PhD in Comparative Literature in Davis United States | University of California Davis

Our doctoral candidates receive comprehensive support from an extensive network of core and affiliated faculty in Comparative Literature. Faculty members maintain joint appointments with departments including East Asian Languages and Cultures, English, French and Italian, German and Russian, Middle East/South Asian Languages, and Religious Studies. The program fosters active partnerships with interdisciplinary initiatives in critical theory, digital humanities, science and technology studies, cinema and media, and performance studies. We provide personalized guidance to help students develop the academic and professional competencies required for career success. Our program nurtures graduate students as both educators and developing scholars, with an excellent track record of placements both within and beyond academia.

The Comparative Literature Graduate Program equips students with deep expertise in multiple literatures studied in their original languages, framed by theoretical and historical contexts through interdisciplinary and multicultural approaches. Graduates emerge with robust qualitative and quantitative skills essential for research and teaching careers in comparative literature, world literature, critical theory, and related humanities fields. The department provides both PhD and two-year MA programs with thesis requirements. PhD candidates analyze three literatures in their original languages, with the flexibility to substitute one literature for a specialized topic examination. The MA curriculum blends foundational courses in comparative methodologies with diverse opportunities for focused work in specific languages and literary traditions. Students complete a Master's thesis with guidance from a thesis committee and participate in a collaborative thesis-writing group.