Jewish Studies is an interdisciplinary program that offers a comprehensive examination of all aspects of Jewish experience. Housed in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, the Jewish Studies Program is the premier institution in the region for the academic study of Jewish life in a variety of international settings. A broad range of courses in the program addresses the historical, social, cultural, religious, and political life of Jews today and throughout history.
Working together in the Jewish Studies Program, professors of history, sociology, political science, literary criticism, economics, language, philosophy, religion, and American Studies, bring new understandings to the forces that have shaped and the issues that confront Jews. At the University of Washington, the field of Jewish Studies takes a broad interdisciplinary and multidimensional approach to the global study of Jews, exploring the rich diversity of their cultures, their philosophies, their religious practices, their histories, their roles in politics and other areas of contemporary life.
Students can major or minor in Jewish Studies in the Jackson School at the undergraduate level. Areas of concentration include: ancient cultures and sacred texts; modern literature and culture; Jewish languages; Israel and Middle East Studies; Sephardic Studies; American Jewish Studies; European Jewish Studies; Holocaust Studies. The faculty also supervises graduate instruction in Jewish Studies through a number of departments, including History, Political Science, Sociology, Comparative Religion, Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, Middle Eastern Studies, and others.
-Paul Burstein, Chair
Any undergraduate admitted for study as a matriculated student in the College of Arts and Sciences may declare Jewish Studies as his/her major and work for the B.A. degree.
[*Majors who declared prior to Autumn Qtr '05: see adviser for requirement information]
52 credits as follows:
The lists of Jewish Studies courses are maintained by the Jewish Studies Program as part of its Web site. For the current list of such courses, click here.
Modern Hebrew Language: Read more about offerings and placement in Modern Hebrew at the University of Washington.
Biblical Hebrew Language: Read more about Biblical Hebrew at the University of Washington.
Capstone Paper: Students in either track will produce a Capstone Paper in association with a specific faculty member. This project may be in connection with one of the courses used to satisfy the "track" requirement. In the quarter of writing the project, students should register for SIS 494 (2 crs.), an independent study course (Senior Research). A registration form and information about add codes for SIS 494 are available in the Student Services Office (THO 111).
Jewish Studies majors may apply to the Honors Program in International Studies, during the course of which they will write an honors thesis in some field of Jewish Studies under the direction of a Jewish Studies faculty member.
Overlapping credits: A maximum of 15 credits that are used to fulfill minimum requirements of any other UW major can be counted in this major.
30 credits, to include the following:
RELIG 210 (5 credits) and SISJE/HIST 250 (5)
15 credits of Jewish Studies elective, chosen from the list of approved Humanities/Social Science electives*
5 additional credits chosen from the list of approved Humanities/Social Science electives or in courses in modern or Biblical Hebrew*
15 credits of the minor must be taken in residence at the UW.
*For a list of approved electives and Hebrew language courses, follow this link.
Revised 11-28-2007