[Always *]

I studied in Canada, but I think the university system is reasonably similar here.

The way it worked was that I signed up for sociology and religion (the departments technically), it was a dual-degree where I studied 2 subjects, not 1. I had to take X amount of courses there - like I had to take a certain amount of sociology/religion courses in 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd, then 4th year. Sociology has a set amount of core courses that I had to take (so did religion) and they covered theory, research methods, and other fundamentals of those two fields. In each program, I had to take a certain amount of electives (e.g. 6 courses over 2 out of 4 religious categories like Abrahamic, Asian, New Movements, and some other category). I was left with abut 8 courses of non-major related electives, but I wasted most of them by being in archaeology with a political science minor in my first year, but I did get to take a history course or 2 later on.

Some programs are a little different. Like in engneering you have to specialize, usually after 1st year, in chemical, mechanical, civil, or computer - there are probably other specializations, but bear with me. That means your electives are based on your speciality. The engineer i know only got to take 2 non-engineering courses.

Comparative Literature might be a program at your school, but it might also be a specialization in the English department.

If you have more questions, please feel free to contact me.