• Courses offered by the Comparative Literature Department
  The Comparative Literature Department provides the basic modules for the MA Comparative Literature. In the winter semester, BM1 (lecture and tutorial) as well as the seminar from BM2 are offered, in the summer semester BM2 (lecture and tutorial) as well as, as a rule, a seminar open to BM2 and, if applicable, suitable specialisation modules. Basic modules 1 and 2 are not designed to be consecutive, i.e. you can take basic module 2 (if you start studying in the summer semester) without having taken basic module 1 first.
• Enrolment
  Current dates for KLIPS can be found here. 
  Please note that the range of courses offered in the Comparative Literature programme may be extended in the course of the first enrolment phase. It is therefore better to look at the courses offered several times. 

• Guide
  A guideline for writing papers in Comparative Literature as well as information sheets for different types of examinations can be found here.
• Exam registration
  Before you can register via KLIPS for an examination in the basic and specialisation modules as well as the supplementary modules 1-4 and 5c, a corresponding examination must be created by the Comparative Literature Advisory Service. Therefore, shortly before the end of the semester, you will receive a request via the Comparative Literature newsletter to communicate your examination preferences. You have until the end of the respective examination period (usually 15.03. or 15.09.) to register (and, if necessary, to deregister). For courses from the advanced modules and from the supplementary modules 5a and 6a to 6ß, the deadlines of the respective institutes apply.
• See also the instructions for registering for examinations in KLIPS as well as the general information provided by the KLIPS support of the Faculty of Humanities and the University of Cologne.

• In the main module 2: World Literatures (single-subject track) the assessment consists of a combined exam; in the main module 2: World Literatures or 3: Mediality (double-subject track), it consists of an oral exam as part of the advanced seminar.
• In the single-subject Master’s program (see module handbook), the combined examination consists of a written assignment in the form of a 5- to 10-page essay and a 30-minute oral exam based on and expanding upon the essay. Additional topics may be discussed with the examiner. The grade for the essay and oral exam constitutes the module grade and accounts for 25% of the course grade.
• The oral examination in the dual-subject MA program (see module handbook) also lasts 30 minutes and covers topics or literature that must be agreed upon in advance with the examiner, for example, based on a thesis paper. The grade for the exam accounts for 35% of the course grade.

• Internship exchange

You can find the internship exchange of the CareerService of the Faculty of Humanities here. See also other offers of the Career Service of the Faculty of Humanities and the Professional Center of the University of Cologne.

• Crediting 

Four-week internships can be credited in the supplementary module 2: Career Orientation for two of the seminars provided in this module. In order to initiate the crediting process, please contact the subject representative of Comparative Literature (PD Dr. Eva-Tabea Meineke) with the completed crediting form for the supplementary modules as well as the evidence of your completed internship (which also shows the duration). After the examination, the original of the application and the evidence must be submitted to the Examinations Office.

• Internship report

A report (10 to 20 pages) must be written as a module examination in Supplementary Module 2: Vocational Orientation. You can either prepare this report in consultation with the supervising lecturer in a seminar you took in EM2 or with the lecturers of Comparative Literature. If you decide on the second option, please contact the desired lecturer from Comparative Literature before starting your internship.

• Procedure
  For the statement on the accreditation of foreign achievements, please contact the subject representative of Comparative Literature (PD Dr. Eva-Tabea Meineke) with the corresponding original proofs (transcript of records, proof of enrolment, if applicable transcripts or language certificates). After the examination has taken place, the recognition form issued by the subject representative of Comparative Literature as well as the proofs must be presented to the Master's advisory service in the examination office of the Faculty of Humanities and the accreditation must be applied for there. The booking in KLIPS is also carried out there.

  See also the information on the accreditation of achievements of the Faculty of Humanities.

• Within the Supplementary Module 1: Mobility, students of Comparative Literature can study at a foreign university for one semester and have their study achievements credited retroactively. Since Comparative Literature is part of Romanic Studies, students can preferentially apply for study places from Erasmus cooperations at the Romanic Department, but they can also take advantage of cooperations at other institutes. The contact persons are the Erasmus coordinators at the respective institutes. You can find a list of Erasmus cooperations at the Faculty of Humanities here. According to the Erasmus agreement, at least 20 ECTS must be taken at the foreign university.

• Students of Comparative Literature can also participate in the cooperation agreement of Chinese Studies with the Faculties of Chinese Language and Literature of Fudan University in Shanghai as well as Sun Yatsen University in Guangzhou (one to two semester study). For more information, please contact Stefan Kramer (stefan.kramer@uni-koeln.de).

  Further information on studying abroad can be found at ZIB.

• As part of the Master's programme in Comparative Literature, it is possible to participate in the Research Master's Programme of the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne, which is aimed at academically particularly ambitious students who already want to work in a research-oriented manner in the course of the Master's phase to prepare for a subsequent doctorate.
• With a view to facilitating a smooth transition from the Master’s phase to doctoral studies, the Research Master supports students in developing an independent and complex research question that may serve as the basis for a subsequent dissertation project. The regular curriculum is complemented by the a.r.t.e.s. module, which consists of a range of courses offered by professors of the Research Master Board of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the a.r.t.e.s. Research Lab, as well as an extensive mentoring programme. In this way, a.r.t.e.s. enables students already during the Master’s phase to engage directly with interdisciplinary research in the Faculty’s fields of excellence. Upon completion of the programme, participants receive an additional certificate.
• The Research Master programme also offers the opportunity to undertake a research or study stay abroad, for which students can draw on the Faculty’s international network.
• Information on the programme and the application process can be found here.

• Registration
  Information on the examination procedure for the Master's thesis module (registration form, affidavit template, FAQs) can be found here.
• Examiners
  Examiners for the Master's thesis in Comparative Literature are teachers from Comparative Literature as well as the members of the advisory board of Comparative Literature (cf. under Examiners). After consultation, teachers from the cooperating institutes can also be appointed as examiners for the Master's thesis in Comparative Literature. Either your supervisor or your second examiner must come from Comparative Literature.
  It is important that you approach possible examiners in good time and request supervision from them individually. After consultation with or acceptance by the respective lecturer, you have the right to propose a first and second examiner, which you can note on the registration form for the Master's thesis. The Examinations Office checks whether it is possible to assign the desired reviewers and then determines them.
• Authorised examiners
  The following lecturers are authorised to supervise the Master's thesis: Prof. Dr. Anja Bettenworth, Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hammerstaedt,, Prof. Dr. Stefan Kramer, Prof. Dr. Anja Lemke,, PD Dr. Eva-Tabea Meineke, Prof. Dr. Gesine Müller, Prof. Dr. Wolfram Nitsch, Prof. Dr. Stephan Packard, Prof. Dr. Nicolas Pethes, JProf. Dr. Judith Rauscher, Prof. Dr. Axel Rüth, Prof. Dr. Stephan Michael Schröder, Prof. Dr. Jörg Schulte, Prof. Dr. Peter Schulze, JProf. Dr. Bieke Willem, Dr. Hanna Zehschnetzler.
• Topics
  You will develop the topic of your Master's thesis in dialogue with your supervisor. You can find further information on choosing a comparative topic in the guidelines for academic work in comparative literature (download area).
• Colloquium
  A colloquium is held to discuss current master's thesis projects; it currently takes place regularly during both the summer and winter semesters. You can find more information in our program newsletter.
• Guide
  You can find a guide for Master's theses under downloads.
• After the Master's thesis
  As a graduate of the Master of Comparative Literature, please leave us your new e-mail address so that we can contact you with information about alumni events. We look forward to hearing from you!

• General Information
  General information on doing a doctorate at the University of Cologne can be found on the website of the Student Secretariat. The central contact point for doctorates at the Faculty of Humanities is the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne.
• Topic agreement and planning phase
  Before you apply for admission to the doctoral programme, you must first contact a possible first supervisor. Currently, the following professors are authorized to supervise doctoral dissertations in Comparative Literature: Prof. Dr. Stefan Kramer, PD Dr. Eva-Tabea Meineke, Prof. Dr. Wolfram Nitsch, Prof. Dr. Stephan Packard, Prof. Dr. Nicolas Pethes, and Prof. Dr. Jörg Schulte. For more information on potential advisors, please visit the website of the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne.
  If you have a (general) idea of your research topic, please feel free to contact PD Dr. Eva-Tabea Meineke, Dr. Hanna Zehschnetzler, or other faculty members in the program. Participation in a Master's or doctoral colloquium is also recommended. In addition to the Research Master , the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne offers a Predoc scholarship for the doctoral preparation phase. Under certain conditions and provided that adequate supervision is found, it may be possible to do a doctorate in a subject at the Faculty of Humanities that is not identical to the subject of the degree (cf. Q and As (uni-koeln.de)).
• Admission and doctoral programme
  On the website of the Doctoral Office of the Faculty of Humanities you will find information on the formal procedure for admission to doctoral studies. The a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne offers a structured doctoral programme in the so-called Integrated Track. In addition, an individual doctorate with a self-organised doctoral phase is possible in the Regular Track. Information on the two doctoral models can be found here.
• Special offers
  Through the Cotutela doctorate offered by a.r.t.e.s., it is possible to pursue a doctoral degree in two countries with one supervisor at the UzK and one supervisor at a foreign university.
• Financing of the doctorate
  Financing is possible through scholarships, among other things. An overview of the funding possibilities through the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne can be found here. The website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) provides a list of the 13 funding organisations for doctoral funding, most of which have different ideological, political, denominational or economic orientations. Many foundations expect the application to be accompanied by a report from the supervisor or proof of admission to the doctoral programme from the university, so you should consult with the possible supervisor at the Junior Professorship in Comparative Literature before applying for a scholarship. Furthermore, it is possible to apply for research training groups (thematically bound) or for staff positions (usually not thematically bound) as well as private funding.

• LOTSE
  The LOTSE programme (Landkarte zur Orientierung und für Transparenz im Studien-Einstieg) supports new students as they begin their university life.
• Writing Guidance Training
  The Center for Writing at the Faculty of Arts offers training to become a writing advisor. The training program teaches academic writing skills that can later be passed on to other students through peer advising. The writing advisor training program concludes with a certificate and can also be credited toward Comparative Literature Supplementary Module 2: Career Orientation.
• IT Certificate
  The Faculty of Arts’ IT Certificate program teaches IT skills through practice-oriented courses.
   

• In its 1-subject variant, the Master's programme in Comparative Literature offers the possibility to learn a new language or to deepen one within the framework of the advanced modules. Students of the 2-subject Master's programme have the option of taking an in-depth language course in the supplementary module (if they are writing their Master's thesis in Comparative Literature). In addition, the extracurricular offer is open to all, through which language courses can also be taken. Further information on the extracurricular offer can be found on the website of the PhilFak or the university.

The Inclusion Service Center at the University of Cologne offers a comprehensive range of counseling and support services for students, prospective students, staff, and alumni with disabilities or chronic or mental health conditions. The goal is to develop individualized solutions for challenges related to academic studies.
The services include both in-person counseling and concrete support measures, such as assistance with applying for accommodations or organizing academic assistance. This is supplemented by additional academic support services, such as assistance with accessible workspaces and the conversion of literature (making digitized literature accessible using OCR software). In addition, the Inclusion Service Center offers various group sessions and workshops that promote interaction among students and strengthen their ability to cope with academic stress.

The University of Cologne’s ITCC-Helpdesk, through its “General IT Services” division, serves as a central point of contact for students who need assistance with using digital services during their studies. There, you can receive help with questions about applications, reporting issues, filing complaints, and submitting requests related to ITCC services. Separate support services have been set up for ILIAS and KLIPS.