Career prospects

Graduates of the programme are fully equipped to pursue a PhD in the international field of literary studies. Your training also prepares you for alternative career paths requiring advanced research skills and skills in analysing and managing textual information or specific knowledge of literature and culture in an international context (publishing, cultural and educational policy, heritage institutions, NGOs). 

Academic careers

After successfully completing the research Master’s programme in Comparative Literary Studies, you will be able to formulate a research proposal for a PhD project in your specialism within the field of literary studies. Furthermore, you will have an overview of the place that your own research plan occupies in the context of international research in literary studies.

Roughly a third of our graduates go on to pursue PhDs in Comparative Literature and related fields. Our students have proven themselves to have a competitive edge when it comes to the acquisition of funded PhD positions at prestigious universities in the Netherlands and abroad. In the past few years, for example, CLS alumni have been awarded PhD positions at Utrecht University, Radboud University, and the VU Amsterdam, as well as at Antwerp, Ghent, Munich, St. Andrews, Stockholm, and Vienna. A significant number of our graduates also go to North America, especially Toronto, UCLA, and NYU.

PhD at University of Toronto

Best Master's Thesis Award winner Laureanne Willems

Alumna and Best Master's Thesis Award winner Laureanne Willems is pursuing a PhD in English at the University of Toronto. In this video she talks about her experiences with the rMA Comparative Literary Studies programme.

Towards the job market

Graduates of Comparative Literary Studies have gone on to senior-level careers in publishing, text editing, higher and middle education, governmental consultancy, and management. Students who do not go abroad in their second year may opt to do an internship, which in many cases has led to employment post-graduation. Graduates have gone on to positions as:

  • Journalism (e.g. at the Volkskrant; the Groene Amsterdammer)
  • Publishing (e.g. Prometheus, Mondadori, Oxford University Press)
  • Teaching (e.g. English, French, German in secondary schools)
  • Public administration (e.g. Press officer, Policy advisor at Ministry of Finance; Policy advisor, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport)
  • Events management (e.g. at CPNB, Studium Generale, De Balie)
  • Copywriting (e.g. De Munt / La Monnaie)
  • University administration (e.g. UU, Tilburg, ArtEZ)

Working life after the rMA

In 2020 we conducted a survey to find out what our students had gone on to do after their graduation. We asked 85 CLS alumni who had graduated in the last 10 years to take part in the survey. 54 CLS alumni participated in it (i.e. 63%).

 

  • 14 out of 54 respondents (i.e. 26%) work as teachers.
  • 14 (i.e. 26%) are doing or have done a PhD.
  • 8 respondents (i.e. 14%) are working in marketing or event organization.
  • 4 respondents (i.e. 11%) work in university administration. 
  • 4 respondents (i.e. 11%) work in publishing.
  • 3 respondents (i.e. 6%) work in translation.
  • 2 respondents (i.e. 4%) work as freelance writers.
  • 2 respondents work as HR managers.
  • 3 respondents work in other business branches (e.g. consulting, data analysis, customer service).

Career development

Research schools 

Research Schools organise seminars, courses, and conferences across various disciplines and provide an extra opportunity for students develop a specialisation. They are an excellent opportunity to connect with research Master and PhD students from other universities and to develop your research network. Each student is obliged to take at least 5 EC at one of the Research Schools in the Netherlands.

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The Research School that is closest to the central focus and aims of Comparative Literary Studies is The Netherlands Research School for Literary Studies (OSL). Other Research Schools that may be of interest to CLS students are NICA, the Huizinga Institute, the Netherlands Research School for Gender Studies, ASCA, and the Research School for Media Studies.

Is there life after the rMA?

'Is There Life After the rMA?' is a series of career orientation events organised by the rMA Comparative Literary Studies that takes place in the second semester every year.

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During the first two events, students can meet alumni who have successfully applied for PhD positions and are employed in academia as well as alumni who have transitioned to non-academic professions in publishing, PR, at cultural institutions, and in teaching. The third event is a workshop in cooperation with the career services on topics such as professional self-analysis and writing a good CV. Attendance is highly recommended, as the events help with setting up a professional network and teach skills that are not part of the standard curriculum, which will make life after the rMA at least as good as life during the rMA.

Administrative work in the department

There are various opportunities available to students of Comparative Literary Studies to be involved 'behind the scenes' in an administrative capacity. Each year there are a number of student assistantships available in the department.

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Student assistants gain experience in organising events and meetings, assisting with the introduction days as well as the open days, taking care of communication tasks and small research assignments.

Another opportunity is being the student representative on the Curriculum Committee (Opleidingscommissie, OC). The committee meets four times per year to review course evaluations, discuss the quality of the departmental rMA programmes, and to make recommendations concerning the improvement of courses and curricula.

Extra training

Students can obtain additional training in academic skills from the Graduate School, including extra training in written English for those who need it.

Modern and Contemporary Literature seminar series

During these seminars, faculty members and guests present their research-in-progress. Students get introduced to cutting-edge research in the field, are invited to interact and network with visiting scholars, and gain experience in asking questions about and engaging with current research in a professional setting.

Peer review

In the core seminars, emphasis is placed on peer review, which is an important part of your professional training in editing and giving constructive criticism.

Career Services

Career Services offers events, tests, coaching and training in and outside your Master's programme, related to professional self-analysis, career orientation and job application skills. You can find more information about career services on Career Services for Dutch students or Career Services for international students.

Other career events

  • Your Perspective is a monthly career orientation meeting for students and alumni of the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University.
  • The Faculty of Humanities organises a Career Night Humanities with interesting partners who will illustrate the diversity in career opportunities for humanities graduates. 
  • Once a year Utrecht University organises a Careers Day. This Careers Day offers the opportunity to sign up for workshops and trainings, and to meet recruiters at the careers fair.