Comparative Literature

Here, you’ll learn by doing. With hands-on opportunities in some of the world’s finest cultural institutions, you’ll gain the skills and experiences employers seek. Few locations around the world can rival the opportunities that New York offers in terms of internships, libraries, archives, and museums allowing you to immerse yourself in other languages and cultures.

With New York City as your college town, you’ll have access to some of the world’s finest cultural institutions. Students have interned at places including …

• The New York Historical
• American Museum of Natural History
• Goldman Sachs
• NBCUniversal
• The United Nations 

You’ll also have the opportunity to study abroad in one of our 100+ programs across more than 50 countries.

You can contribute to Fordham’s award-winning student-run publications including … 

• Bricolage, a journal of comparative literature
• The Ampersand, a student literary magazine and book club 
• The Fordham Ram and The Observer, recognized by the Princeton Review as two of the best college newspapers in the country 

You’ll also get the chance to work closely with a faculty adviser on a final paper or creative project that reflects your own interests and ideas.

You’ll be prepared for careers in fields as varied as teaching, museum curation, editing, translation, diplomacy, and journalism. Our graduates go on to earn prestigious fellowships, attend law school, and work at global organizations.

Our highly individualized major makes it possible for you to pursue a personalized course of study under the guidance of a faculty mentor who will help you discover, deepen, and broaden your knowledge, interests, and global awareness. You might take Fiction and Human Rights, which explores the intersections between imaginative narrative and human rights frameworks. Or you could take Contemporary French Philosophy, which introduces the work of French thinkers from the 20th and 21st centuries, or Ethics and Intelligence, where you’ll examine the history, literature, and ethics of secret intelligence.

At Fordham, you’ll use AI as a tool to enhance your learning. As a comparative literature major, you might use AI as an organizational tool to streamline your research process or help translate texts.

You’ll also be able to earn credentials and paid micro-internships through IBM SkillsBuild’s Getting Started with AI course. All Fordham students and graduates have access to AI training through RamConnect, the University’s alumni and experiential learning platform.

Above all, you’ll learn skills that can’t be replaced by AI, such as critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and integrity.