Comparative Literature

Comparative literature is the discipline that reads literary works across the boundaries of languages, nations, and historical periods, asking what we learn when we compare stories, poems, and novels from different cultures and traditions. It is driven by the belief that no single literary tradition can be fully understood in isolation, and that reading across boundaries reveals how ideas, forms, and narratives travel, transform, and speak to one another. It draws on literary theory, history, philosophy, sociology, film, and gender studies to think deeply about how stories are formed, who shapes them, and how different cultures receive and interpret them.

At Queen Mary University of London, this four-year full-time degree gives you the analytical tools and the cultural breadth to engage with literature from across the world. You will develop skills in literary analysis alongside an understanding of the theoretical frameworks through which texts are interpreted, and you will read across different national traditions, periods, and genres in a way that develops genuine intellectual flexibility. Queen Mary has a strong research environment in both English literature and comparative studies, and its east London location gives you access to a diverse and cosmopolitan cultural context.

Graduates in comparative literature bring distinctive skills to a wide range of careers. Publishing, journalism, translation, education, the civil service, international organisations, and the creative industries are all common destinations. The capacity to read closely, think across cultures, construct analytical arguments, and communicate with precision and range is valued wherever people need to engage seriously with ideas and their expression.

Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in comparative literature, translation studies, literary theory, or a related field. Others move into careers where the breadth of cultural understanding and analytical sophistication the degree develops is a genuine professional advantage. The typical entry tariff is 136 points.