Combined Jewish Studies Programs

“Students pursuing the combined Ph.D. in Jewish Studies will determine their research and doctoral foci in coordination with their advisers and with the DGS in Jewish Studies and in the partnering department or program.”

The Program in Jewish Studies offers a combined Ph.D. in conjunction with several other departments and programs: French, History, Religious Studies, Comparative Literature, and Philosophy. The fields of study are Jewish history, Judaism, Jewish literature, and Jewish thought and culture.  Students may only apply for the Ph.D. in Jewish Studies in conjunction with their application to one of these five partnering departments or programs. Students already pursuing a Ph.D. in one of the partnering departments and programs may apply for transfer into the combined Ph.D. in Jewish Studies in the first or second year of their degree study unless they have fulfilled all requirements listed below, in which case they may apply for transfer into the combined Ph.D. in Jewish Studies any time prior to completing their comprehensive exams. Graduate students in other programs may also petition to pursue an ad hoc combined degree.

Students will select an area of concentration in consultation with the directors of graduate studies (DGS) of Jewish Studies and the partnering department or program. An area of concentration in Jewish studies may take the form of a single area study or a comparative area study. Students are encouraged to draw from multiple disciplines in their intellectual pursuits, both in preparation for their qualifying examinations and in their dissertation research and writing. An area of concentration may also follow the fields of study already established within a single discipline, for example, the study of late-antique Judaism in Religious Studies or Hebrew literature in Comparative Literature. An area of concentration must either be a field of study offered by the partnering department or program or fall within the rubric of such a field. Please refer to the description of fields of study of the prospective partnering department or program.

This is a combined degree program. To be considered for admission to this program, applicants must indicate both the Jewish Studies Program and one of the participating departments listed above.

Students pursuing the combined Ph.D. in Jewish Studies will determine their research and doctoral foci in coordination with their advisers and with the DGS in Jewish Studies and in the partnering department or program.
 

Requirements for Transfer into the Jewish Studies Combined Ph.D. Program

Students in their first or second year of their degree study in French, History, Religious Studies, Comparative Literature, or Philosophy wishing to transfer into the combined Ph.D. in Jewish Studies, should submit a departmental transfer request form and a two- to three-page statement of interest to the DGS of Jewish Studies in which they describe why they wish to pursue the combined Ph.D. Students applying for transfer into the combined Ph.D. program must already have taken JDST 6500, Introduction to Jewish Studies, or be taking it in the term of application; must provide a plan outlining the Jewish studies courses already taken and those they will take; and must submit a research statement that explains how the combined Ph.D. will advance their research interests. Students must provide two letters of recommendation: one from their adviser in the joint partnering department or program (unless that adviser is jointly appointed with Jewish Studies, in which case a letter from the student’s DGS in the partnering department or program is required) and a second letter from a faculty member in Jewish Studies who commits to being the student’s adviser throughout the completion of the dissertation.

Students must apply by December 1, which is the deadline for the Jewish Studies department’s annual admissions cycle. Applications will receive a faculty vote early in the spring term, and results will be communicated to the student no later than spring break.

Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree in Jewish Studies

Students will be subject to the combined Ph.D. supervision of the Jewish Studies program and the relevant participating department or program. The student’s academic program will be decided in consultation with an adviser, the DGS of Jewish Studies, and the DGS of the participating department or program and must be approved by all three. For example, if a program requires oral exams or a dissertation prospectus to be defended to a multiperson faculty committee, at least one member of the committee should be Jewish Studies or Jewish Studies-affiliated faculty member. At least one faculty member of the student’s dissertation committee will hold a primary or secondary tenured or tenure-track appointment in Jewish Studies.

In their first two years of study, students in the combined Ph.D. program will complete the minimum number of term courses required by the partnering program or department.

Students are required to complete the following courses:

Taken in the first two years, this one-semester course is required for students in the combined Ph.D. program in Jewish Studies. 
JDST 6500 is composed of two components: (1) seminar classes that introduce students to the field of Jewish Studies, including central debates, methodological issues, and trends in contemporary research and (2) a graduate student-faculty colloquium, in which students in the combined Ph.D. program in Jewish Studies, along with others as the schedule permits, present ongoing research. The colloquium meets every two to three weeks and requires year-long attendance.

All graduate students, regardless of field, must also complete two graduate seminar courses in a time-period and discipline other than their period area of specialization. These courses may be cross-listed with courses offered in the student’s home department, and may also be used to fulfill requirements in the student’s co-unit.

All students must either take HEER 5000 and HEER 5010 (total of two semesters) or demonstrate basic proficiency in Hebrew by passing an exam administered by Yale Hebrew-language instructors (or another accredited academic institution).

The total number of courses required will adhere to the requirements of the participating department or program. Each student must complete the minimum number of courses required by the partnering department or program; Jewish Studies courses (except for the Dissertation Prospectus Workshop) count toward the partnering department’s or program’s total. The number of courses that will count depends on the partnering department or program. For details of these requirements, see the special requirements of the combined Ph.D. for the particular department or program in this bulletin. Aside from HEBR 5000 and HEBR 5010, students will be required to meet the foreign language requirements of the participating department or program. See Degree Requirements under Policies and Regulations. 

Students will be admitted to candidacy when they have fulfilled all requirements of both Jewish Studies and the relevant partnering department or program, including the dissertation prospectus. The scheduling and structure of qualifying examinations, prospectuses, and dissertations will follow the protocols of the partnering department. However, Jewish Studies combined-degree students are strongly encouraged to hold a prospectus meeting and at least one post-approval meeting at which all members of their committee are present. A student who intends to apply for this combined Ph.D. in Jewish Studies and another partnering department or program should consult the other department’s or program’s Ph.D. requirements and courses.

The faculty in Jewish Studies consider teaching to be an essential component of graduate education, and students typically teach or serve as a teaching fellow (TF) in their third and fourth years in the program. Jewish Studies combined-degree students will be given priority for TF slots in Jewish studies classes, and at least one of the courses for which they serve as a TF should have undergraduate Jewish Studies numbers.

Questions?

  • Sarit Kattan Gribetz

    Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
    Director of Graduate Studies; Executive Committee