modernity and contemporaneity in literature and art.

The Research Master’s in Comparative Literary Studies at Utrecht University invites you to read, think, and write beyond boundaries — national, linguistic, disciplinary. Whether you’re passionate about world literature, postcolonial theory and fiction, cultural memory, or multispecies poetics, this programme equips you to examine literature’s role in shaping and challenging the world around us.

A research thesis for these PhD programmes should be designed to improve the knowledge and understanding of literature from its different cultural approaches. Every student in the research in this area should distinguish between the various literary genres (poetry, theatre, fiction and nonfiction), as well as the main aesthetic, political, religious and social issues that have influenced and contributed to shaping the literature of all times and cultures.

This degree is designed to give you an exciting exploration of literary and cultural products and critical issues that span national and linguistic borders as well as periods. You will become acquainted with the theory and practice of comparative literary and cultural studies, consider how concepts of national cultures cross borders and media forms, and interact with ideas of the transnational and intermedial.

The Comparative Education MA program offers students a comprehensive overview of education systems around the world. It focuses on understanding differences in how education is structured, delivered, and experienced across countries. The program enco…

PhD by research via Distance Learning is awarded after successfully completing a theoretical research specialization. This research is presented in the form of a doctoral thesis. The PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is the only doctoral degree that can be achieved through distance learning. The main requirement for a PhD online through distance learning is to present and discuss a thesis of at least 100 pages for review and evaluation by an academic committee at Selinus University. A research thesis for these PhD programmes should be designed to improve the knowledge and understanding of literature from its different cultural approaches. Every student in the research in this area should distinguish between the various literary genres (poetry, theatre, fiction and nonfiction), as well as the main aesthetic, political, religious and social issues that have influenced and contributed to shaping the literature of all times and cultures.

The Master's Degree Course in Comparative Literatures and Cultures aims to train graduates who have the ability to carry out highly responsible roles in services and organizations, both public and private, responsible for national and international cultural activities, and for the dissemination of the Italian cultural, linguistic and literary heritage in other countries of the world.

This PhD program aims to create a center for higher education and advanced research at the European level in the field of literary, linguistic, and intercultural studies. It is divided into four curricula, two of which are international. The two international curricula (Germanistics and European Founding Myths in Arts and Literature) are aimed at training qualified scientific-professional figures in the field of French and Germanistics, with specific skills also in Italian culture, whose professional outlets may be found in public and private academic and cultural institutions, top management, publishing, museums, conservatories, and communication sectors in Italy, France and Germany. The third curriculum (Language, literature and philology) aims instead to train qualified figures in several disciplinary fields who are able to use integrated methodologies. Individuals may find future employment in universities, international institutions and public relations systems and transnational communication networks. The curriculum of Linguistics and Oriental Studies provides training in linguistics, preparing scholars for careers primarily within universities or other research centers. The training is congruent with the need for language specialization in language education and L2 teaching. Individuals with this PhD will also have skills useful for consulting and highly responsible positions regarding communication in private companies, public administration and cultural heritage contexts, as well as professional tasks in various cultural industries (i.e. publishing, radio, television, new media) and services.

GEMMA Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies – is a postgraduate programme that consists of two years of study (120 ECTS) and is taken in 2 out of 7 prestigious European universities that participate in the Consortium.