Apply Online

All applicants must apply online.  This online application system allows you to upload and submit your application materials, and save your work at any stage. It also allows you to check on the status of your application, and whether materials have been received by the department.  When listing faculty for letters of reference, please use their university e-mail address.  E-mail addresses other than the recommender’s official university e-mail address will significantly delay the processing of your application.

Deadline to apply for Fall 2025 admission: January 5, 2025.

Requirements

• GREs have been waived for the current application cycle. However, applicants are encouraged to submit their GRE scores, if available. The GRE scores should be sent directly from ETS. Scores cannot be more than 5 years old, dating from the intended term of matriculation at UCR. The Institution Code is 4839, and the Department Code is 2902.
• English language proficiency. All applicants whose native language is not English and who do not have a degree from an institution where English is the exclusive language of instruction must complete the TOEFL or IELTS.  Scores cannot be more than two years old, dating from the intended term of matriculation at UCR.
• 3.0 GPA
• Application fee. For international applicants, $155. For domestic applicants, $135.
• Three letters of reference. These should be from faculty who have taught you and can attest to your ability to succeed in graduate school. If you have enrolled in a graduate program, at least one letter of reference should be from your current or former advisor.
• Transcripts from all institutions you have attended. Transcripts are required in the original language and must be translated into English if not originally in English. For the online application, applicants will upload unofficial copies of transcripts (or scanned copies) of their most up-to-date transcript records on the “scholastic” part of the application, for each institution attended. If offered admission, you will be required to send official transcripts to Graduate Admissions in order to register. More details here: https://graduate.ucr.edu/transcripts-admitted-students.
• Degree certificates. If you have graduated from a foreign institution, degree certificates are required in both the original language and English translation.
• Statement of Purpose.
• Personal History Statement. Resumes or CVs are not acceptable in lieu of this statement.
• Writing sample of 10-15 pages.
• Statement of language proficiency.  Please indicate languages studied, level reached in each, and details of language acquisition (e.g. “I am a native speaker;” “I have studied for n years at the university level;” “I lived in country x for n years” etc.) If you have taken a standardized proficiency test in your language(s), please note what level you passed.

Additional Information

• Frequently Asked Questions.
• For the fall quarter, the official deadline is January 5^th, but applicants are urged to send in their applications by December 8th for priority admissions decisions with funding. Applications received after this date will still be considered. The Admissions Committee will only review an application once all required documents are received.
• All official documents must be received in sealed envelopes directly from the issuing entity.
• Our mailing address:
  University of California, Riverside
  Department of Comparative Literature & Languages
  Attention: Griselda Rodriguez
  900 University Ave., HMNSS 2401
  Riverside, CA 92521
• If you have further questions, please contact Graduate Advisor, Professor Michelle Bloom at clgradadvisor@ucr.edu.