Engage in Jewish Learning at the Next Level

At The Graduate School of JTS, you can take courses for credit without enrolling in a degree program. Study with our outstanding world-class faculty, and choose from classes that pique your interest and imagination. Classes are offered at convenient day and evening times. Take the next step in Jewish learning, and inquire to become a non-degree student.

Become part of a community of scholars at one of the world's leading centers of academic Jewish study. Your educational experience will be of the highest quality—rigorous and collaborative. You will find a like-minded cohort of learners, as well as faculty who will encourage and support your studies.

While studying at JTS, you can expect to:

• Deepen your knowledge through immersion in sophisticated academic Jewish studies
• Invest in the pleasure of learning for its own sake
• Gain tools to develop new leadership roles in your community

You will join our community of learners and enrich us with your wisdom, sophistication, and life experiences.

Application Process and Tuition Information

Non-Degree Application and Requirements:

• The application
• Brief personal statement that explains why you wish to study at JTS (within application)
• $35 fee (paid online)
• Indication of satisfactory completion of a bachelor's degree

The fall 2013 semester begins on September 9, 2013.

Tuition and fees

Note: Classes may be taken for credit or audited. If you wish to be apply as a degree candidate at a later date, up to 12 credits of work as a non-degree student within the previous 10 years may apply.

Recommended Courses

Consider choosing from the excellent classes described below or search the Course Catalog.

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
Thursdays 1:20 PM-3:10 PM
An introduction to the contents, structure, and themes of the Hebrew Bible. Integrated with that content, the course will also introduce students to a variety of methods in the study of Bible, both traditional and modern.
Course Instructor: Dr. Stephen Garfinkel

Archaeology and the Bible 
Mondays 2:10 PM-5:00 PM
A survey of the major sites and artifacts from Israel, the Near East and Egypt. This course examines how the study of archaeology illuminates aspects of the debates surrounding the historicity and dating of the Patriarchs, the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan and the United Kingdom. This course takes place at Union Theological Seminary.
Course Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Bloch-Smith

Judaism in America
Wednesdays 1:20 PM-3:10 PM
This course will examine the religious dimension of American Jewish life. We will survey the history and current condition of each of the religious movements; examine the gap in observance and theology between elites and the masses of Jews; trace the evolving practices of synagogues; and explore how religious leadership has been shaped. The course will carry the story into the present and will analyze the key challenges facing American Judaism today. It will also ask: Where might we find Jewish religious expression in unconventional places and what kinds of Judaism seem to lie on the horizon?
Course Instructor: Dr. Jack Wertheimer

Jewish Feminist Ethics
Wednesdays 1:20 PM-3:10 PM
In this seminar we will read classic texts in Jewish feminist thought and ethics as we discuss, review and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of different approaches. Students will consider the application of Jewish feminist ethics to contemporary Jewish ritual and scriptural readings.
Course Instructor: Michal Raucher

Ethics in Jewish Tradition and Community
Tuesdays 8:20 AM-10:10 AM
What is Jewish ethics, how does the answer to this relate to general ethical theory, as well as to the sources of Jewish tradition, and how has Jewish ethics developed in communities that have faced real ethical decision making in specific areas?
Course Instructor: Dr. Alan Mittleman

Modern Yiddish Fabulists
Mondays 3:40 PM-5:30 PM
A survey of the two main schools of modern Jewish storytelling: the visionary-romantic school of Reb Nahman, Peretz, Der Nister, I. B. Singer and Sutzkever, and the grotesque-realistic school of Dik, Sholem Aleichem, Manger and Birstein.
Course Instructor: Dr. David Roskies

Culture of Memory
Wednesdays 1:20 PM-3:10 PM
An examination of the institutions of memory in Israeli culture through the study of texts, rituals and sites. Topics include the Zionist reinvention of traditional Jewish practices, "shoah and heroism" in Israeli identity, and the presence of the past in contemporary fiction and poetry.
Course Instructor: Dr. Barbara Mann

Introduction to Talmud Text
Wednesdays 10:20 AM-12:10 PM
An introductory course designed for graduate students not majoring in Talmud. Students are introduced to the methodology, structure and terminology of the Babylonian Talmud, as well as to the skills necessary for reading Rashi's commentary. Prerequisites: Intermediate Hebrew (HEB 2201) and Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (BIB 5011).
Course Instructor: Dr. Eliezer Diamond

Important Links

Full JTS Course Listings

Apply

Contact Us

JTS Non-Degree Flyer to Share with Your Community