As a JTS graduate student, you will join a community of people with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, yet where everyone is focused on Jewish studies. 

Your education will continue beyond the classroom. Through an array of resources and extracurricular opportunities, JTS graduate students develop a strong network of colleagues, which serves them both during their studies and throughout their professional careers.

With its location in New York City, a world capital and center of Jewish culture, JTS provides unparalleled access to the superior academic, religious, and cultural resources that the city has to offer.

Graduate School Student Organization 

JTS boasts an active Graduate School Student Organization, which is student-run and designed to foster community and promote professional development. The GSSO hosts student research forums, career workshops, and academic conferences, and provides a wide range of programs and benefits, including:

  • Biweekly academic forums for students to present original research
  • Social events such as happy hours and trips to local museums and exhibits
  • Stipends for students to attend academic conferences
  • Subsidies for research-related expenses

Graduate School 101 Workshops

These professional development seminars help students maximize their graduate school experience and train them as capable practitioners of Jewish studies. Designed to build skills that can be used in the field, the workshops provide guidance on a wide range of practical topics, including how to:

  • Build a strong advisor-advisee relationship
  • Apply for grants
  • Maximize the benefits of attending an academic conference
  • Become a great networker
  • Develop a course syllabus
  • Apply for jobs in one’s field or to PhD programs
  • Apply for grants

Teaching and Research Opportunities

The Graduate School provides a range of opportunities for gaining work experience. Based on a student’s degree program and area of study, he or she may have the opportunity to serve as either a research assistant, a teaching assistant, and/or an intern in a variety of settings within JTS and in the larger community.

The JTS Library

The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary has one of the largest collections of Judaica in the world, including 25,000 rare books, 11,000 manuscripts, as well as invaluable prints, illustrations, incunabula, and other materials. Throughout JTS’s 21st Century Campus project, The Library continues to serve students, the public, and the larger community of scholars.