BA Comparative Literature
About this course
BA in Comparative Literature, a modern languages degree focused on the study of global literary works across cultural boundaries. Core topics include Research Methods. The course includes the option to learn up to two languages alongside core literary modules. The first year covers foundational skills through Cultural Encounters in World Literature, How to Read Texts, Topics in Modern Literary Fiction, Canons and Creativity: Period, Context, Text, and From Page to Stage: How to Read Plays, with further choices available in languages and classical literature. The second year progresses to advanced analysis via Imitation, Invention, Authorship and Word Image Sound, alongside optional modules in classical poetry, drama, and theory. The final year centres on the compulsory Dissertation in Comparative Literature, supported by optional studies in Dutch literature, cinema, translation, and contemporary European culture.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: AAA (A humanities subject required.) IB: 38 points (A total of 18 points in three higher level subjects, including a Humanities subject at grade 6, no higher level score below 5.)
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Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 88%: 106 offers from 121 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 14 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 93%
- Learning opportunities: 84%
- Assessment and feedback: 77%
- Academic support: 89%
- Organisation and management: 69%
- Learning resources: 94%
- Student voice: 78%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 25 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 90%
- Left higher education: 10%
What graduates do next
Based on about 32 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 58%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Further study: 9%
- Unemployed: 8%
Most common jobs
- Business, Research and Administrative Professionals: 15%
- Administrative occupations: 10%
- Teaching Professionals: 10%
- Managers, directors and senior officials: 10%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 10%
- Find their work meaningful: 75%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 75%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 50%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 215 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 4%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 1%
- West Midlands: 2%
- East of England: 7%
- London: 67%
- South East: 8%
- South West: 4%
- Wales: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 75 students who started
- A levels: 83%
- Baccalaureate: 9%
- Access course: 1%
- Other HE qualification: 1%
- Other qualifications: 1%
- No formal qualifications: 4%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Cultural Encounters in World Literature
- How to Read Texts
- Topics in Modern Literary Fiction
- Canons and Creativity: Period, Context, Text
- From Page to Stage: How to Read Plays
- Greek Myth: Its Use and Meaning
- Interpreting Greek Literature
- Interpreting Latin Literature
- Introduction to the Study of Language
- Ancient Emotions in the Modern World
- An Introduction to Dutch Language and Culture
- Introduction to Dutch Studies 1
- Introduction to Dutch Studies 2
- Use of French 1
- The Making of Modern France
- Imitation, Invention, Authorship
- Word Image Sound
- Roman Epic
- Roman Authors: Roman Love Poetry
- Classics and Literary Theory
- The Dialogues of Plato
- Xenophon: Politics, Identity and Text in Classical Greece
- Greek Comedy
- Greek Authors: Homer
- Dramaturgy, Ancient and Modern
- Archaic Greece, 800-479: A Cultural History
- Classical Poetry and its Reception in English Literature
- Dissertation in Comparative Literature
- At the Crossroads of Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in the 20th and 21st Centuries
- Advanced Dutch Language and Culture
- The Contemporary in Dutch Literature
- Project in Dutch
- Advanced Translation
- Low Countries Cinema
- Music, Nations, Society
- Metamorphosis: The Limits of the Human
- Organized Crime: Gangsters in Life and Art
- Sequential Art as a Form of Engagement
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Comparative Literature at University College London earn?
The median salary is £30,000 after 15 months, £31,000 after 3 years, £42,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £32,500 and £57,000. The £42,500 median after five years is £9,500 more than the UK median for Language and area studies (other).
What do graduates of BA Comparative Literature at University College London do next?
77% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Comparative Literature at University College London?
93% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Comparative Literature at University College London?
The typical offer is AAA at A level, or 38 points in the IB. The average entrant had 157 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA Comparative Literature at University College London?
88% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 106 offers from 121 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
How many students continue on BA Comparative Literature at University College London?
90% of students continued into their second year, and 10% left higher education.