undergraduate programs with Columbia/Barnard - The Jewish ...

List College (undergraduate programs with Columbia/Barnard)
The Graduate School
William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education
The Rabbinical School
H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music
www.jtsa.edu

THE JEWISH THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) prepares religious,
academic, educational, and lay leaders for the Jewish community
and beyond. With an extraordinary library and one of
the largest Jewish education faculties in North America, JTS
offers unrivaled opportunities for intellectual and personal
growth.
JTS ENCOMPASSES FIVE SCHOOLS:
• List College (undergraduate programs with Columbia/Barnard) (page 3)
• The Graduate School (page 4)
• William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education (page 5)
• The Rabbinical School (page 6)
• The H. L. Miller Cantorial School and College of Jewish Music (page 7)
SCHOLARSHIP
JTS draws the finest scholars of Judaica and dedicated students who desire
an educational experience available nowhere else. While Jewish Studies is
a peripheral area of study at most universities, at JTS it is our purpose and
our passion. Established in 1886, JTS is the intellectual and religious center
of Conservative Judaism.
COMMUNITY
JTS is a tightly knit and welcoming community situated on Manhattan’s
vibrant Upper West Side. Our campus is a rich oasis within the city that is
home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. Seven major institutions
of higher education are situated in our neighborhood, which bustles
with students in cafés, restaurants, bookstores, and shops. Riverside Park,
an officially designated scenic landmark in New York, stretches for four
miles along the waterfront just west of campus.
RESOURCES
JTS offers exceptional resources. Our extraordinary collection of religious
texts is renowned worldwide. We enhance learning with advanced
technologies across campus, including a new, state-of-the-art, interactive
Hebrew-language lab. We help to keep a JTS education accessible with a
wide range of need-based financial aid packages, merit-based scholarships,
and specialized fellowships.
FLEXIBILITY
In addition to traditional day programs, JTS offers part-time doctoral
and MA programs and Executive programs through The Davidson School,
plus a variety of options for distance learning. While our rabbinical and
cantorial programs are dedicated to students who identify as Conservative
Jews, our other programs welcome students regardless of Jewish
denomination or religious affiliation.

THE ALBERT A. LIST COLLEGE OF JEWISH STUDIES
List College offers “the best of both worlds”—Jewish and secular, small college
and large university—through dual-degree programs with two of the finest
institutions in the country.
List College presents students with an opportunity
to receive two degrees in four years.
Through our dual-degree programs with
Columbia University and Barnard College,
students receive an Ivy League–quality liberal
arts degree and a second bachelor’s degree from
The Jewish Theological Seminary.
These programs prepare students for a career in
the secular world while immersing them in
Jewish study.
By earning two undergraduate degrees, students
at List College differentiate themselves from
other applicants for employment, graduate and
professional schools, and fellowships. The more
rigorous path they have chosen demonstrates that
they are thoughtful and mature men and women
interested in exploring issues of personal identity
while earning distinguished undergraduate
degrees. Because of the dual-degree program,
our graduates are uniquely prepared to join the
next generation of Jewish leaders.
List undergraduates involve themselves in the
greater community through campus and
Residence Life activities, New York City
internships, and social action and volunteer projects,
building lasting friendships and leadership
experience. List graduates have an esteemed
record of success in fields that include medicine,
education, law, nonprofit, academia, journalism,
business, the rabbinate, advertising, film, and
television.
Unlike other undergraduate programs in Jewish
studies, List College combines an Ivy Leaguequality
education with the support of a community
in which Judaism is lived as well as learned. It provides
a welcoming environment in which to explore
one’s Jewish identity, and a campus surrounded by
the excitement and opportunities of New York City.
“The List College community is my
warm and familiar home base.
Knowing that I live and learn with
such a supportive and tight-knit
group of individuals gives me the
confidence to take on the experiences
of New York City and the
challenges of the dual curriculum.”
—Jody Zellman,
Joint Program student,
Spokane, Washington
“Studying at JTS and Barnard
while living in New York City is
unmatched by any other experience.
The outstanding community here has
opened up a new world for me,
allowing me to grow into an
independent, educated Jewish
adult.”
—Adina Rosen,
Double Degree student,
West Hartford, Connecticut
List College Admissions Office
(212) 678-8832
lcadmissions@jtsa.edu
www.jtsa.edu/list
3

“The academic culture at The
Graduate School is unparalleled:
nowhere else would I be able to
engage in such in-depth study with
the support of dedicated professors
and be among colleagues who share
my interests and never fail to challenge
me.”
—Tamar Marvin,
PhD candidate in Medieval
Jewish Studies
DEPARTMENTS
• Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages
• Jewish History
• Jewish Literature
• Jewish Thought
• Talmud and Rabbinics
INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS
• Ancient Judaism
• Jewish Art and Visual Culture (MA only)
• Jewish Women’s Studies (MA only)
• Liturgy
• Medieval Jewish Studies
• Midrash and Scriptural Interpretation
• Modern Jewish Studies
• Interdepartmental Studies (MA only)
• Jewish Professional Leadership
(MA/MSW with Columbia University
School of Social Work or MA/MPA
with Columbia University School of
International and Public Affairs)
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
With the largest curriculum of advanced Judaic studies in North America,
The Graduate School offers fourteen programs leading to the degrees of MA,
MPhil, DHL, and PhD.
The Graduate School brings together the world’s
finest scholars and students in a rigorous and
inspiring encounter with classical Jewish texts.
The Graduate School is unique for the sheer
abundance of its course options, depth and range
of its faculty, and access it affords to the premier
library of Judaica in North America—all combining
for an experience unmatched by any other
institution.
Our critical academic approach is based on mastering
texts in their original languages, including
Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic; it forms the foundation
of Jewish studies from ancient to modern.
In our master’s programs, students can devote
themselves to advancing their Jewish learning
for its own sake or acquire essential training for
advanced graduate work or a professional
career. Doctoral candidates mature as scholars
and prepare for careers in academia. Students of
all levels benefit from the guidance of diverse
and dedicated faculty. Professors of The
Graduate School work one-on-one with students
in the classroom, in dissertation advising, in
career mentoring, and more.
The Graduate School maintains consortial relationships
with institutions that include Columbia,
CUNY, Fordham, Penn, NYU, Princeton, Union
Theological Seminary, and Yale. Our students can
thereby take advantage of the broad context of
courses offered at larger universities to complement
the specialized depth attainable only at JTS.
We also offer two dual-degree programs with
Columbia University. In each, students earn an
MA in Jewish Studies at JTS while earning either
an MSW at the Columbia University School of
Social Work or an MPA at the School of
International and Public Affairs. These programs,
which feature simultaneous admission to
both schools and concurrent attendance, provide
outstanding preparation for professional leadership
careers in the Jewish community.
Training men and women in Jewish texts, knowledge,
and thought, The Graduate School
prepares them at the highest level to go on to
distinguished careers in academia, law, and
other professions.
The Graduate School
Admissions Office
(212) 678-8032
gradschool@jtsa.edu
www.jtsa.edu/graduate
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WILLIAM DAVIDSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF
JEWISH EDUCATION
The Davidson School offers three master’s tracks to prepare educators for careers in
day schools, congregational schools, or camps and community centers, and a doctoral
program that prepares people for careers as academic scholars of Jewish education.
The Davidson School provides students with
various opportunities to prepare for careers in
the field of Jewish education. By combining a
rigorous program in Judaic studies, Hebraic
studies, and education—with personal attention
to each student’s religious and professional
growth—The Davidson School develops the
Jewish educator as religious person, learner,
teacher, leader, and researcher.
Master’s students may select from three different
degree tracks to reflect their career aspirations,
either as day school teachers, congregational
school leaders, or educators working in informal
communal settings such as camps and community
centers. Through a consortial relationship
with Teachers College, Columbia University, our
students can further specialize in early childhood
education and special education.
Candidates for full-time, part-time, and Executive
doctoral degrees join a renowned program that
prepares them for careers as academic scholars
of Jewish education, educational researchers,
and leaders in Jewish organizations. These students
come to JTS already possessing significant
experience in the field.
The Davidson School takes all full-time, firstyear
students to Israel on a fully subsidized
two-and-a-half-week seminar.
Our program cultivates caring and capable
professionals through an integrated curriculum
of Jewish content learning, educational theory,
and supervised fieldwork. A distance learning
program offers options for adults already working
in Jewish education.
Students in The Davidson School develop their
own understanding of what it means to be an
educator for the twenty-first century and an
innovator in transforming people and institutions.
Our graduates pursue careers as advanced
practitioners, synagogue school education directors,
day school principals, camp directors,
curriculum writers, researchers, and leaders in
all aspects of Jewish education.
“Being a Davidson student is like a
dream come true. For the first time
in my life I'm able to combine my
academic interests with my intended
career path, and it's the best
feeling in the world!”
—Mara Berde, class of 2009,
Informal/Communal Education
track and future camp director
“Not only did my time at The
Davidson School give me the skills
to be an exemplary Jewish educator,
but it also trained me to be a
thinker, writer, and learner—
the kind of person I always aspired
to be.”
—David Wolkin, MA, class of 2007,
full-time religious school
teacher at Central Synagogue,
New York City
The Davidson School Admissions Office
(212) 678-8866
edschool@jtsa.edu
www.jtsa.edu/davidson
5

“I knew that I wanted to be a rabbi
just about the time that I became a
partner at my law firm. Though I
loved practicing law and found it
satisfying intellectually, I felt called
to the rabbinate. Once drawn to that
path, I knew for certain that I had
to apply to JTS for it offered the
best education available, and
Conservative Jewish theology is
most closely allied with my own.”
—Jan Uhrbach, class of 2003,
Rabbi, Conservative Synagogue of
the Hamptons, East Hampton,
New York
“What appeals to me about JTS is
its rich yiches (heritage), the vision
of its leaders, and the ongoing
transformation of that vision by
students and faculty in response to
what’s going on in the world. You
know: don't forget your roots, but
march forward with them. I find
that equation here at JTS.”
—Leor Sinai, class of 2009
THE RABBINICAL SCHOOL
The Rabbinical School offers a five-year course of intensive religious and professional
study, leading to a master of arts degree and ordination as a Conservative rabbi.
Year two is spent in Jerusalem at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies.
The Rabbinical School is a place filled with the
love of God, Torah, and mitzvot, where men and
women immerse themselves in a 3,000-year-old
conversation with our tradition. World-renowned
professors and rabbis at JTS ensure that our students
involve themselves in rigorous study, grow
passionate in their commitment to tradition, and
engage deeply in developing contemporary
spiritual responses to ancient questions.
JTS trains students to become Jewish leaders
and religious and social entrepreneurs who are
rooted in the Jewish past, conversant with the
present, and have a vision for the future. Our alumni
work in congregational life, hospital and military
chaplaincy, campus and Hillel leadership,
education, camping, and Jewish communal
service. They are actively engaged in the transformation
of Jewish life and the world at large.
The Rabbinical School brings together the most
distinguished faculty, brightest students, and
access to a rich collection of classical Jewish
texts. Daily religious services allow students to
nourish their souls and develop their synagogue
skills. Our core value of tikkun ‘olam (repairing
the world) is put into action by hands-on volunteerism
in a wide array of settings.
Students of The Rabbinical School acquire the
Hebrew and text skills necessary to study sacred
biblical and rabbinic texts in their original
languages. They build professional skills needed
to become effective rabbis, including counseling,
teaching, leadership in liturgy and lifecycle
events, public speaking, applications of technology,
and nonprofit management. They grow in
devotion to God and pursue holiness throughout
life.
Our crucial charge is to inspire a changing people
to take hold of Torah and partner with God to
repair a broken world. Our graduates emerge
ready to make their authentic Jewish voices
heard on public issues and to engage our communities,
challenging them to nourish literate,
observant Jews.
The Rabbinical School
Admissions Office
(212) 678-8807
rabschool@jtsa.edu
www.jtsa.edu/rabbinical
6

THE H. L. MILLER CANTORIAL SCHOOL
AND COLLEGE OF JEWISH MUSIC
The H. L. Miller Cantorial School awards the diploma of hazzan, and the College
of Jewish Music awards the master of sacred music degree. Students preparing for
the cantorate enroll simultaneously in both schools.
For individuals with a strong desire to contribute
to the Jewish community through music and
prayer, the cantorate provides the ultimate way
to serve. No other profession so passionately
integrates love of Judaism with love of music.
Through the preservation of a long-standing
musical tradition and with an eye to the new
music of today and tomorrow, our students learn
to fashion new expressions of prayer and song
for a vibrant religious life.
For the highly specialized field of Jewish music,
JTS trains students as hazzanim (cantors) for
congregational service, or as teachers of Jewish
music, choral directors, composers, or research
scholars. Cantorial students spend the first academic
year in Israel, and are expected to complete
the diploma program and the master of
sacred music degree simultaneously within five
years.
There is no template for a “typical” H. L. Miller
Cantorial School student. Some come by way of
music conservatories and arrive at JTS eager to
immerse themselves in Judaism. Others grew
up in the Conservative Movement and arrive
ready to develop their artistry in music in the
Jewish tradition. We also attract professionals—
musicians, singers, and others—who are seeking
a career change. Ultimately, all of our
students are prepared religiously and spiritually
to assume their calling as clergy for the Jewish
community.
The dean consults with each student personally
to develop a program of study to meet his or her
needs. An ever-increasing number of cantorial
students simultaneously pursue master’s
degrees in Jewish education through The
Davidson School or in Bible through The
Graduate School, as well as taking intensive
courses and rotations in pastoral care.
Cantors dedicate themselves to educating people
of all ages and to enriching religious life
through music in congregations all across the
United States. As we look ahead, new opportunities
for cantors are being cultivated within
Solomon Schechter day schools and Jewish
summer camps, and in new positions as prayer
coordinators. Our graduates are at once accomplished
musicians and educated Jewish clergy
who use music and prayer as a vehicle for
spiritual growth and fulfillment.
“Cantorial music is the quickest
path into the spiritual heart of a
congregant.”
—Jennifer Cohen, class of 2009,
H. L. Miller Cantorial School
“We teach students to meld the
best of the past with something
uniquely here and now—to add
another authentic and lasting layer
to the rich tapestry of Jewish
prayer through chant and song.”
—Cantor Henry R. Rosenblum,
dean, H. L. Miller Cantorial
School, 1998–present
"The ability to inspire others in
faith through song is truly a
unique experience and one we are
surrounded by at school as
preparation for our life's work."
—Israel Gordan, class of 2011,
H. L. Miller Cantorial School
H. L. Miller Cantorial School
Admissions Office
(212) 678-8037
cantorial@jtsa.edu
www.jtsa.edu/cantorial
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The Jewish Theological Seminary
3080 Broadway
New York, NY 10027-4649
(212) 678-8000
www.jtsa.edu
JTS is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and
Schools and is chartered by the Regents of the State of New York. Its
five schools train future leaders in a variety of ways: ordaining rabbis,
conferring the diploma of hazzan, offering the degrees of bachelor of
arts, master of arts, master of sacred music, doctor of Hebrew
literature, doctor of education, and doctor of philosophy.