Financial Aid and Fellowships for Rabbinical Students
Your decision to become a rabbi affirms your passion for Jewish living and learning. That’s why we at JTS are committed to ensuring that you and other qualified candidates can attend The Rabbinical School from a place of financial stability.
JTS’s generous financial aid packages combine grants, loans, and fellowships. These resources, combined with our successful record of professional placement upon ordination, allow students to enroll feeling financially secure.
- The average financial aid award to Rabbinical School students is $27,960.
Aid for First- and Israel-Year Students
JTS provides incoming rabbinical students with $15,000 per year in supplemental support for their first two years—one year at JTS in New York and the year in Israel. This stipend will be provided on top of our existing need-based financial aid, which JTS sustains for all five years of rabbinic training.
Need-Based Aid: Grants and Loans
All prospective students are encouraged to apply for financial aid. Financial aid is awarded based on an applicant’s demonstrated need, established by means of the FAFSA form (JTS Code 002740) and other documentation for American citizens, and by other means for international applicants. The Office of Financial Aid works with applicants individually to make this process as transparent and efficient as possible.
Students who qualify for financial aid receive a package that—depending on circumstances—may include a generous tuition grant and authorization for federal loans.
The JTS Office of Financial Aid will help you determine your appropriate debt level, and will facilitate all loan applications for you.
Our financial aid office is always available to talk through the intersection of merit-based fellowships and need-based financial aid.
The deadline for financial aid applications is March 1.
Merit Fellowships for Entering Students
All applicants to The Rabbinical School are automatically considered for our prestigious Crown Fellowship, which generously supports two students per year for the first two years of study.
We encourage all eligible applicants to apply separately for the Nachshon Project Graduate Fellowship “Launchpad” track. Applications are due by March 1 of the admissions season that you are applying in. Please note: The Nachshon Project Graduate Fellowship Launchpad Track offers a second pipeline to the Nachshon Project Graduate Fellowship for those who did not participate in the Nachshon Project undergraduate fellowship.
Undergraduates considering future graduate level Jewish study should consider the Nachshon Project Fellowship by their junior year. The fellowship includes study and training at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and eligibility for generous graduate fellowships.
We also encourage all applicants to apply separately for the Wexner Graduate Fellowship. Students may apply prior to, and during, the first year of study. Please Note: The Wexner Graduate Fellowship is not currently accepting applications for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Additional Merit Fellowships
The Rabbinical School’s Office of the Dean awards individual students merit fellowships based on recipients’ academic promise and achievement. Some merit fellowships provide additional financial support toward rabbinical studies, while others secure a student’s place in a specific training program with distinct internships and mentoring. For example:
- The Gladstein Fellowship and Legacy Heritage Fellowship each trains students for service in small Jewish communities.
- The Resnick Internship Fellowship provides a stipend for student internships.
- The Paul Kaplan Fellowship supports students during their training in Clinical Pastoral Education.
- The Shapiro Fellowship augments the pay of students working at Camp Ramah.
- The David and Inez Myers Foundation grants to The Rabbinical School provide support for entrepreneurial work by our students.
Opportunities for Employment
JTS rabbinical students are highly sought after for rabbinic work in the New York region and beyond, and a number of our students launch their own rabbinic projects while still in the program. JTS maintains a student-placement service that helps rabbinical students find annual and seasonal work.
