Diploma programs are open to students in any relevant graduate program or to those who have a general interest in graduate-level work. For diplomas that are part of a graduate degree (concurrent), please contact the relevant graduate program office. For graduate diplomas that can be pursued on their own (stand-alone, direct entry), applications are submitted online. More information about Graduate Diploma programs

This challenging graduate diploma highlights the comparative, multilingual, cross-cultural nature of a student’s graduate training. In the case of MA students, it provides promising opportunities for further study in related disciplines; in the case of PhD students, it can lead to prospective careers in a range of areas requiring a high level of cross-cultural competency and literacy from government to the global creative industries.

Students who complete the Graduate Diploma in Comparative Literature know how to:

• identify, define, and historically situate key concepts, terms, methodologies, theoretical approaches, and critical assumptions as they have been developed in the discipline of comparative literature;
• explain and critique western and non-western literary, cultural and artistic traditions in contexts that are both historical and contemporary;
• describe fundamental debates in the discipline, as well as new concerns and developments, and situate them vis-à-vis other disciplines;
• explain advantages and disadvantages of comparative methods for the creation of knowledge;
• develop unique research topics that fit into an interdisciplinary comparative humanities framework and lead to new knowledge;
• recognize research questions that are not suitable for comparative approaches;
• work with academic material in at least two languages other than English;
• connect with scholars in cognate areas at both the national and the international levels; and,
• communicate their unique contribution to comparative literature.