Application Info

The following materials are required for consideration to the Ph.D. program. You should submit all materials by uploading them into your online application. All materials are due on December 1. 

Please note that you are responsible for the submission of a complete application.  To track your application materials, check your ApplyWeb Activity Log to verify submitted application documents and check recommendation statuses (e.g., sent, pending, received). Once your UMID is issued, create a U-M Friend Account to log into Wolverine Access (under Students > New & Prospective Student Business) to verify official test scores and degree transcripts. Allow up to 10 business days, after completing the steps above, to view your application and materials in Wolverine Access.

If you have questions or encounter issues while completing your application, please visit Rackham's Help While Applying page.

1. Completed Rackham application
2. Three letters of recommendation - All applicants must register three recommenders within the ApplyWeb portal prior to application submission. You may register your recommenders in ApplyWeb before completing your application; select “Submit Recommendation Request” to confirm, which triggers an invitation email to your recommender. We recommend sending requests as soon as possible to allow adequate time for recommender preparation. Recommendations can be submitted by your recommenders to your application before or after you have submitted your application. If necessary, a placeholder name may be entered for a third recommender to preserve the ability to update information later. Applicants may track recommendation progress, resend requests, or edit a recommender’s name and email address via the ApplyWeb status page, provided the submission status remains “Not Started.” Technical support is available via the ApplyWeb request form, with responses expected within 24 hours.
3. Statement of Purpose - The statement should be about 500 words long and should delineate your intellectual trajectory, your scholarly plans and general interests in the humanities, as well as the reasons for choosing to apply to the PhD program in Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan. This statement should also include an indication of the fields to be studied, e.g., major field: French; minor field: Women's Studies. 
4. Personal Statement - Please use this statement to help us understand how you have come to be interested in Comparative Literature, what special challenges you might have faced, what relevant experiences you might have had, and what aspirations you have for the future. 
5. Curriculum Vitae/Resume. The CV should describe the applicant's education, work experience, research and teaching experience, professional affiliations, volunteer activity and community engagement, honors and awards. The CV should be no more than 4-pages in length.
6. Two Writing Samples. Your writing samples should consist of two papers. The first writing sample should be a critical essay written in English (15-25 pages). You may make edits to academic papers that have been previously graded; an excerpt from a thesis is also acceptable. The second writing sample (10-25 pages) should demonstrate your proficiency in a language other than English (for example, this could be an original essay that you wrote in another language; an English translation that you have created of a literary text in another language, with your own critical introduction; or a critical analysis written in English, citing and interpreting a work in another language).  We expect both writing samples to be written by the applicant (without use of AI).
7. Transcripts – Upload an electronic version of your transcript(s) for each Bachelor’s, Master’s, Professional, or Doctoral degree earned or in progress through your ApplyWeb application account. If you are attending or have graduated from a Non-U.S. institution, review the Required Academic Credentials from Non-U.S. Institutions for requirements by country.  If you are recommended for admission, the Rackham Graduate School will require official transcript(s). Recommended applicants will receive an email notification when the official transcript(s) are required for submission.  

Note: GRE scores are not required.  Scores sent to U-M will NOT be reviewed by CompLit the admissions committee. 

The department has a limited number of fee waivers available, which are provided to qualified applicants on a first come, first served basis. Due to limited availability, only one fee waiver can be issued per applicant. Fee waivers are not available to applicants in multiple years. Please note that Rackham’s application system does not permit more than one fee waiver per applicant, even if you are submitting applications to multiple programs. 

Applicants seeking a fee waiver should first review the guidelines and instructions for Rackham’s Application Fee Waiver.  If you meet the criteria for the Rackham Fee Waiver, you must complete Rackham’s waiver application before submitting a request to Comparative Literature.

Please note: Fee waivers cannot be granted or reimbursed retroactively after an application has already been submitted. If you plan to request a waiver, please do so with adequate time for administrative review prior to your application deadline. A delay in fee waiver processing will not be accepted as a reason for a late admissions submission.

Please review the following criteria and complete the form below if you qualify. Fee waivers are limited and are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Application Fee Waiver Criteria:

1. A record of superior academic achievement, demonstrated by an unofficial transcript and CV; AND

2. The application fee poses a financial hardship; AND

3. You must meet at least two of the individual criteria listed below. 

Note: You will be required to provide a short explanation detailing how you meet each selected criterion and how it has impacted your educational journey.

• Have led and/or substantially engaged in activities that broaden the participation of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in the academic, professional, or civic realm. By broadening participation, we mean efforts to specifically reduce educational disparities based on race, ethnicity, first-generation status, familial income, or gender.

• Have experienced financial hardship as a result of family economic circumstances.

• Are a first-generation U.S. citizen.

• Are the first generation in your family to graduate from a four-year college.

• Come from an educational, cultural or geographic background that is underrepresented in graduate study in your discipline and/or holds membership in a federally recognized Tribe.

• Come from a country or territory currently facing severe economic, social, or political instability (including conflict zones).

Please keep in mind that race, caste, ethnicity, gender, or national origin may not be used as criteria for requesting an application fee waiver.

Falsification of information to obtain a fee waiver may result in the withdrawal of the application or in the revocation of admission.

If you meet the criteria listed above, please submit a Comparative Literature fee waiver request.