The Ph.D. in Comparative Literature offers extensive and rigorous training in the comparative study of literature. Coursework emphasizes numerous important facets of literary study: literary theory; the literary, cultural, historical, political, and religious analysis of texts; literary flow across polities, eras, genres, and languages; and relations between literature and the other arts.
Our program is small and flexible enough to allow for considerable freedom in the choice of courses and research topics. This, combined with the rich offerings available elsewhere at Indiana University, means that each graduate student can be guided in fashioning an individual program to best suit their interests and strengths.
Our graduates leave the program with a deep and broad knowledge of comparative literary history, an ability to read and analyze texts in numerous languages and literary traditions, and a solid understanding of the relationship between literary works and other key aspects of human intellectual, artistic, and social activity.
The College of Arts