Graduate Program Emphases

These emphases are available to students wanting to concentrate on related disciplinary or interdisciplinary fields. Each emphases has its own requirements which are listed in the websites. These emphases will enhance scholarly training and broaden marketability during job searches.

Asian American Studies

Designed to complement existing graduate degree-granting programs by providing interdisciplinary training in Asian American Studies, the Graduate Emphasis is comprised of four courses: two foundation courses introducing theories, methods and historical and contemporary special topics in Asian American Studies; one elective course in Asian American Studies; and one related elective course in a student’s specific discipline or area of study.

For more on this emphasis, see here.

Critical Theory Emphasis

The Critical Theory Emphasis (CTE) graduate program is the curricular arm of UCI's Critical Theory Institute (CTI). Scholars of Critical Theory explore and develop theoretical models to analyze and critique cultural forms from literature and art to more general systems of information, social relations, and symbolic categories of race, gender, and ethnic identity. The goal of the CTE is to promote the study of shared assumptions, problems, and commitments of the various discourses in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

The CTE and CTI draw on the most prominent scholars of critical theory as measured by our national and international reputation, the prominence of the faculty, and our ability to attract graduate students and post-doctoral scholars from around the world. Some of the world's most erudite scholars of Critical Theory who have been affiliated with UCI include Murray Krieger, J. Hillis Miller, Etienne Balibar, Jean Francoise Lyotard, and Wolfgang Iser. As a result, UCI is known nationally and internationally as an institution with particular expertise and stature in critical theory. This distinction has defined the special character of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at UCI and has contributed to UCI's national reputation for scholarly excellence.

Designed to provide an institutional framework for teaching critical theory, the CTE is responsible for organizing advanced theory seminars and for administering the Emphasis program requirements. An emphasis in Critical Theory, under the supervision of the Critical Theory Committee, is available for graduate students in all departments, including M.A. and M.F.A. candidates.

For more on this emphasis, see here.

Graduate Feminist Emphasis

Women’s Studies offers an emphasis in Feminist Studies, which is available in conjunction with the Ph.D. programs in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. An emphasis provides training in feminist theory and enables students to apply for positions in women’s studies and related fields as well as in positions within disciplines that focus on gender and sexuality.

For more on this emphasis, see here.

Translation Studies

Students pursuing this emphasis take five courses that deal with issues of translation theory, the practice of translation, and the student's specific area of study: 1 Theories of Translation seminar, 3 translation workshops (2 workshops + 1 independent study), and 1 course specific to field and literature of choice. Students electing the emphasis will be working in languages in which the supervising faculty has competence.

More detailed informations is available in the Comparative Literature Graduate handbook on page 12 and 13. See here.

Visual Studies

The Emphasis in Visual Studies exposes students to a variety of contemporary methodologies in the Humanities, and helps train a generation of scholars capable of engaging in cross-disciplinary inquiry and responding to the emergence of new research paradigms. Students explore an ever-expanding array of objects and visual experiences produced in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, film, television, video, and digital technologies. The student who satisfactorily completes the emphasis will be given a letter of certification from the Director of Visual Studies after certain requirements have been met.

For more on this emphasis, see here.