Programs at the JTS Center for Pastoral Education
JTS offers an incredible CPE program. I learned a tremendous amount about the links between self-care and transformation, and the creation of a more caring and compassionate world.
—Rabbi Annie Lewis, JTS alumna
Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Programs
Our Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs equip students to connect in caring relationships with people as they search for meaningful responses to the challenges of illness, hospitalization, death and dying, mental illness, and other distressing life experiences. Students engage in small group seminars and receive individual supervision, deepening their spiritual and professional development, awareness of self and others, and spiritual caregiving skills.
Seminary students, religious leaders, and professionals from diverse religious communities are all encouraged to enroll in the Center’s CPE programs.
2025–2026 Academic Year Part-time CPE Program
In the part-time program, students typically spend ten to twelve hours a week providing spiritual care at a clinical site, such as hospice, hospital, nursing home, university, prison reentry organization, or mental health settings, and approximately four hours a week attending CPE classes. This program earns one (1.0) unit of credit through ACPE: Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.
Please note: Class will not meet on Jewish and American federal holidays. Online classes will offer the option of having a few in-person meetings at the New York City campus. Dates and times below are subject to change.
Tuesday Online Class
CPE Educator: Rabbi Ilanit Goldberg-Gradess, MA, ACPE, BCC
Dates: Tuesday, September 2, 2025–Tuesday, April 14, 2026
Class Time: Tuesdays, 12:00 pm–4:30 pm ET
For this online section, students in the New York City area may do their clinical work at one of JTS’s partner institutions or they may use a site in their local community, contingent on the approval of the Director and the completion of the clinical site placement agreement by the site.
Wednesday In-Person Class at JTS
CPE Educator: Rabbi Ilanit Goldberg-Gradess, MA, ACPE, BCC
Dates: Wednesday, September 3, 2025 – Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Class Time: 10:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. ET
For in-person section, students will provide care at JTS’s clinical partners in the New York City area, such as at the MJHS Hospice and The New Jewish Home.
Wednesday Online Class
CPE Educator: Rabbi Yael Shmilovitz, MA, Med, ACPE
Dates: Wednesday, September 3, 2025–Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Class Time: 4:00–8:00 p.m. ET
For this online section, students in the New York City area may do their clinical work at one of JTS’s partner institutions or they may use a site in their local community, contingent on the approval of the Director and the completion of the clinical site placement agreement by the site.
Spring–Summer 2026 Part-time CPE Program
Similar to the Academic Year Part-time program, we will likely offer part-time Extended Unit CPE from January – August 2026. Check back in the Fall to apply.
New York City Full-time Summer 2026 CPE Program
Full-time Summer Program: May 26–August 7, 2026 (dates subject to change)
Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:30 PM
In the full-time New York City Summer CPE Program, students spend three days a week providing spiritual care at hospice, hospital, elder care, or mental health settings, and the other two days at JTS for educational seminars.
This program earns one (1.0) unit of credit through ACPE: Association for Clinical Pastoral Education.
Check back in the fall to apply.
Clinical Placements
For its metropolitan New York City program, JTS offers internship placements with the following
institutions:
• Coop Village NORC
• Dorot
• Hebrew Home at Riverdale
• JASA
• Lawrence and Memorial Hospital
• MJHS
• Project ORE
• The New Jewish Home
• The Osborne Association
• The New York City Health and Hospital Systems
Students outside the New York City area participating in the online CPE program, use a site in their local community, contingent on the approval of the director and the completion of the clinical site placement agreement by the site.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition is $1,000. All students in the New York City Summer Program are eligible to receive a full
tuition scholarship of $1000.
New Clinical Site Placement Fee: $200. Students who work outside of our New York City
partners will be required to pay a fee of $200 to establish a new clinical site placement
agreement.
Scholarship Support
Students in the New York City Summer CPE Program are eligible for scholarships granted to the center through agencies and foundations, including the Caring Commission of the UJA-Federation of New York. These scholarships provide full coverage of the $1,000 tuition and a stipend toward living expenses.
JTS rabbinical and cantorial students are also eligible to receive the Paul A. Kaplan Memorial Fellowship in Pastoral Care.
The CPE Method
CPE is grounded in the “reflective practitioner” model of learning, which helps students integrate their identities, beliefs, and prior knowledge with new insights that emerge through the process of practicing spiritual caregiving.
The educational components of CPE include student presentations of verbatims—written reports of spiritual care visits—as well as group seminars emphasizing attuned engagement with others, seminars on spiritual care topics, and individual supervision.
Application Materials and Instructions
We welcome applicants to the JTS CPE program who are matriculated students at JTS from all graduate programs, students from other institutions, religious and spiritual leaders, working professionals, and those who are exploring a career change into chaplaincy.
To apply, please fill out this application.
To hear from us about our upcoming units, please fill out this inquiry form. Be sure to select Division of Lifelong Learning and Professional Studies under “School of Interest,” and select Clinical Pastoral Education under “Area of Study.”
Admission to degree programs at JTS does not guarantee a placement in our CPE program due to limited availability. The faculty and staff at the Center for Pastoral Education are available to JTS student for guidance in exploring the over 400 accredited ACPE programs around the country. An accredited program directory can be found here.
Accreditation
All JTS CPE programs are accredited through ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education. For comprehensive information about Clinical Pastoral Education, please go to ACPE.
Director
Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education; Assistant Professor of Pastoral Education
Rabbi Naomi Kalish is the Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education and assistant professor of Pastoral Education. Prior to coming to JTS, Rabbi Kalish taught clinical pastoral education (CPE) at New York–Presbyterian Hospital to students from diverse religious, denominational, national, and cultural backgrounds. Rabbi Kalish has served on the Interprofessional Education Faculty at Columbia University Medical Center. She has taught chaplaincy and pastoral care courses and programs for the Academy for Jewish Religion, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat, and JTS. Rabbi Kalish has extensive experience in interreligious dialogue and its application for peace-building and community relations. She earned her BA from Tufts University and an MA in Jewish Philosophy and rabbinic ordination from JTS. She is a doctoral candidate in Education and Jewish Studies at New York University.
