Freestanding MA Program

With a large faculty of renowned scholars and dedicated teachers, the Department of English and Comparative Literature offers a wide range of graduate-level courses, at intermediate and advanced levels, in both traditional and emerging fields of literary and cultural study. Of the eight classes required to graduate, six may be chosen from across our curriculum, as well as from other departments and programs at Columbia. This allows students to craft a course of advanced study that suits you, whether your goal is to apply to PhD programs, advance your current career path, or begin a new chapter in your intellectual and cultural life.

Do not apply to the Freestanding MA Program if you wish to pursue a PhD in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia: the Freestanding MA Program is terminal. Acceptance to the Freestanding MA Program confers no advantage in the PhD application process.

Required

  • Registration: Two Full Residence Units (or equivalent part-time enrollment)
  • Advising: At least two meetings per semester between student and assigned advisor
  • Coursework: 8 graded courses (30 points), with grades of B or higher, and which must include:
    • Fall: MA Seminar (GR5001x)
    • Spring: MA Thesis Tutorial (GR5005y)
    • At least one 6000-level seminar or equivalent (may include seminars taken outside ENCL, as well as independent studies and 4000-level classes taken for seminar credit)
  • Distribution of Classes: Complete all MA distribution requirements.
  • Certification of Proficiency in a Second Language.

Recommended

  • Participate in a research colloquium and/or professional development workshop
  • Register with GSAS Compass career services and professional development programs

The Department does not accept transfer credit, or offer advanced standing, toward the MA degree.

All MA students must complete the following two classes for letter grades:

MA Seminar (ENGL GR5001)

This 4-point seminar serves as an introduction to graduate work in literary studies. Generally, it has a broad disciplinary focus on topics such as theory and methods, the history of the discipline, and major genres of academic writing. Fall semester only. 

 

MA Essay Tutorial (ENGL GR5005)

This class is a 4-point independent study designed to give students time to research and write the MA Essay. Although the ADGS is the instructor of record for ENGL GR5005, the grade that will appear on your transcript will be assigned by the faculty sponsor under whose direction you write the MA Essay. Unless otherwise authorized, Spring semester only.

MA students take seminar and lecture courses in order to build their knowledge of the discipline, develop expertise in their research fields, and expand their intellectual horizons. In order to help students balance deep study in their areas of interest with general disciplinary knowledge, the faculty requires students to complete the following distribution requirements.

Any seminar and lecture class taken at the 4000 level or above–in English, Comparative Literature, or a related discipline–may satisfy these requirements, subject to the approval of the ADGS. You may not satisfy distribution requirements by taking undergraduate coursework.  

Period 

All MA students must take at least one class in two of the following historical periods prior to graduation:

  • literatures and cultures pre-1500
  • literatures and cultures from 1500-1800
  • literatures and cultures since 1800

If you do not know what period your class falls in, please ask your instructor. The test used is whether the preponderance of instructor-assigned reading (not what you choose to write about) comes from the period in question..

Comparative Literature 

In addition to the above period requirements, at least one of the required 8 graded courses taken towards the MA must have a Comparative Literature designation–e.g., CLEN, CPLS, CLFR, CLHI, etc.

All MA students must demonstrate a solid reading ability in a language other than English. We accept in our program any language that will be relevant for a student’s scholarly work. This may include languages in which much theoretical and scholarly discussion is carried on (e.g., French, German, Spanish, Chinese), classical languages (Greek, Hebrew, Latin), the other literary languages of the British Isles (Welsh, Irish Gaelic, and Scots Gaelic), and languages of colonial and post-colonial populations closely engaged with Britain and the United States (e.g., Algonquian, Arabic, Hindi, Zulu). This list is not exhaustive–the test is whether a language is relevant to the MA student’s academic interests. 

Standard of Proficiency

The standard of proficiency is the ability to accurately translate a page of literary or critical prose in two hours, using a dictionary.

This standard is measured using one of three methods. Please note that, with the exception of foreign-language graduate courses (4000-level and above) that are taken for a grade of B+ or above, none of the following classes can be counted towards degree credit.

How to Demonstrate Proficiency 

Students arrange the completion of the language requirement with the Graduate Coordinator, who will refer them to the ADGS in cases of uncertainty as to whether a language is appropriate. 

  1. Language Exams

    Several of the language departments offer periodic proficiency exams throughout the year. Consult with the Graduate Coordinator regarding the dates of exams.

  2. Foreign Language Classes

    The language requirement can be fulfilled with a grade of B+ (or better) in an intermediate undergraduate language class designated as proficiency level–e.g. intermediate French II, but not intermediate French I. 

    A grade of B+ or better in a graduate class whose language of instruction is the language being studied can also serve – i.e., a seminar on Proust in which reading and discussion take place in French may count, but a Proust seminar in which students read translations of Proust and discuss them in English may not. 

    In both cases the language class must be taken during the student's enrollment in the Columbia graduate program—i.e., the language requirement cannot be met through transfer credit. Before enrolling for a class, contact the Graduate Coordinator for written permission that it will satisfy the language requirement.

    Please note: Undergraduate language classes will count against those allowed per Residence Unit but cannot be used as coursework credit towards the MA degree, only towards the language requirement.

  3. "Rapid Reading and Translation" Courses

    Rapid Reading and Translation Courses (e.g. Spanish 1113, Italian 1204, French 1206) are specially designed to give students proficiency suitable for graduate study. In some cases, these classes offer final exams that will satisfy the proficiency requirement. These classes do not count as coursework credit towards the MA degree, only towards the language requirement.

Machine Languages

Students may not use proficiency in machine languages (e.g., Python, C++) to satisfy the MA language requirement.