Comparative Literature degree with fields in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Latin American literatures, or Translation Studies.

Location:

Boca Raton, United States

Program Type:

Full Degree

Degree Level:

Master

Specialty:

Literature & Writing

Program Overview

Program Description:

Comparative Literature is a graduate program of study for the Master of Arts, available to majors in British, French, German, Italian, Peninsular Spanish, Latin American, or United States literatures. We also have a special track in Translation Studies.

Comparative Literature broadens the context of single works of literature, provides a method of looking beyond the national frontiers of languages and cultures, and studies major authors, periods and genres, trends and movements in international contexts.

Comparative Literature is also, by tradition, the study of literature beyond the geo-cultural boundaries of one particular country or hemispheric region. In addition, it pays special attention also to the study of relationships between literature and other areas of knowledge and intellectual inquiry. This includes areas such as linguistics, the visual and performing arts (e.g., cinema, painting, sculpture. architecture, music), philosophy, history, the social sciences (e.g., politics, economics, sociology), as well as other fields such as the sciences, religion, etc. In sum, it is the comparison of the literary with other spheres of human epistemology, expression, and intellectual investigation.

A cardinal feature of the graduate curriculum is the small core requirement in terms of specific courses, and the correspondingly large number of electives taken in different fields. Each student develops his or her own program in consultation with Comparative Literature faculty, and pursues individually supervised research interests, beginning in LIT 6066 and culminating in a comparative thesis (30 credit program) or exam without thesis (36 credits). An additional forum for discussion and co-operative effort is FACS (Florida Atlantic Comparative Studies), a professional scholarly journal edited in the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature.

Additional Program Information

Accreditation:

Florida Atlantic University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Requirements:

Admissions requirements 1.) A bachelor's degree in the proposed field from an accredited institution. 2.) A minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA) for the last 60 undergraduate hours completed and/or a combined score of 1000 or higher on the verbal and analytical sections of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). 3.) Two letters of recommendation from former professors or other qualified individuals who can evaluate a candidate’s past academic success and potential for graduate study. 4.) A two-to-three-page typed, double-spaced, autobiographical statement indicating the nature of their preparation for graduate work and the reasons for seeking the M.A. in the proposed field. 5.) A writing sample (a formal research paper, in the language of the proposed field or in a topic on linguistics or related field). Applicants who lack a strong background (i.e., an undergraduate major) in a proposed field, may take undergraduate pre-requisites and/or be admitted on a conditional basis.