Students are expected to develop a solid basic competence in Comparative Literature and in one national literature. They must also demonstrate competence in two foreign languages. They must begin the study of second national literature and must write either a thesis or a report.

The thesis will be based on original research on topics involving literary history, genres, theory, or criticism, it may also be a translation of work (from a foreign language into English) with a critical commentary and apparatus. The report will be a revised paper from a graduate course taken in addition to the required hours of course work Thus, students writing a thesis will complete a total of 31 hours (including 6 for the thesis), whereas students submitting a report will complete a total of 34 hours (including 3 for the report).