GSJS offers tracks in Jewish history, philosophy and thought and Jewish education designed around your life, your goals, and your love of Jewish history and culture.
Two Programs, One Community
GSJS offers two paths to a master’s degree. The M.A. in Jewish Studies, Jewish education track centers on classroom practice and curriculum. The M.A. in Jewish Studies, Jewish history track centers on research and historical inquiry.
All students share the same foundation: small seminars, faculty who publish widely and care deeply about their students, generous scholarships, and the flexibility to study in person or online.
Which Track is Right for You?
Jewish History |
Jewish Education |
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Designed for:Researchers, emerging scholars, primary or secondary Jewish day school teachers, Jewish spiritual and cultural leaders, and lifelong learners. |
Designed for:Jewish day school teachers, yeshiva faculty, future educators building on a bachelor's degree. |
Focus:The intellectual and cultural history of the Jewish people over the past millennium. |
Focus:Classroom skills, curriculum design, knowledge of Jewish studies content. |
Program Strength:Its strong research focus prepares students for PhD programs and other careers requiring deep Jewish knowledge. |
Program Strength:The practicum experience offers structured, hands-on coaching to improve your teaching methods. |
Degree Requirement:Students finish the degree either by writing a thesis or completing a comprehensive exam. |
Degree Requirement:Students finish the program with either a comprehensive exam (most common) or by writing a thesis. |
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A busy street corner in Times Square. A sign on a window, Touro University. In the lobby, a sign on the wall reads Cross River Campus, and displays a list of schools and programs. A man leads two women up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. A sign reads, Graduate School of Jewish Studies.
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[MOSHE SOKOL] The Graduate School of Jewish Studies offers two tracks, master's degree in Jewish history and thought, and a second track, a master's degree in Jewish education.
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The man teaches a class.
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Moshe is so radically different that even to call him a prophet is to abuse and misuse the term prophet.
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Text: Moshe Sokol, PhD. Dean, Graduate School of Jewish Studies.
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Jewish Studies, as it should be studied and taught and engaged in, requires an in-depth exploration of classic Jewish texts. And it's imperative to my mind that nurturing scholars in the field requires very deep engagement with this material.
If it's fundamentally a parable conveying deep truths, then that language precisely speaks equally to every single generation.
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A student gives a presentation.
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I think one of the common features of our students is that they have a passion for this. They're committed to it. One of the hallmarks of our program is the personal attention that students get.
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Dean Sokol sits with the student at a table, with a book open in front of them.
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I think one of the greatest strengths of the Touro's Graduate School of Jewish Studies is precisely in the kind of faculty we have. Personal mentorship is actually crucial to the building, to the growth and development of a young scholar.
Our students have gone on to very rewarding careers if they choose to pursue a career in the field. Many are in Jewish education, teaching in Jewish schools all around the country. Some are principals. A recent PhD recipient is working at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Another founded Project Witness, which is a very, very important project educating young men and women about the Holocaust. But many, as I say, do it because they love it.
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Text: Touro University Graduate School of Jewish Studies.
“The gap between popular Jewish knowledge and factual Jewish knowledge is huge. We’re interested in truth and accuracy, and in sharing what we discover.”
- Dr. Sid Leiman, Distinguished Professor of Jewish History and Literature
