Graduate School Bulletin

Spring 2023

Admission Requirements of Cultural Analysis and Theory Program

To be considered for admission to graduate studies in Cultural Analysis and Theory, all applicants must hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a suitable overall grade point average and with a high average in a major field appropriate to study in comparative literature or cultural studies or both. Applicants should also have a good command of at least one, and preferably two, foreign languages. In addition, they must submit the following:

1. B.A. or M.A. degree from a recognized institution in a suitable area of study;

2. An official graduate application including a statement of purpose and 3 letters of recommendation can be completed on-line at the following Web site: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=sunysb-gs .

3. One official copy of any transcript from any undergraduate college or university attended, from which a degree was conferred. Applicants must submit one official copy of any transcript relating to any graduate level work undertaken, regardless of whether or not a degree was earned. (If transcripts are in a foreign language, authoritative English translations are required in addition to the original documents. See Academic FAQs under Transcripts for a list of acceptable translation services.)

Note: Educational systems that cannot be compared to the United States must be evaluated by a US credentials evaluation service before admission can be finalized.

4. For international students, proficiency in English as demonstrated by a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper) or 213 (computer) or 90 (iBT) OR an IELTS total score of 6.5. In order to teach, any graduate student whose native language is not English must score 55 or above on the TSE or SPEAK test OR obtain a score of 7.0 or better in the speaking component of the IELTS test. The website for ETS (TOEFL & GRE) is www.ets.org;

5. An appropriate score on the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE) Institution Code 2548;

6. Two term papers or other writing samples in literature or a related field; cultural studies, or women's and gender studies (or related fields), depending on the track applied for.

7. An application fee of $100.

Admission to the Graduate Programs (Comparative Literature Track)

Applicants to the graduate programs with an emphasis in comparative literature are required to fulfill the minimum admission requirements of the Graduate School. In addition, applicants are ordinarily required to hold a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate field from a recognized institution. Furthermore, applicants to the graduate program in comparative literature are expected to demonstrate competence in one foreign language as well as in English. Adequate reading knowledge of a second foreign language is highly desirable.

Any deficiencies in these requirements shall not automatically bar admission, but it is understood that inadequacies in undergraduate preparation will normally require the student to take additional work, the amount to be determined by the graduate program committee and not to be used to fulfill any specific degree requirements.

In all cases, admission is by action of the graduate studies committee of the department under guidelines established by the Graduate School. Applicants are admitted on the basis of their total records, and no predetermined quantitative criteria by themselves ensure a positive or a negative decision.

Stony Brook’s graduate program in comparative literature emphasizes developments in contemporary interpretive theory that have transformed disciplinary identities. It understands its “comparative” mission not only to encourage a global perspective on literature beyond narrow linguistic and cultural boundaries, but also to seek alternatives to established approaches to literary study. The program’s faculty and students work closely with members of other programs in the humanities, arts, and social sciences in a collaborative effort to examine the role of literary expression as related to other forms of human activity. Students supplement their core study in comparative literature by designing individual programs with strong links to related fields. While providing students with the techniques required for advanced literary analysis, the program seeks to provide full appreciation of how those techniques interact with different modes of scholarly inquiry.

As an institution, Stony Brook is committed to increasing the opportunities for interdisciplinary activity crucial to the programs in comparative literature. The University’s Humanities Institute is the most visible expression of a broad university commitment to bringing diverse scholars together for a common intellectual enterprise.

Applicants holding the M.A. degree in comparative literature from the graduate program in Cultural Analysis and Theory from Stony Brook may, upon the advice of the graduate studies committee, be directly admitted to the Ph.D. program. Other applicants will be admitted to the program after review of their qualifications.

Admission to the Graduate Programs (Cultural Studies Track)

Applicants to the graduate programs in with an emphasis in cultural studies are required to fulfill the minimum admission requirements of the Graduate School. In addition, applicants are ordinarily required to hold a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate field from a recognized institution. Furthermore, applicants to the graduate programs in cultural studies are expected to demonstrate competence in one foreign language as well as in English. Adequate reading knowledge of a second foreign language is highly desirable.

Any deficiencies in these requirements shall not automatically bar admission, but it is understood that inadequacies in undergraduate preparation will normally require the student to take additional work, the amount to be determined by the graduate program committee and not to be used to fulfill any specific degree requirements.

In all cases, admission is by action of the graduate studies committee of the department under guidelines established by the Graduate School. Applicants are admitted on the basis of their total records, and no predetermined quantitative criteria by themselves ensure a positive or a negative decision.

The graduate program in cultural studies is an interdisciplinary and interdepartmental program based in the Department of Cultural Analysis and Theory. The cultural studies programs at Stony Brook are designed for students whose interests cut across traditional modes of study in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Areas of emphasis include popular and mass culture, minority and diasporic cultures, visual culture, media and technology, cultural production, cross-cultural and transnational/global formations, as well as the study of elite, dominant, and national cultures. Course requirements are designed to build competence in interdisciplinary cultural studies theory and practice, maximize collegial interaction among students, and allow students to develop disciplinary fluency in a particular subfield.

Cultural Analysis and Theory’s strengths lie primarily in literary and cultural theory, cinema and media studies, visual culture studies, and cross-cultural studies, as reflected in the Department’s popular undergraduate majors in Cinema and Cultural Studies (CCS) and Women’s & Gender Studies (WaGS). Competence in languages other than English has also long been considered essential to the department’s mission. A network of affiliated faculty represent a wide range of areas in disciplines including Africana studies, art history and studio art, Asian and Asian American studies, Digital Art, Culture and Technology (cDACT), English, European and Hispanic languages, history, music and philosophy. Prospective students are encouraged to examine the list of faculty to see how their own interests may be served by the current faculty cohort both within and outside of CAT.