What Academic Programs and Courses Does Rutgers Jewish Studies Offer?

Rutgers Jewish Studies offers both undergraduate and master's graduate programs, taught through an interdisciplinary lens that covers Jewish history, religion, culture, language, and politics from antiquity to the present. It is a good fit if you want to study Jewish life across multiple departments rather than through a single disciplinary lens, or if you are looking for Hebrew and Yiddish language study alongside history and culture courses.

Degree and Program Options

The department describes its offerings at two levels:

• Undergraduate Academics — the bachelor's-level program, with a dedicated page for requirements and pathways.
• Master's Graduate programs — advanced study in the field.

The site's own description lists "Undergraduate and Masters Graduate programs, Hebrew, Yiddish, Jewish History" as the core academic scope. If you are weighing whether the department suits your goals, the two program pages above are the places to check specific requirements.

What the Coursework Covers

Courses address the historical, social, cultural, religious, linguistic, and political life of the Jewish people from antiquity to the present, and examine how Jews interacted with other peoples. That means you can expect to move between periods and regions rather than stay in one narrow specialization.

Named courses in the department's statement on antisemitism illustrate the range:

A Current Course Offerings page is maintained separately, so the list above is illustrative of themes rather than a complete or current schedule.

Language Study: Hebrew and Yiddish

Hebrew and Yiddish are both part of the department's stated scope. Yiddish in particular appears in the department's news coverage, including faculty work on the contemporary Yiddish revival among young people. If language study is your main reason for choosing a program, confirm current Hebrew and Yiddish course levels on the Current Course Offerings page before applying.

Who Teaches

The department has seven core faculty members, supplemented by twelve affiliated faculty from eight other departments, plus visiting faculty sponsored by the Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life. That structure is what makes the interdisciplinary approach concrete: a large share of your instructors hold appointments elsewhere at Rutgers.

Practical Details to Check Before You Decide

• Transfer Credits — the department maintains a page for students bringing coursework from other institutions.
• Student Awards — the department recognizes student work, which may be relevant if you are looking for research or writing opportunities.
• Current Course Offerings — always verify against this page, since the courses named in departmental statements are not guaranteed to run every term.

How to Judge Whether It Fits You

Choose this department if you want:

• A program that treats Jewish life as an interdisciplinary subject spanning history, religion, culture, language, and politics.
• Access to faculty across multiple departments rather than a small closed roster.
• Both undergraduate and graduate pathways, with Hebrew and Yiddish available as language components.

Look elsewhere or ask the department directly if you need a program focused on a single discipline, or if you require a specific course that does not appear in the current offerings list. The department's own framing is broad and comparative — courses examine "the interactions of Jews with other peoples" — so a student wanting a narrowly textual or narrowly theological program should confirm fit with an advisor first.