If you are pursuing a career in librarianship, the interdisciplinary nature of this degree provides a strong background, allowing you to demonstrate proficiency in foreign languages and literature.

Students with dual master’s degrees in Comparative Literature and Library Science will be competitive for positions in academic libraries and for certain positions in public libraries. Language skills and a strong liberal arts background are two qualifications sought after by academic libraries.

The joint degree consists of a total of at least 50 credit hours—a minimum of thirty credit hours in Library and Information Science and a minimum of 20 credit hours in Comparative Literature. Students must be admitted by the Comparative Literature department, the Graduate School, and by the School of Library and Information Science.

At least 20 credit hours of course work in Comparative Literature, including C501, and one course on European literature in the pre-modern period (C505, C521, C523, or C525), a course taken as a pro-seminar, and completion of a Master’s project.

Your course work may emphasize Western literatures, cross-cultural literary relations, or studies in literature and the arts (music, film, and the visual arts).

Certification of reading proficiency in two foreign languages is required, but no credit for courses in foreign language study will count toward the required 20 hours.

The dual degree must be completed within six years from the semester in which you are first enrolled in courses counting toward a dual degree. You should plan to complete the work in SLIS and the Department of Comparative Literature at the same time, not receiving the degree in one domain before the other.

A dual Master’s Degree student will have an advisor and a student file in both departments. You may apply for financial support from either department, or from both. Both departments must certify completion of the degree requirements.

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