Jewish Studies M.A.

Use your Graduate Academic Bulletin

Students pursuing a graduate degree in Jewish Studies should use the University Graduate School Academic Bulletin.

Official requirements for our M.A. degree can be found by clicking on the Bulletin below:

2023-24: Jewish Studies University Graduate School Academic Bulletin

M.A. requirements

The M.A. requires thirty-two (32) credit hours of graduate course work (500-level or above), including:

  • JSTU-H 520: Colloquium in Jewish Studies (4 credits)
  • 16 credits of courses taught by Jewish Studies faculty
  • 12 credits of elective courses (may include 3 credits in JSTU-J 699 for research towards an M.A. thesis.)

To complete the M.A. in Jewish Studies, students will write an M.A. thesis (not to exceed 40 pages or 12,000 words). Students may register for JSTU-J 699 up to twice and will be examined on the thesis by a committee of three faculty members, at least two of whom must be Jewish Studies faculty.

Completion of the Jewish Studies M.A. requires second-year proficiency of a language relevant to the student’s research interest—normally Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, or Yiddish. First and second year (elementary and intermediate level) language courses in the first foreign language do not count towards the degree requirements but may be necessary to demonstrate proficiency.

Up to 6 cr. in a second relevant language (e.g., Yiddish, if the first language is Hebrew, or vice-versa) may be counted towards the required 16 cr. of courses taught by Jewish Studies faculty.