Department of Comparative Literature Student Handbook

This handbook for graduate students in the Department of Comparative Literature is designed both to help students fulfill the requirements of the Ph.D. degree and to provide important information on graduate student life at Yale. The handbook does not cover formal regulations. For the current version of the Comparative Literature graduate program guidelines, please consult the requirements approved by the Department as well as other regulations posted by the Graduate School in the official GSAS Bulletin.

First Year: Students in their first year should plan to take courses that reflect and expand their academic interests and ambitions. Instruction in a third or additional language should be started immediately. First-year students will also take a required departmental Proseminar in literary theory. The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will meet with new students to advise them on their course selection at the start of each semester and to approve students‘ registration. Students will also be assigned faculty advisors, with whom they can discuss their plans. Coursework affords students an opportunity to write term papers that can be developed into conference papers or articles, and therefore, students should strive to write papers worthy of publication. The summer between first and second years is an ideal period for concentrated language study; financial support for summer language study is described below (please see Language Training).

Second Year: Second-year students continue their coursework and should select courses that focus their evolving interests.  Course selection should be done with an eye towards prospective oral exam topics and other areas of growing expertise.  Course registration will be approved by the DGS.  In the spring of the second year, the DGS will invite second-year students to a meeting in which the exams process is explained.  Students should then approach professors with whom they have worked to initiate discussions about oral exams.  Reading lists for exams should be formulated in consultation with faculty members before the end of the second year.  In mid-spring, second-year students also apply for teaching assistantships for their third years (please see Teaching Assistantships below). Confirmation of teaching appointments will be made via letters that arrive mid-summer.  The summer of the second year may be used to continue study of a new language and to prepare for oral exams.  Students should study for the exams by reading intensively, recording careful notes, and consulting closely with their faculty examiners.

Fourth Year: Students should complete the initial chapters of their dissertations early in the fourth year.  If a chapter or two is complete before the end of the fourth-year fall semester, students should consider applying for a Whiting or Leylan fellowship.  The bulk of the fourth year is given to dissertation research and teaching.  By the summer of the fourth year, students should be immersed in full-time dissertation work.

Fifth Year: Most students elect to take their dissertation fellowship during the fifth year to concentrate entirely on writing their dissertations.  The fellowship can be taken in New Haven or wherever the student chooses to take advantage of archival collections and other sources of research.  The preponderance of the dissertation work should be complete by the end of the fifth year.  In some cases, it is possible to take the dissertation fellowship a year early and do the second year of teaching in year five.  This might be especially appropriate for students needing to conduct preliminary research abroad at an early stage in the research and writing process.

Sixth Year: Sixth-year students burnish their dissertations and go on the job market (please see Job Placement below for further information) to seek positions for after graduation.  Students will often receive campus interviews during the winter job hiring season.  A draft of the dissertation should be submitted to the thesis advisor as soon as possible.  When the final draft of the dissertation is available, the student will submit copies both to the Department and the Graduate School.  Please see the Graduate School’s website for guidelines on how to submit the dissertation.  After the dissertation is reviewed by the faculty and, where appropriate, additional readers, the thesis is evaluated and the student graduates.  Congratulations!

Graduate students typically teach in their third and fourth years in the program.  They usually work as teaching fellows (teaching assistants) in lecture courses taught by faculty in the Comparative Literature department, the English department, foreign language departments, and Film Studies.  Since Comparative Literature offers relatively few undergraduate lectures, there are seldom enough positions for all the Comparative Literature graduate students.  Graduate students are encouraged to apply to related departments, following their procedures.  Comparative Literature and many other departments require that graduate students apply in the spring of each year for teaching in either semester of the following year. 

Note that many departments require students to take pedagogy classes before they begin teaching.  Graduate students should contact any department in which they might like to teach sometime in their first year at Yale and discuss with the DGS or DUS of that department their teaching needs and any requirements needed to qualify one to teach their courses.  Advanced students can also apply to teach a College Seminar under a program run by the residential colleges at Yale.  These positions are rather hard to come by and require a lengthy application process. For information on the College Seminar program, please see the program's website.

Comparative Literature students typically study a third, fourth, or fifth language during graduate school. Training in a new language is best begun immediately after arrival at Yale (if not earlier) and augmented significantly during the summer months.  Likewise, informal reading and discussion groups in foreign languages occur throughout the year in New Haven.  Look for postings in the offices of the assorted national language departments. The Center for Language Studyon Temple Street can help students develop their linguistic competency.  Some students early in the graduate program choose to take an entire year abroad to immerse in a foreign academic context.  Students interested in this prospect should discuss their plans with the DGS at the earliest opportunity.

Graduate students have at their disposal ample sources of financial support for language instruction:

• All languages taught by the University’s departments are open to graduate students, though these classes do not count towards the required coursework for the graduate program.

• Languages that are not taught by the departments (a complete list of the languages taught on campus is http://www.cls.yale.edu/page.asp?file=2/364 but are necessary for a student's research can be studied at Yale by arrangement with the Direct Independent Language Study program (see http://www.cls.yale.edu/page.asp?file=2/156).
• The Graduate School waives tuition on language classes offered by Yale's Summer Session. Consult the summer program website and apply for the Graduate School's Summer Language Institute Fellowship through the Yale Grants & Fellowships database.

A host of outside fellowships and exchange programs allow graduates students to study at other institutions for a single term or entire academic year. Comprehensive listings of the opportunities open to students in Comparative Literature and information about deadlines and application procedures are accessible from the Graduate School Fellowship Database and the Yale Grants & Fellowships database.. The many fellowships available to students in Comparative Literature include these samples:

Students generally begin the search for an academic job once they have completed more than half of their dissertations—in sixth year for many students, or in fifth year for those who manage to make rapid progress.  The Modern Language Association has an on-line job listing service which students may access through one of two websites: www.ade.org (for English and Comp Lit jobs) and www.adfl.org (for foreign language and Comp Lit jobs).  Some Comp Lit jobs are listed on both sites.  You will need the department id and password in order to use the websites.  Note that the vast majority of jobs are in a national literature, and you should be sure early in your years of graduate study that you are qualifying yourself for teaching positions in national literature departments.  Job listings come out in mid-September, and you are advised to submit your applications as soon as possible after the publication of the listing.

Most job applications will require a letter of application (about 1.5 pages), a curriculum vitae, and letters of recommendation.  You should start a dossier of letters of recommendation with the graduate school’s dossier service (http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/careers/dossier.html).  Include in your dossier letters from about three faculty who know your dissertation and related coursework well and one or two letters from faculty who have supervised your teaching.  You should ask your potential recommenders for letters well in advance of the deadline, ideally at the end of the spring semester before you plan to go on the market.  You will also need writing samples—usually 20-page selections from the chapters of your dissertation, preferably in the form of an academic article.  You may also be asked for statements of teaching philosophy and syllabi for courses you have taught or would like to teach.

Culture: New Haven offers a variety of options for social pursuits.  The city combines a small cultural center, a comfortable suburb, and a quaint New England town.  Dining and entertainment options are excellent for a town of New Haven’s size.  Yale’s superb art, drama, and music schools add to a lively cultural scene around the University.  For more information see the Graduate School’s guide to life in New Haven.

Housing: Graduate students typically live either in Yale housing or in privately rented apartments.  The Hall of Graduate Studies (HGS) offers dorm-style housing where many students, particularly international students, live during their first years.  Students who live in HGS enroll in a meal plan in the HGS dining hall.  Students who prefer to live off-campus should peruse the off-campus housing listing (http://www.yale.edu/gradhousing/ochousing/index.html or http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/visitors/offCampusHousing.html and follow the link to the housing database)  and Craig’s List New Haven (http://newhaven.craigslist.org/) for available rentals and roommate situations.  In addition, consult the Graduate School’s website on graduate housing for the most recent information (http://www.yale.edu/gradhousing/index.html).

Graduate Center: The McDougal Center is the student center of the Graduate School and coordinates social and other non-classroom activities for students.  The McDougal Center also offers a lounge, conference rooms, career services, writing and teaching support, and other resources for students (http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/mcdougal/).  GPSCY is a bar and social club associated with the Graduate and Professional Schools.  GPSCY is located on York Street, behind the YDN offices just before the A&A building.

International Students: Graduate students of non-U.S. origin should contact the Office of International Students and Scholars (http://www.oiss.yale.edu/) to facilitate visa and other immigration matters. OISS can also assist with any logistical or personal problems concerning acclimation to the U.S. A complete listing of resources available to international students and their families is posted on the University’s Yale and the World website (http://www.world.yale.edu/services/index.html).

Family: The Graduate School offers subsidized health care for children, spouses, and partners of graduate students.  In addition, students with children are eligible for parental leave, limited day care services, and other options.  Consult the Graduate School’s webpage on family life (http://www.yale.edu/graduateschool/visitors/family.html) as well as the University’s Work Life initiative tasked with improving support for academics with families (http://www.yale.edu/hronline/worklife/).

Gym and Athletics: Yale’s Payne Whitney Gymnasium is one of the largest indoor athletic facilities in the world.  Graduate students enjoy access to the entire facility, including its pools, track, squash and basketball courts, and fitness center.  Locker space and gym classes are offered for inexpensive fees. Information about hours and locker privileges is available on the Payne Whitney Gymnasium website (http://yalebulldogs.cstv.com/links/pwg_membership.html).

Health: Graduate students are awarded comprehensive health care coverage as part of their fellowships. University Health Services (UHS) on Hillhouse Avenue is the primary medical facility for all students enrolled in the Yale Health Plan.

Security and Transportation: Yale’s location in Downtown New Haven is relatively safe and the University Police Department constantly works to improve area safety.  Crimes do occur from time to time, and students should acquaint themselves with the Yale Police Department’ s extensive blue phone system, escort service, and hotline (432-4400 or on-campus 111).  Students who live distant from campus will usually want to avail themselves of the University’s comprehensive free shuttle bus system serving routes throughout New Haven (http://www.yale.edu/parkingandtransit/).  Parking in Yale lots is available for a fee.