Graduate Programs
The Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies offers programs leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees.
The department's primary purpose is to train scholars in the areas
of Jewish literature, religion, history, and thought who have mastered
both a body of knowledge relating specifically to Jewish studies and
the canons and practices of a general academic discipline. Courses are
offered in biblical studies; postbiblical and Talmudic literature;
medieval and modern Hebrew literature; history of the Jews in the
ancient, medieval, and modern periods; Jewish philosophy, religious
expression, and mysticism; Israel studies; and related fields. Many
courses involve the reading of Hebrew texts, and some are conducted in
Hebrew. Students are also required to take courses in at least one
general disciplinary department. Students structure individual programs
according to their areas of interest.
The department sponsors lectures and colloquia on current research
in Jewish civilization, often in collaboration with the Departments of
History, English, and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies; the Programs
in Religious Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and Near
Eastern Studies; and the Center for Ancient Studies. The Taub Center
for Israel Studies and the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish
History are also housed in the Skirball Department. Course offerings
are frequently augmented by outstanding visiting scholars from Israel.
The department benefits from the extensive Hebraica and Judaica
holdings of the New York University libraries and from cooperative
arrangements with Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In
addition, the Center for Jewish History, housing the libraries and
archives of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, the Leo Baeck
Institute, and the American Jewish Historical Society, is located near
the NYU campus.
The city of New York is an ideal setting for Judaic studies, with a range of academic and cultural resources.