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Graduate Programs: MA Requirements

1. Coursework. All students are required to take a total of 50 coursework credits and must submit a completed design of the coursework program by the end of the first year. Courses are distributed as follows:
   
   
   1. All students must take the following courses during the first year of enrollment:
      Comp St 710, Approaches to Comparative Cultural Studies I (5 credits)
      Comp St 711, Approaches to Comparative Cultural Studies II (5 credits)
   2. All students must take a minimum of 30 credits in Comparative Studies. (Cross-listed courses may count in any department cross-listing the course, regardless of where the student is enrolled. Students may petition the Graduate Studies Committee if additional credits in other departments are required.)
   3. All students must include in their overall program at least one 700-level and one 800-level course (or two 800-level courses) in addition to Comp Studies 710 and 711.
   4. A maximum of 10 credits at the 500-level in the overall program may count toward the degree. All courses in Comparative Studies must be at or above the 600-level to be counted toward the degree.
   5. No more than 10 hours of non-graded (S/U or PA/NP) coursework (ordinarily taken as independent study) may count toward the degree.
   
   
2. Language. All students completing the M.A. in Comparative Studies must demonstrate competence in at least one foreign language. This requirement must be met in one of the following ways:
   
   
   1. by receiving a minimum grade of “B” in a 500-level course (572 in most depts) that certifies ability to read with the use of a dictionary);
   2. by receiving a minimum grade of "B" in a 600-level course taught in a foreign language;
   3. by passing a proficiency examination administered by the appropriate language department;
   4. by petitioning the Graduate Studies Committee to consider other evidence of competence, for example, an undergraduate major or minor in a foreign language.
      
      Courses taken to fulfill the language requirement cannot be counted toward the degree. However, foreign language courses taken at or above the 600-level may be counted toward the degree and may also serve to satisfy the language requirement.
   
   
3. Thesis. All students are required to submit a Master’s thesis and complete 50 coursework hours to be awarded the M.A. degree. Thesis hours are completed in addition to coursework hours. The student should make every effort to identify his or her thesis adviser by the end of the first year of study. The thesis adviser serves as Chair of the student’s Master’s Examination Committee and must be chosen in compliance with the requirements stated in this document (see below) and in the Graduate School Handbook. Students must take an oral examination in addition to completing the Master’s thesis and must fulfill all graduation requirements as stated in Part II, Section 5 of the Graduate School Handbook.
   
   The actual form of the MA thesis is variable and should be tailored to meet the needs and goals of each individual student. The thesis could be a traditional one that requires the organization of a complex problem that exceeds the demands of a single-course seminar paper; it could take the form of an article-length piece of writing that could be submitted to a professional journal; it could take the form of a professional script such as a grant proposal or an exhibition proposal. This list is not exhaustive; other appropriate forms can be imagined and used. The precise form of the thesis will be decided by the MA advisor with consultation from the student.
   
   
4. Advisers. The Graduate Studies Chair or a designated member of the Graduate Studies Committee will serve as adviser for incoming students, but each student must choose at least one academic adviser from the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Comparative Studies by the end of the first year. A second academic adviser (to serve on the Master’s Examination Committee) may be chosen at a later date from graduate faculty in Comparative Studies or in any other academic unit represented in the student’s curriculum. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of Comparative Studies, one additional member of the Graduate Faculty of the Department of Comparative Studies will serve as a third member of the Master’s Examination Committee.
   
   The Chair of the Master’s Examination Committee (the major adviser, who has primary responsibility for guiding students as they write the thesis) is ordinarily chosen from the regular Graduate Faculty or Associated Faculty of the Department of Comparative Studies. Faculty from other departments may serve as major advisers if they are first approved for graduate faculty status in Comparative Studies by the Graduate Studies Committee and the Graduate School. Other members of the Master’s Examination Committee need not be so approved.