The DHL Degree

Doctor of Hebrew Letters Program

The program leading to the doctor of Hebrew letters degree in The Graduate School of The Jewish Theological Seminary is designed for students who wish to pursue advanced academic work in a field of Jewish studies, but do not wish to pursue an academic career. The degree is intended to certify that the recipient is qualified to teach his/her field on an undergraduate level and in nonuniversity settings. This program may be pursued on a part-time basis.

Programs leading to the doctor of Hebrew letters degree are available in ancient Judaism, Bible and ancient Semitic languages, Jewish history, Jewish literature, Jewish philosophy, liturgy, medieval Jewish studies, Midrash, modern Jewish studies, and Talmud and rabbinics.

Application Procedures
Application forms may be obtained from the Office of Admissions, The Graduate School of The Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, New York, NY 10027; (212) 678-8022; or Admissions.

An applicant for admission as a degree candidate must submit the following:

• A completed application form and the $65 fee
• An official transcript of academic records from each college and university previously attended
• Official scores of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Miller Analogies Test (MAT)
• Three letters of recommendation, at least two of which must be academic references
• A sample of written academic research in English in the field of study

An interview with a member of the Admissions Committee and/or department chairman is recommended and may be required.

Applicants whose native language is other than English and who have not been educated at a college where English is the language of instruction must submit official scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A minimum TOEFL score of 100 (Internet-based) is required. The Graduate School also may require that nonnative English speakers prove satisfactory proficiency by scoring at level 10 on the placement test administered by Columbia University's American Language Program (ALP). For more information, please contact The Graduate School's Admissions Office at (212) 678-8022.

Requirements
First-Year Review
The candidacy of each first-year DHL student will be reviewed after the first year. The student's department, in conjunction with the dean, will review the progress the student has made and assess the student's potential to complete the degree. If the department or the dean is not satisfied with the student's progress or potential, the student will be dropped from the DHL program but will be allowed to complete the first year of residence.

Hebrew
All entering students must take the Hebrew-placement examination online and demonstrate knowledge of at least one year of college-level Hebrew, placing into HEB 2103 or higher in both the reading comprehension and grammar modules. Progress beyond this level is part of the first-year review. To receive the degree, students must demonstrate proficiency in Hebrew equivalent to the level of HEB 5303 (advanced) in both the reading comprehension and grammar modules. Beginning with their first semester of matriculation, students must study Hebrew every semester until this proficiency is attained.

Prior to taking the Comprehensive Examination, doctoral students are required to pass a proficiency exam in reading Hebrew academic texts, for which HEB 5999: Reading Academic Texts provides the requisite skills.

Prerequisite Courses
In addition to department or program requirements, all students must complete the year-long interdisciplinary seminar MDS 5101–5102: Classics of the Jewish Tradition I and II, demonstrate that the course material was taken for credit previously, or demonstrate proficiency by examination. This seminar is to be taken during the first year of graduate study.

Students who have never studied Bible in the original with a scholarly perspective are required to take BIB 5011: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Students who have never studied Talmud in the original are required to take TAL 5025: Introduction to Text Study, for which BIB 5011 and Hebrew proficiency at the level of HEB 2201 are prerequisites. Individual departments and programs may also require additional course work from students where appropriate. See department listings for details. All of these requirements are in addition to the thirty-credit department or program minimums.

Course Work
A minimum of 30 credits of graduate course work beyond the master's degree in Judaica is required. Twenty-one credits are to be in the field of specialization. A minimum of 18 credits must be taken at the New York campus. All courses must be approved by the adviser.

Consortium
All matriculated DHL students may take courses offered through the DHL consortium, including the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, Fordham University, and Union Theological Seminary. Students must receive the advance approval of the adviser and register for those courses on their JTS registration cards. The host institution reserves the right to give its own students priority enrollment.

Transfer Credit
A student who wishes to request transfer credit for graduate-level courses taken at other institutions of higher learning must submit an official transcript with complete course descriptions to the dean, who will consult with the appropriate department. Credits counted toward another degree will not be considered. The maximum number of credits accepted for transfer is nine. No credit will be accepted for transfer from courses in which a grade lower than B was earned. To be considered for transfer, credits may be no older than ten years.

Comprehensive Examination
Most departments require a comprehensive examination in the field of specialization after completion of course work. The comprehensive examination will be graded on the following scale: pass with distinction, pass, or fail. A student who fails the examination may take it once more. A second failure automatically terminates the student's participation in the DHL program.

Dissertation
A candidate is required to write a dissertation in the field of specialization. This work must be a contribution to the field and may be a synthesis of extant scholarship on the topic. A written proposal for the dissertation must be submitted for approval to a faculty adviser. Both the proposal and the adviser's written approval must be submitted to The Graduate School for approval by the dean. The dissertation is then to be written under the supervision of the faculty adviser who approved it. Dissertations are to be written in English.

Upon completion of a first draft of the dissertation and upon the recommendation of the faculty adviser, the adviser and dean shall select and appoint one additional reader. Rejection of a dissertation automatically terminates the student's participation in the DHL program. Upon final approval by both readers, the dissertation requirement shall be considered fulfilled. Thereafter, the dissertation shall be prepared in final form for deposit at least six weeks before the date on which degrees are conferred. Guidelines for the preparation and deposit of doctoral dissertations are available in the Office of The Graduate School.

Completion of Requirements
All work for the DHL must be completed within ten years of the date of admission to the program. The dean regularly reviews student files to ascertain that appropriate progress is being made toward the completion of degree requirements. A candidate engaged in the writing of the dissertation may apply in writing to the dean for an extension, which ordinarily cannot exceed two years.

To be considered making satisfactory academic progress in order to continue receiving federal Title IV funds (student loans), full-time students normally must complete all the course requirements within the first four years of the program or a minimum of one-third the required number of credits, depending on area of specialization and prerequisites needed. Students in the fifth and sixth years prepare for the comprehensive exam and begin research for the dissertation. The remaining years are devoted to completion of the dissertation, which must be defended by the second semester of the seventh year.