Program
School of Graduate Studies

Degrees Offered
MA
PhD

Middle East Languages
Arabic (Elementary, Intermediate)
Hebrew (Advanced)
Aramaic
Syriac
Akkadian
Sumerian
Ugaritic
Ethiopic
Judeo-Arabic
Yiddish

Courses
Biblical Studies
Biblical Hebrew
Comparative Semitics
Canons of Biblical Criticism, Biblical Books and Genres in Scripture
Biblical and Near Eastern Law
History from the Patriarchal through the Post-Exilic Periods
History of Biblical Interpretation

Early Rabbinic and Hellenistic Studies
Targumic and New Testament Studies
Apocrypha
Judeo-Hellenistic Literature
Church Fathers
Tannaitic Literature
Dead Sea Scrolls
Canonization of Biblical Text
History of Jews in the Greco-Roman World

History and Literatures of the Early and Late Medieval Jewish World
History of the Talmudic and Gaonic Periods
Talmud
Midrash, Response, and Codes
Rabbinic Commentaries on the Bible
Massoretic and Medieval Grammatical Studies
Jewish Liturgy, Piyyut, and Sermonic Tradition

Literature and History
Historical, Socioeconomic Studies Dealing with the Ancient Sumerian and Assyro-Babylonian World
The Interrelationships between Biblical Culture and Surrounding Civilizations

Modern Jewish History and Literatures
History from the Beginnings of Zionism to Modern Israel
Modern Hebrew Literature
The Development of Yiddish Literature
The American Jewish Experience from Colonial Beginnings to the Present
Rise of American Jewish Institutions
The Contemporary Jewish Scene
Archival and Bibliographical Methods

Philosophy and Jewish Religious Thought
Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Philosophers
Rabbinic Theology
The Traditions of Mysticism
The Enlightenment
Jewish Theology from Mendelssohn to Modern Times
The Rise of Reform and Conservative Judaism

Faculty
David Aaron (Bible)
Michael J. Cook (Intertestamental and early Christian literature)
Jonathan Cohen (Halachic Literature)
Susan Einbinder (Hebrew literature)
Nili Fox (Bible)
Edward A. Goldman (Midrash and Homiletics)
Samuel Greengus (Semitic languages)
Isaac Jerusalmi (Bible and Semitic languages)
Samuel Joseph (Jewish religious education)
Adam Kamesar (Hellenistic studies)
Stephan A. Kaufman (Bible and cognate literature)
Barry S. Kogan (Jewish philosophy)
Lowell G. McCoy (speech)
Michael A. Meyer (Jewish history)
Eugene Mihaly (Rabbinic literature and Homiletics)
Herbert H. Paper (linguistics and Near Eastern languages)
Alvin J. Reines (Jewish philosophy)
Ellis Rivkin (Jewish history)
Richard S. Sarason (Rabbinic literature and thought)
Ezra Spicehandler (Hebrew literature)
Matitiahu Tsevat (Bible)
Ben Zion Wacholder (Talmud and Rabbinics)
Mark Washofsky (responsa, codes)
David B. Weisberg (Bible, Semitic languages)
Herbert Zafren (Jewish bibliography)

Students
PhD, 63 (15 female, 48 male)
MA    2 (1 female, 1 male)

Degrees Granted in 2000
PhD, 4 ( 3 male, 1 female)
MPhil, 4 (3 male, 1 female)
MA, 2 (1 male, 1 female)

Degree Requirements
MA: 45 credit hours of graduate work, or 36 hours plus a thesis, with an academic record of B or better. At least 12 credit hours must be taken in the student's area of specialization, and the program also includes a 12 credit hour intensive Hebrew course (all or part of which may be waived for students with demonstrated competence). All specific details of the program are determined in close consultation with a faculty advisor.

PhD: At least two years of residency are required. The normal program includes completion of 72 credit hours of graduate course work (credit may be awarded for prior work), three 5-hour written candidacy examinations, and completion of a doctoral dissertation. Students who complete their candidacy examinations are eligible to receive the MPhil degree. The details of individual programs are determined successively in consultation with a faculty advisor, a three-person examining committee, and two faculty members who serve as dissertation supervisors. An accredited Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) is a minimum requirement for admission, although many entering students already hold advanced degrees. A basic knowledge of Hebrew is a prerequisite. New students take a proficiency examination during the orientation period prior to registration. On the basis of their performance, they may be required to take an intensive pre-residency Hebrew course that has been designed especially for graduate students. Students may take courses for graduate credit concurrently with the Hebrew course, but they are not officially admitted into residency until they successfully complete the Hebrew requirement

Director
Adam Kamesar

Scholarships/Graduate Support
The Graduate School has an extensive program of financial aid. Fellowships are renewable up to a maximum of four years

Special Features
Possibilities for study exist in the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology at Jerusalem campus. Joint program in Jewish and Christian Studies in the Greco-Roman Period with the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati.  Joint program in law and ethics with the University  of Cincinnati College of Law.

Additional Information
The School of Graduate Studies of the Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati is a leading center for study, training, research, and publication in Judaica and cognate studies. The resources in scholarly staff, library holdings and research facilities have few parallels in the academic world and make it a unique center of higher learning. The School of Graduate Studies provides an attractive setting for graduate students of all faiths seeking the PhD degree, as well as for postdoctoral scholars pursuing specialized study and research. The Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion has an affiliate relation with the University of Cincinnati whose resources offer ready access to supplementary faculty, course offerings, and library facilities