Doctoral Advising and Mentoring

All first- and second-year students (G1 and G2) are officially advised by the Graduate Program Director (GPD), who in academic year 2025-2026 is Professor Kathryn Lachman (@email). During your second year of study, you will select an advisor from among the faculty in the Program of Comparative Literature who will chair your comprehensive exam committee, as well as advise you in your fields of interest

Whether this advisor will chair your dissertation committee will be determined after your comprehensive exams; sometimes students elect to change advisors as they refine their fields of study in the exam process. 

The GPD will advise G1 and G2 students to ensure that you are enrolled in the courses most appropriate for your career plans by approving course selections, that you are on track to fulfill course and language requirements, that you are planning productively for your comprehensive examinations, and that you are developing effective teaching skills. The GPD meets individually with all G1s and G2s at least once each semester. During these years, you should contact the GPD about any academic difficulties, especially if you are unable to finish coursework or meet deadlines. You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the GPD’s office hours. If you have classes or teaching obligations during the GPD’s office hours, you should email the GPD to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet. 

In addition, the GPD reviews all students’ progress every spring with the Graduate Studies Committee, as part of the Annual Review of Student Progress; every June, the GPD sends all students an email regarding their progress. After the first year in the program, all students update their “Green Sheet,” which is in their files in the office of the Program Administrator Jennifer Carbery (Herter Hall 430).

G2 students will choose an advisor from among the Comparative Literature faculty who will chair their comprehensive exams committee. You may ask any professor who is currently active in the program (i.e. not emeritus) and is listed on the program website under “Faculty” to serve as your advisor, even if they hold a joint appointment with another department. College Fellows, Visiting Scholars, and faculty on short-term appointments do not serve as primary advisors for graduate students. Students should inform the GPD as soon as their chosen advisor has agreed to work with them. 

The primary function of your advisor (also called the chair of the comprehensive exam and/or dissertation committee) is to help you determine the most appropriate courses, summer opportunities, comprehensive exam topics, and teaching opportunities in light of your developing scholarly interests and with an eye to rigorous preparation in marketable fields. It is your responsibility to contact your advisor and to initiate discussion of these items of professional development on a regular basis. You should meet with your advisor at least twice a year, preferably at the beginning of each semester. If you have difficulty getting in touch with your advisor, or if you find that your advisor is unable to assist you with the matters listed above because of changing scholarly interests or for any other reason, you should inform the GPD as soon as possible. 

You and your advisor may find it beneficial to draw up an agreement or contract outlining your respective expectations and responsibilities regarding, e.g., submission of work, timelines for faculty feedback, and meeting/communication frequency. This document may be especially useful beginning in year G4, when you are working on your dissertation.

In the third year, your advisor is responsible for guiding you in preparing your comprehensive exam lists and rationales, advising you on teaching and conferences, and guiding you towards a potential dissertation project. They will also assist you in constituting their comprehensive exam committee. 

Following the completion of the comprehensive examinations (typically at the end of the third year), the chair (advisor) of the comprehensive exam committee or another faculty member in the Program will become the student’s dissertation chair. Some students will have the same faculty member serve as chair of the comprehensive examinations and then as dissertation chair, but some will not. It is not unusual to have several principal advisors over the course of your graduate career and changes are easily made. If you would like to change your advisor or any committee member, you should consult with the GPD.

The GPD and your chair/advisor provide the backbone of your guidance through the program, and it is important for you to turn to them on a regular basis. Yet you are not confined to these sources of advice and mentoring. You are strongly encouraged to discuss your progress and academic plans with other faculty members in the program and across the university, the Five Colleges, and beyond. You should seek out professors whose scholarship complements your own, even when you are not able to take these professors’ courses and irrespective of these professors’ departments. All professors not on leave are required by the university to hold weekly office hours, and most professors are available to meet outside office hours as well. Do not be shy about contacting faculty members. If you email a professor and do not receive a response within 48 hours (excepting weekends and University breaks), feel free to write to that individual again. Please make certain that your emails have a subject line, that they are concise, and that you clearly explain your request. 

Although your graduate student colleagues are good sources of information, you should also consult the GPD and/or Program Director directly, at any time, with questions about program requirements and policies. 

Conflict Resolution

Generally speaking, the GPD will be your primary contact for addressing any conflicts within the program, including with your advisor. If you experience any difficulties with your advisor, including a failure to respond to drafts or emails within a reasonable timeframe, you may contact the GPD; if you have a difficulty or conflict with the GPD, you should contact the Program Director (PD), who in academic year 2025-26 is Professor Jessica Barr ([email protected]). 

It is vitally important that problems be brought to the attention of the GPD and/or Program Director in a timely fashion, as they are best positioned to work towards resolving any issues. The Department Chair—who in academic year 2025-26 is Professor Philippe Baillargeon ([email protected])—may also serve as a resource in addressing difficulties. The Ombuds office (see the list of web resources above) can also be a resource for students seeking mediation or simply an outside perspective on a situation.

Any discrepancies in instructions and expectations—e.g. expectations articulated by an advisor that do not conform to the handbook—should be brought to the GPD’s attention. Such discrepancies may be the result of a simple misunderstanding, and the GPD and PD are best positioned to clarify expectations for both faculty and students.