Bachelor of Arts in Comparative and World Literature

Advising

To ensure adequate planning of a student's program, all majors must consult an advisor regularly throughout their undergraduate years. Students who are interested in pursuing a teaching credential in English with a comparative literature emphasis in addition to the B.A. in Comparative and World Literature should consult the credential requirements section in this Bulletin and meet with an advisor in the Department of Comparative and World Literature.

Student Portfolio

Following departmental guidelines, all students will complete a portfolio prior to graduation.

Students are advised to take CWL 400GW as early as possible in the major and to take HUM 690 in the final spring semester.

Program Learning Outcomes

During the course of study for the Bachelor of Arts in Comparative and World Literature, the student will:

1. Read closely in a variety of forms and modes, and articulate the value of close reading in the study of comparative and world literature.
2. Show familiarity with many literary genres, periods, and critical approaches to World Literature.
3. Write clearly, effectively, and creatively, adjusting style appropriately in accordance with the content and rhetorical context of the assignment.
4. Develop and complete research projects and locate, evaluate, and incorporate information effectively.
5. Identify and articulate relations among culture, history, and texts.
6. Develop and define an individual area of focus, such as a given historical period, genre, national literature, or other topic of literary study.
7. Compile a Student Portfolio of undergraduate work in consultation with a department advisor.

Comparative and World Literature (B.A.) — Minimum 39 Units

Core Courses (21 Units)

Course List

Code	Title	Units
CWL 400GW	Approaches to Comparative and World Literature - GWAR	3
HUM 690/CWL 680	Senior Seminar: Research in the Humanities and Comparative & World Literature	3
Select five CWL courses. Only one lower-division CWL course may be used in the core.		15

Program Electives (18 Units)

In consultation with departmental advisors, students select literature courses that reflect their chosen advising pathway. These courses may be CWL courses not used to fulfill the core, HUM courses or courses from departments other than CWL. No more than three lower-division courses may be used for electives, and only two of these lower-division electives can be non-CWL courses. (Maximum five courses from a single literature).

Advising Pathways

Comparative Literature:

Students following the Comparative Literature pathway are advised to take courses that meet the following distribution requirements:

•  Two courses in a single non-English literary tradition
•  One upper-division literature course taught in and focused on a non-English language/literature
• A student-defined area of focus developed in consultation with an advisor

Note: Students following the “Comparative Literature” pathway may count up to three units of a non-literature foreign language course toward their degree.

World Literature:

Students following the World Literature pathway are advised to take CWL 230 and upper division courses that meet the following:

• Courses that combine breadth with a student-defined area of focus developed in consultation with an advisor.
• One course may focus on history or culture from an interdisciplinary perspective, or analysis of alternative media (e.g., painting, music, video games, etc.).

Complementary Studies

Bachelor of Arts students must complete at least 12 units of Complementary Studies outside of the primary prefix for the major. (Note: Students may not use an alternate prefix that is cross-listed with the primary prefix for the major.)

Students who complete two majors or a major and a minor automatically complete the Complementary Studies requirement. Additional ways to complete Complementary Studies for students in the Comparative Literature major is completion of 12 units in a language other than English or in some other group of courses outside the CWL-prefix (and not cross-listed with CWL) that is approved by a major advisor (which may include, but is not limited to, languages other than English, units toward a minor or certificate, study abroad, and literature courses taught in other departments).

Students who have earned AA-T or AS-T degrees and are pursuing a similar B.A. degree at SF State are required to fulfill the Complementary Studies requirement as defined by the major department. Students should consult with a major advisor about how transfer units and/or SF State units can best be applied to this requirement in order to ensure degree completion within 60 units.

General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements

Requirement	Course Level	Units	Area Designation
Oral Communication	LD	3	A1
Written English Communication	LD	3	A2
Critical Thinking	LD	3	A3
Physical Science	LD	3	B1
Life Science	LD	3	B2
Lab Science	LD	1	B3
Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning	LD	3	B4
Arts	LD	3	C1
Humanities	LD	3	C2
Arts or Humanities	LD	3	C1 or C2
Social Sciences	LD	3	D1
Social Sciences: US History	LD	3	D2
Lifelong Learning and Self-Development (LLD)	LD	3	E
Ethnic Studies	LD	3	F
Physical and/or Life Science	UD	3	UD-B
Arts and/or Humanities	UD	3	UD-C
Social Sciences	UD	3	UD-D
SF State Studies
Courses certified as meeting the SF State Studies requirements may be upper or lower division in General Education (GE), a major or minor, or an elective.
American Ethnic and Racial Minorities	LD or UD	3	AERM
Environmental Sustainability	LD or UD	3	ES
Global Perspectives	LD or UD	3	GP
Social Justice	LD or UD	3	SJ

Note: LD = Lower-Division; UD = Upper-Division.

First-Time Student Roadmap (4 Year)

The roadmaps presented in this Bulletin are intended as suggested plans of study and do not replace meeting with an advisor. For a more personalized roadmap, please use the Degree Planner tool found in your Student Center.

First-Time Student Roadmap

SF State Scholars

The San Francisco State Scholars program provides undergraduate students with an accelerated pathway to a graduate degree. Students in this program pursue a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously. This program allows students to earn graduate credit while in their junior and/or senior year, reducing the number of semesters required for completion of a master’s degree.

SF State Scholars Roadmap

Transfer Student Roadmap (2 Year)

For students with an AA-T in English or Spanish.
ENG or SPAN ADT Roadmap

This degree program is an approved pathway (“similar” major) for students earning the ADT in English or Spanish

California legislation SB 1440 (2009) mandated the creation of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) to be awarded by the California Community Colleges. Two types of ADTs are awarded: Associate in Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T). 

Note: no specific degree is required for admission as an upper-division student. However, the ADT includes specific guarantees related to admission and graduation and is designed to clarify the transfer process and strengthen lower-division preparation for the major.

An ADT totals 60 units and in most cases includes completion of all lower-division General Education requirements and at least 18 units in a specific major. (The Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science AS-T degrees defer 3 units in lower-division GE area C and 3 units in lower-division GE area D until after transfer.) Students pursuing an ADT are guaranteed admission to the CSU if minimum eligibility requirements are met, though not necessarily to the CSU campus of primary choice.

Upon verification that the ADT has been awarded prior to matriculation at SF State, students are guaranteed B.A. or B.S. completion in 60 units if pursuing a “similar” major after transfer. Determinations about “similar” majors at SF State are made by faculty in the discipline.

Degree completion in 60 units cannot be guaranteed when a student simultaneously pursues an additional major, a minor, certificate, or credential.

A sample advising roadmap for students who have earned an ADT and continue in a "similar" major at SF State is available on the Roadmaps tab on the degree requirements page for the major. The roadmap displays:

• How many lower-division units required for the major have been completed upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
• Which lower-division requirements are considered complete upon entry based on the award of a specific ADT;
• How to complete the remaining 60 units for the degree in four semesters.

Students who have earned an ADT should seek advising in the major department during the first semester of attendance.

General Advising Information for Transfer Students

1. Before transfer, complete as many lower-division requirements or electives for this major as possible.
2. The following courses are not required for admission but are required for graduation. Students are strongly encouraged to complete these units before transfer; doing so will provide more flexibility in course selection after transfer.
   • a course in U.S. History
   • a course in U.S. & California Government

For information about satisfying the requirements described in (1) and (2) above at a California Community College (CCC), please visit http://www.assist.org. Check any geographically accessible CCCs; sometimes options include more than one college. Use ASSIST to determine:

• Which courses at a CCC satisfy any lower-division major requirements for this major;
• Which courses at a CCC satisfy CSU GE, US History, and US & CA Government requirements.

Remedial courses are not transferable and do not apply to the minimum 60 semester units/90 quarter units required for admission.

Additional units for courses that are repeated do not apply to the minimum 60 units required for upper-division transfer (for example, if a course was not passed on the first attempt or was taken to earn a better grade).

Before leaving the last California Community College of attendance, obtain a summary of completion of lower-division General Education units (IGETC or CSU GE Breadth). This is often referred to as a GE certification worksheet. SF State does not require delivery of this certification to Admissions, but students should retain this document for verifying degree progress after transfer.

Credit for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College-Level Examination Program courses: AP/IB/CLEP credit is not automatically transferred from the previous institution. Units are transferred only when an official score report is delivered to SF State. Credit is based on the academic year during which exams were taken. Refer to the University Bulletin in effect during the year of AP/IB/CLEP examination(s) for details regarding the award of credit for AP/IB/CLEP.

Students pursuing majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines often defer 6-9 units of lower-division General Education in Areas C and D until after transfer to focus on preparation courses for the major. This advice does not apply to students pursuing associate degree completion before transfer.

Transferring From Institutions Other Than CCCs or CSUs

Review SF State's lower-division General Education requirements. Note that, as described below, the four basic skills courses required for admission meet A1, A2, A3, and B4 in the SF State GE pattern. Courses that fulfill the remaining areas of SF State’s lower-division GE pattern are available at most two-year and four-year colleges and universities.

Of the four required basic skills courses, a course in critical thinking (A3) may not be widely offered outside the CCC and CSU systems. Students should attempt to identify and take an appropriate course no later than the term of application to the CSU. To review more information about the A3 requirement, please visit bulletin.sfsu.edu/undergraduate-education/general-education/lower-division/#AAEL.

Waiting until after transfer to take a single course at SF State that meets both US and CA/local government requirements may be an appropriate option, particularly if transferring from outside of California.