Application Procedures

Inquiries concerning admission to The Rabbinical School are welcome at any time during the year. Prospective students are invited to contact The Rabbinical School Admissions Office at (212) 678-8807, at rabschool@jtsa.edu, or through our contact form. For admission in the fall, inquiries should be made no later than the preceding fall.

Every prospective student will have a preliminary interview with Director of Admissions Rabbi Charles Savenor. Rabbi Savenor and the recruitment interns also arrange campus visits, which include classes, daily minyan, and personal meetings with students and faculty. After visiting the school, a candidate may then be encouraged to submit a formal application.

The necessary materials for this formal application are available from The Rabbinical School Admissions Office. Applications for matriculation in September must be submitted by December 31, and must include:

• The application (eight copies), together with a $65 application fee;
• Admissions essays, double-spaced (eight copies);
• Official transcripts of all post-secondary studies;
• Official scores on the GRE aptitude tests (those whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL));
• Academic writing sample (generally not exceeding 5,000 words); and
• Three recommendation letters. Please see below.

These materials need not be submitted all at once. While it is preferable to submit the application and fee in the fall, the remainder of the material can then be submitted as it becomes available, but no later than December 31.

The candidate should also arrange for three or more academic, professional, and character references to be submitted. The final stage of the application process occurs when the candidate, upon the approval of the faculty committee, is invited to meet with the committee on admissions. These final interviews are generally scheduled in January and February at JTS. As part of the interview process, applicants are required to take a Hebrew-placement examination and psychological assessment. The decision of the admissions committee will be communicated as soon as possible.

Applicants in Israel must submit their application materials by December 3. Interviews are conducted in Jerusalem at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in the early winter.

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