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Department of Jewish Studies

Graduate Certificate

The Graduate Certificate in Jewish Studies provides Vanderbilt graduate and professional students with access to interdisciplinary scholarship in the field of Jewish studies, supplies them with a valuable professional credential, and strengthens their ability to compete for jobs and national fellowship and postdoctoral awards.

The program supplements students’ graduate programs by facilitating the critical study of Jewish history, religion, language, philosophy, politics, culture, society, music, art, and literature across continents and eras, and situating this study in relation to the world in the present. The program accesses the resources of the entire university to explore Judaism, its evolution, and its expression from biblical times onward.

Admission

Any student enrolled in a graduate or professional program at Vanderbilt University is eligible to apply for the Certificate in Jewish Studies. Acceptance to the program requires a minimum GPA of 3.3 and the approval of both the student’s adviser and the chair of the Department of Jewish Studies.

Application

Students wishing to enroll must download and complete the Notification of Intent to Enroll form. This form must be signed by the student, the chair of the Department of Jewish Studies, and the director of the graduate program in which the student is enrolled. A signed copy of the form must be submitted to the Graduate School and to the Office of the University Registrar.

Requirements

A certificate in Jewish studies is awarded with either the M.A. or Ph.D. degree upon fulfillment of the following requirements:

Foundational Course – 3 credit hours

JS 5000, Major Themes in Jewish Studies. As this course is not offered every year, students may petition to have this requirement waived. If the requirement is waived, students will be required to take an additional 3 credit hours under the Focus Courses requirement (see below).

Focus Courses – 15 credit hours

Students must complete 15 credit hours of interrelated courses in Jewish studies, appropriate to the student’s program of study and forming an intellectually cohesive whole (or 18 credit hours, if the requirement to take JS 5000 is waived). Students are required to complete at least one course from three of the following subfields, with at least 9 credit hours coming from a single subfield:

  • Area 1: Biblical Studies
  • Area 2: Antiquity and Medieval World
  • Area 3: Modern and Contemporary Experience
  • Area 4: Culture, Philosophy, and Literature

Focus Courses listed are approved for certificate credit. Other courses not on the list must be approved for credit by the chair of Jewish studies. Any courses at the 2000- or 3000-level also require instructor permission to enroll and arrangements for additional work beyond the undergraduate requirements.

  • No more than 6 credit hours of specifically named courses required for the student’s primary degree may be applied toward the certificate.
  • Courses taken at Vanderbilt University prior to admission to the program may be counted toward the certificate requirements with the approval of the chair of the Department of Jewish Studies.
  • Students must submit a non-credit final project/paper to the Jewish studies steering committee that demonstrates an application of Jewish studies contents or methodology to research, teaching, or fieldwork. The project/paper may originate as an assignment in a graduate-level course.