Dual M.A.: Master of Arts in Education and Jewish Studies and Master of Arts in Hebrew and Judaic Studies
- Description
- Degree Requirements
- Admission Requirements
- Application Deadlines
- Financial Aid
- Career Options
- Resources at NYU
Description
The master's programs are designed to enhance the skills and provide training to teachers and aspiring administrators in Jewish educational settings.
Philanthropists and communal organizations have placed a high priority on the recruitment and retention of well-trained professionals in the field of Jewish education, but institutions still struggle to fill their positions with professionals of the quality they seek.
The program in Education and Jewish Studies, with its academic location in a comprehensive school of culture, education, and human development and its physical location in the center of American Jewish communal life, provides a unique environment for students from all backgrounds to prepare for such careers.
While providing a core of academic, research, and cohort experiences in education, Jewish education, and Judaic studies, the program is also tailored to its students' individual needs and interests. Close and personalized mentoring is provided by faculty from the School of Education and the Skirball Department, as well as by expert practitioners in the field of Jewish education working in the New York City area.
Degree Requirements - Dual M.A.: Master of Arts in Education and Jewish Studies and Master of Arts in Hebrew and Judaic Studies
The Dual M.A. program requires 58 credits. Students complete the requirements for both M.A. programs concurrently.
The ability to count 6 credits of Hebrew and Judaic Studies electives toward the requirements for the M.A. in Education and Jewish Studies and 6 credits of Steinhardt electives toward the requirements for the MA in Hebrew and Judaic Studies provides a significant savings of both tuition and time, and reduces the total number of credits required for both degrees from 70 to 58. This means students take 32 credits in Steinhardt and 26 credits in the Graduate School of Arts and Science. Students register through Steinhardt for the first three semesters and the Graduate School of Arts and Science for the remainder of their academic careers.
38 credits for the M.A. in Education and Jewish Studies as outlined here.
32 credits for the M.A. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies consisting of the following:
Students complete two required courses (6 credits):
- HBRJD-GA 3224 The Jewish Community: Classical Institutions and Perspectives
- HBRJD-GA 1005 Recent Developments in Judaic Studies
Students also complete 20 credits by advisement, to be selected from other content courses, including but not limited to:
- HBRJD-GA 1318, 1319 Academic Hebrew
- HBRJD-GA 1601 Modern Jewish Thought
- HBRJD-GA 1693 History of Contemporary Israel
- HBRJD-GA 2115 The Bible and Literary Criticism
- HBRJD-GA 2371 Readings in the Babylonian Talmud
- HBRJD-GA 2462 Gender and Judaism
- HBRJD-GA 2601 Seminar: History of the Ancient Near East
- HBRJD-GA 2686 Colloquium in American Jewish History
The final 6 credits are transferred from the Steinhardt M.A.
Students must also:
- pass a written comprehensive examination in Jewish history (students may use up to 3 Independent Study credits toward this exam)
- demonstrate competence at the second-year level of college Hebrew by the time the degree is completed in one of the following ways:
- pass a departmental written proficiency examination
- provide documentation of successful completion or equivalent of 4th semester college Hebrew (Intermediate II)
- informally audit Hebrew at NYU - attend and participate in class, complete all assignments and examinations, and ask the professor to submit a memo to the Skirball Department at the completion of Intermediate II that indicates that you have earned a B or higher
- for more information or to make arrangements regarding your Hebrew proficiency, please contact Professor Kamelhar in the Skirball Department
Please note: Hebrew proficiency is not a requirement for admission to the program but must be achieved as a component of the MA.
See the Dual MA requirements in matrix form here.
Students are expected to enroll full-time in the dual degree program.
Students enroll in the Steinhardt School during their first three semesters and in the Graduate School of Arts and Science during their remaining semesters, but they take classes concurrently in both schools.
Most students can complete the dual degree program in two and a half years or less.
Admission Requirements
No specific undergraduate major is required to gain admission to the M.A. or dual M.A. programs, but applicants should demonstrate a commitment to a career in the field of Jewish education, and an understanding of the aims and content of the program.
All applicants to the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development are evaluated based on the relevance and quality of prior professional work, prior academic achievement, Grade Record Examination scores, letters of reference, and a personal statement. The personal statement must demonstrate a commitment to a career in this field, and an understanding of the aims and content of the program.
The Education and Jewish Studies M.A. admissions application package must include a completed NYU Steinhardt graduate admissions application, a resume/curriculum vita, official Graduate Record Exam score report, official transcript(s), a statement of purpose/personal statement, and three letters of recommendation. Please note that materials should be accompanied by a Document Cover Sheet. You can read more about the required application package here.
Applicants to the M.A. and the dual M.A. programs should specify in their admissions essays their intended area of specialization in education: Teaching and Learning, Leadership and Administration, Foundations of Education, or Applied Psychology.
Applicants to the dual M.A. program must submit complete and separate applications to both the Steinhardt School and the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies through the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science and must meet the respective admissions standards for each program. No special admissions standards will apply to dual degree applicants. A student will qualify for the dual degree program only once admitted to NYU Steinhardt and the Skirball Department. Applicants to the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies are evaluated according to prior academic achievement, letters of recommendation, Graduate Record Examination scores, and a personal statement. Please note that at least two letters of recommendation for your Skirball application must be academic. GSAS prefers recommendations from instructors familiar with your work in the field in which you expect to study. If you have been out of school for some time, a letter from a supervisor or employer should be provided.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept any substitutions for the GRE score. The GRE is required.
International students are advised to familiarize themselves with special instructions from NYU Steinhardt and GSAS.
It is acceptable to use the same letters of recommendation for both applications, but please tailor your personal statements to the respective schools. The themes may be the same, but the Steinhardt application should highlight your professional experiences and aspirations, whereas your GSAS statement should focus on your intellectual and academic area of interest.
Learn more about admissions at Steinhardt and GSAS.
Applicant finalists may be invited for an interview by the program faculty.
Application Deadlines
To be considered for funding, both applications must be received by January 4. Applications will be considered after January 4 as well, but these applications will not necessarily be considered for funding.
Financial Aid
Steinhardt provides a variety of ways to help master's students finance their graduate education, including scholarships, fellowships, work study, and loans. Visit our graduate financial aid section for more information. Please note that those students interested in federal aid must submit a FAFSA.
All applicants for the dual degree program leading to an M.A. in Education and Jewish Studies and an M.A. in Hebrew and Judaic Studies will automatically be considered for the Jim Joseph Foundation Fellowship. The Fellowship provides generous tuition support for up to 4 new students matriculating as full-time students each academic year in the Dual M.A. program. This funding is not available to students who are not doing the Dual M.A. The Fellowship supports the preparation of the next generation of leaders and innovators in education and Jewish studies. To be considered for the Jim Joseph Fellowship, applications to Steinhardt and GSAS must be submitted by January 4.
The Jim Joseph Foundation, located in San Francisco, is devoted exclusively to the education of Jewish youth.
NYU offers the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation Program in Social Entrepreneurship, which includes generous funding and a curricular and co-curricular leadership program. This opportunity requires a separate application.
Additionally, students with a particular interest in Hebrew are encouraged to apply for Middle East Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships.
Applicants are also encouraged to apply for external funding from all possible sources, including the Wexner Graduate Fellowship/Davidson Scholarship as well as the UJA-Federation of New York Graduate Student Scholarships. These funding opportunities also require separate applications.
Learn more about Steinhardt's and GSAS's tuition and fees and financial aid options.
Career Options
Program graduates may teach in Jewish educational settings, formal and informal. These settings may include day schools, supplementary schools, museums, and camps. Graduates may find employment in bureaus of Jewish education, associations that promote Jewish education, Hillels and other college-level student service organizations, and publishing houses that specialize in Jewish educational materials.
Some students work part-time and take advantage of various internship opportunities during the course of their studies; however, not all students choose to do so.
Resources at NYU
The Libraries of New York University hold more than four million volumes, almost five million microforms, 500,000 government documents, 80,000 sound and video recordings and a wide range of electronic resources. The library subscribes to the key journals in the field, such as Jewish Education. The library also maintains extensive reference collections in Judaica and in education. Online Judaic resources available to NYU students include the Index to Jewish Periodicals and RAMBI. Online educational resources acquired by NYU include Education Full-Text, Education Index, and ERIC. Online social scientific databases include JSTOR, WorldCat, Project Muse, and ProQuest. Subject librarians in education and in Judaic studies support the program's curriculum, and routinely purchase relevant books for the library's permanent collection. For a list of on-line resources available to NYU students, click here: New York City houses many specialized libraries, including the Judaica collection at the New York Public Library, the research collections at the Center for Jewish History, and the libraries at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Yeshiva University, and the Hebrew Union College. The Center for Jewish History is located within walking distance of the campus, and the Hebrew Union College library is contiguous to NYU. Students in Steinhardt's Department of Humanities and Social Sciences have access to all university computer facilities, including a dedicated computer bank located in the department suite.