Comparative Literature

Entry requirements

A minimum 2.1 (upper-second class) Honours Bachelor’s degree from an Irish university or its international equivalent in a relevant subject. Relevant subjects include but are not limited to the following: Languages, Literature, History, Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature, Human Geography, Sociology, Religious Studies, Gender Studies, Textual and Visual Studies, Visual Arts, Art History, Economics, Political Science.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This course is designed to provide an understanding of Comparative Literature as a subject of study and a critical practice. The core modules provide the theoretical and methodological basis for comparing texts of various genres and artefacts of different media at an advanced level. Optional modules enable the further development of these competencies and offer opportunities to develop and apply this knowledge and these skills to a range of primary texts from a wide range of languages, cultures, epochs and other contexts.

Applicants would normally be required to have a good honours degree (at least upper second- class honours standard), or an equivalent qualification, in a cognate area. Applicants should normally have an advanced reading knowledge of at least one language other than English among those offered by the School of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies at Trinity College Dublin, but this is not a prerequisite.

The course consists of two core modules taken by all students (Theory and Methodology and Moving between Cultures), two options from the range offered in a given year, and a dissertation of 15,000-20,000 words whose theme and approach should apply comparatist methods as studied in the programme.

In order to be awarded the degree of M.Phil. in Comparative Literature candidates must satisfy the Court of Examiners by obtaining an overall pass in both the following components:

• the assessment work for core module 1, core module 2, options 1 and 2 (combined)
• the dissertation

The two core modules each contribute 20% of the overall assessment, the options each contribute 10% and the dissertation 40%.

Information for international students

Proficiency in English: All candidates who are not native English speakers and have not completed a degree through the medium of English are required to prove their proficiency with the language. Trinity prefers IELTS, but will accept alternative tests provided by international organisations, such as TOEFL.