Students who pursue a major or minor in the Department of Comparative Literature and Languages are trained in a variety of languages and literatures—including Arabic, Chinese, Classical Greek, English, Filipino, French, German, Italian, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Latin, Malaysian, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese—and in linguistics.

Students with a degree in Comparative Literature and Languages pursue a variety of careers—in education, translation and interpretation, the arts and theater, administration, the law, and others. They become journalists, editors, writers, curators, librarians, teachers, and more.

Many of our students study abroad, apply for fellowships, or continue their studies at the graduate level.

Each of our students, with the exception of students majoring in linguistics, take the following core courses, designed to introduce students to literary interpretation (CPLT 1) and to literature in a global context (CPLT 2), and to facilitate students’ completing a final research project (CPLT 193 & 196).

• CPLT1: Introduction to Close Reading
• CPLT2: Reading World Literature
• CPLT193: Capstone Research Seminar
• CPLT196: Senior Research Paper (optional)

If you have questions about a particular major or minor, see our list of Program Directors.

If you have questions about enrollment and advising, see our Academic Advisors.