2009-2010 Graduate Studies Bulletin (Archived Copy) [Archived Catalog]
Comparative Literature, Ph.D.
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Applicants should have a minimum 3.00 GPA in their undergraduate major and 3.50 GPA in graduate course work. They should have minimum GRE scores of 480 on the verbal section and 4 on the analytical section (or scores of 400 and 3.5, respectively, for non-native English speakers). An applicant whose native language is not English is required to submit a satisfactory score on the TOEFL or the IELTS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL is 80 (iBT), or 570 (paper-based). The minimum acceptable overall band score on the IETLS Intl. Academic Course Type 2 exam is 6.5. Applicants are asked to submit a writing sample of 3,000 words and a statement of purpose (300 words maximum).
Applicants who wish to be considered for an assistantship must apply by February 1.
Candidates for the Ph.D. degree are required to take 60 graduate hours beyond the baccalaureate degree (30 graduate hours beyond the master’s degree), including graduate-level course work in at least one foreign language, and demonstrate reading knowledge in two foreign languages. Each candidate must study three or more national literatures, although students may substitute an outside area for their third literature with the approval of the graduate director. Each student will pass a three-hour qualifying examination in two equal parts: an essay on literary theory and an explication of a passage in the student’s first foreign literature. The comprehensive examination will consist of three two-hour written exams on each of three reading lists that the student will draw up in conjunction with the committee, followed by a one-hour oral exam. Students whose first literature is not English will write one of their essays in the language of that literature. Each student will write a dissertation on a topic chosen in conjunction with the committee and the graduate director.
Requests for further information should be addressed to Director, Comparative Literature Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208. |