The program in Literary and Cultural Studies brings an interdisciplinary perspective to the study of culture. Students collaborate with an advisor to design an individualized and focused plan of study that includes courses from a range of departments and programs. Courses that involve the comparative analysis of more than one national literature are central to the program, as are those that explore the intersections of literature and theory.

Moreover, students are encouraged to expand their definition of the "text" to include not just literature but also other media such as music, art, and cinema (indeed, LCST offers a special concentration track in Film Studies, which allows students to use the College’s Film minor as the core of their Literary and Cultural Studies major). Students are equally encouraged to take courses in related disciplines that help situate the creative text in terms of its cultural and historical contexts: thus, students concentrating in Literary and Cultural Studies can also count toward their major courses from departments that are not primarily oriented toward the study of literature and the arts, such as Anthropology, History, Philosophy, and Sociology.