The MA Degree

The master's degree is geared toward students wanting to deepen their knowledge of Jewish studies, whether in rigorous preparation for PhD programs; preparation for a career in Jewish professional leadership, Jewish education, or other fields; or to pursue personal Jewish exploration through an academic course of study.

MA Academic Areas of Study

Ancient Jewish Studies
Bible
Jewish Art and Visual Culture
Jewish Gender and Women's Studies
Jewish History
Jewish Literature
Jewish Professional Leadership

Jewish Studies and Social Work
(MA/MSW) with the Columbia University School of Social Work

Jewish Studies and Public Administration
(MA/MPA) with the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs

Jewish Studies
Jewish Thought
Liturgy (on hiatus)
Medieval and Early Modern Jewish Studies
Midrash
Modern Jewish Studies
Talmud and Rabbinics

The Graduate School and the Center for Pastoral Education offer students the opportunity to obtain a Certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling in conjunction with a master's degree. This certificate can be earned by graduate students enrolled in any MA program at JTS.

 

"A new career needs a new community and, in my case, I needed and wanted both a Jewish academic community and a peer group of those who cared about religious identity. I have become a grounded, educated contemporary American Jew from my master's in Jewish Studies. From my training for the Certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling under the direction of Rabbi Mychal Springer, I have become part of the leading edge of Jewish pastoral care."

-Linda Golding
MA, Jewish Studies, Certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling '13

 

Apply to The Graduate School. 

Explore The MA Degree Requirements.


Merit Fellowships

The Graduate School offers a number of merit fellowships for students pursuing the MA. In addition to general Graduate School MA merit fellowships, fellowship opportunities include the:

  • Ben Zion and Baruch M. Bokser Memorial MA Fellowship in Classical Jewish Studies
  • Phyllis and Gerald Haas Graduate Fellowship in Jewish Communal Service
  • William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship
  • Robert Lee Kohn's Foundation Fellowship
  • Klagsbrun Fellowships for Jewish Leadership
  • Sylvia and Julius Pollak Scholarship Fund for Michigan Students (for students in the social work program)
  • Satinover Family Fellowship in Jewish Women's Studies
  • David G. and Syd E. Cullen Fellowship
  • Bernard Manekin Fellowship in the History of Jewish Art
  • Tuttleman Fellowship for Jewish Art
  • Pollak Family Charitable Fund Fellowship for the Master's Program in Jewish Art

Special MA Programs

Joint Graduate School MA/Ordination Program
Joint Graduate School MA/Davidson School MA Program
Joint Graduate School MA/Cantorial Investiture Program
BA/MA Option

Learn more about these Special MA Programs.