Academics
Faculty Office Hours
The department faculty are available to meet with students to discuss course material, general topics and questions regarding their areas of study.
| Monday and Thursday: 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM by appointment only |
Miller Hall 109 | |
| By appointment | Miller Hall 104 | |
| Out on Leave | Bildner Center 203 | |
| Mondays: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM and by appointment |
Miller Hall 102 | |
| Out on Leave | Bildner Center 103 | |
| Mondays and Wednesdays:1:00 PM and by appointment |
Miller Hall 105 | |
| By appointment | Miller Hall 103 |
Maps:
Miller Hall - 14 College Avenue
Bildner Center - 12 College Ave
Jewish Studies FAQ
FAQ: Field of Jewish Studies
Jewish Studies takes an academic approach to understanding the full range of Jewish experience. The field has a broad reach, extending throughout history, from ancient times to the present, in settings around the world, and includes Jews’ interactions with other peoples. Jewish Studies brings together scholars trained in virtually every field in the humanities and social sciences, including history, literary studies, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, comparative religions, philosophy, political science, communications, psychology, economics, art history, musicology, and folklore.
Jewish Studies is a modern phenomenon, emerging from the development of humanistic scholarship in Western Europe during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and finding its home in European universities beginning in the early nineteenth century. Today there are major centers of Jewish studies in universities and other institutions of higher education in North America, Europe, and Israel.
The approach of Jewish Studies is distinct from the traditional religious scholarship that has informed Jewish life for centuries. At the same time, Jewish Studies scholars engage traditional religious texts, practices, and ways of learning as subjects of interest in their own right. Scholars working in this field may specialize in specific historical periods or geographical locations (such as the Ancient Near East or Early Modern Western Europe) or on certain communities (e.g., Hasidim or Sephardim) or languages (e.g., Aramaic, Hebrew, Yiddish). Scholars of Jewish Studies may focus on particular issues, such as gender or immigration, which are also studied by scholars of many other peoples. Other subjects that Jewish Studies scholars address are more specific to the Jewish experience, such as Jewish-Muslim relations or the Holocaust.
The great diversity of Jewish life is part of what makes this field especially interesting to scholars. Examining this diversity from an academic perspective provides opportunities to understand the many different ways that people understand Jewishness on their own terms. Jewish Studies scholars strive to study the variety within Jewish life apart from their own personal beliefs or convictions. In this field, all of the many understandings of Jewishness—past and present, well-known or obscure, by different Jewish communities or by people who are not Jews—are of interest.
FAQ: Jewish Studies at Rutgers
Courses offered by the Department of Jewish Studies welcome all students. Other than certain courses with specific academic prerequisites, such as upper-level language courses, Jewish Studies courses do not assume that students have any particular knowledge or experience in the subject.
Students who have taken Jewish Studies courses at other institutions of higher education should consult with the Undergraduate Vice Chair of the Department of Jewish Studies about transfer credit and to learn about how to continue their interest in Jewish Studies at Rutgers.
The Department of Jewish Studies expects students to approach its courses no differently than courses taken in other departments and programs at Rutgers. Students are expected to respect the range of opinions and experiences of others in the class and to avoid language or ideas that assumes a shared conviction, knowledge, or experience.
Students who have majored or minored in Jewish Studies at Rutgers have gone on to become educators, historians, lawyers, clergy, physicians, non-profit administrators, and social workers, among other careers.
Internships
Students can pursue an independent research project while working at a Jewish public cultural or social institution as a supervised intern. Students register for 01:563:460:01 and will be expected to work eight hours per week during the semester (112 hours total) or its equivalent during the summer. Students’ pre-approval by both the Department and the host institution is required. In addition to their internship hours, students are required to prepare a report, paper, or other project related to the nature of the internship, working with a faculty advisor with the approval of the Department’s Undergraduate Director. Internships are open to all Rutgers undergraduates. Students may do more than one internship as long as no two internships are at the same institution. Only one internship may count toward the requirements for the Jewish Studies major or minor.
- Jewish Heritage Museum of Monmouth County (New Jersey)
- Jewish Historical Society of Central Jersey
- Museum at Eldridge Street (New York)
- Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York)
- Holocaust Educator School Partnership Program - undergraduate and graduate students
- New York Center for Jewish History
- Yiddish Book Center - The Steiner Summer Program (New York)
- YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (New Jersey)
- Jewish Museum (New York)
- Rutgers Jewish Film Festival Internships - noncredit
Independent Study
Students in good academic standing can pursue an independent study project, beyond the Department's regular course offerings, with a faculty member who has expertise in the student's area of interest. An independent study should be the equivalent of a one-semester course in scope of work undertaken. A research paper or written report is required for all independent study projects. An independent study project is subject to the approval of the Department's Undergraduate Director.
Departmental Honors
Updated Spring 2025
Honors Thesis
The Department of Jewish Studies offers qualified Jewish Studies majors the opportunity to earn honors by pursuing a research project in depth for their entire senior year under the supervision of a faculty advisor.
To be considered, students must meet the following requirements:
- Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and 3.4 or higher in the Jewish Studies major.
- Meet with the department’s Undergraduate Director during the second semester of their junior year to discuss the process and determine eligibility.
- Meet with potential primary advisors and select one in consultation with the Undergraduate Director and faculty.
- Submit their project proposal to the Undergraduate Director and their primary advisor by the end of their junior year.
- Enroll in the Jewish Studies Seminar (563:464) in the fall of their senior year and Jewish Studies Honors (563:497) in the spring of their senior year.
- Complete a multi-chapter thesis during their senior year. The thesis should be a substantial written work based on a defined thesis question developed into a sustained argument. The work must incorporate substantial original research, be supported by evidence and critical reasoning, and must show familiarity with a subject field.
- Sit for an oral defense in the final semester of their senior year.
- A panel of faculty members (including the student’s advisor) will determine whether the thesis merits honors according to the rubric developed for this assessment.
Honors Portfolio
At the discretion of the department, honors in Jewish Studies may also be earned by Jewish Studies majors on the basis of extraordinary research, study, or internships associated with the department. In this case, during the penultimate semester of their senior year, a student may apply to be considered for honors by contacting the undergraduate director. Alternatively, a Jewish Studies faculty member may nominate a Jewish Studies major for honors during the penultimate semester of their senior year.
To be eligible for Jewish Studies honors without a thesis, a student must meet the following criteria:
- Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and 3.4 or higher in the Jewish Studies major.
- Have conducted independent research, study, or for-credit internships associated with the department.
- Submit for consideration a portfolio of at least 2 semester-long papers, projects, or the equivalent. Materials should be submitted at the beginning of their final semester.
- A committee of faculty members (including at least one who advised the student on this work) will determine whether this student’s work is worthy of department honors.
Subcategories
Courses Offered Remotely
(Click for course description, syllabus, and video preview)
SPECIAL COURSES OFFERED
Languages & Cultures Across the Curriculum: Holocaust Literature in Yiddish
01:991:121:E2 (Index # 21291) 1-credit add-on course
Must also register for 01:563:365:01 (Index # 19335)
First ten weeks - Taught online asynchronously
Taught in English and Yiddish
Contact Professor Jeffrey Shandler at
Hebrew 405: Holocaust in Israeli Culture
University of Michigan (Big Ten Academic Alliance Distance Learning Course)
Must register for 01:563:491:02 (Index # 21253)
Contact Professor Shachar Pinsker at
Master Course List
View by Course Number Core Courses Modern Hebrew Courses Mini-Courses
Descriptions of some courses offered by the Department of Jewish Studies.
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Modern Hebrew Courses
If you have any questions, please direct them to Orna Goldman, Hebrew Language Coordinator.