Program Overview

Hebrew College offers a diverse array of high quality educational programs that provide many points of entry to Jewish learning. Our Newton Centre campus serves students in the Greater Boston area and throughout New England.

Reaching out to a national and global audience, the College has been a pioneer in online Jewish studies and is aggressively moving to expand our range of online degree and certificate programs, as well as online courses in Hebrew language and other subject areas. Online and hybrid (combined online/on-campus) degree and certificate programs are described throughout the website.

Jewish Professional Education
Adult Learning
Youth Education
Interfaith Study and Action

Jewish Professional Education

RABBINICAL SCHOOL OF HEBREW COLLEGE
A rigorous, five-year, full-time course of study leads to pluralistic rabbinic ordination within a model inclusive community. The program integrates personal spiritual growth, mastery of texts, community building and professional development; graduates find placements in a wide range of settings, including congregations, Hillels, chaplaincies and communal organizations.

SCHOOL OF JEWISH MUSIC (SJM)
Several intensive full-time programs lead to pluralistic cantorial ordination, including the Cantor-Educator Program (CEP), which combines ordination with a Master of Jewish Education from the Shoolman Graduate School. CEP graduates integrate deep knowledge of text, liturgy and tradition with musical creativity to provide spiritual and educational leadership in congregational settings. The SJM also offers graduate training for cantorial soloists, certificate programs in cantillation and Jewish music education, and hosts several Jewish music choral groups, including the Zamir Chorale of Boston, artists-in-residence.

SHOOLMAN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JEWISH EDUCATION
Professional development degree and certificate programs prepare students to become 21st century Jewish educators. The Master of Jewish Education, available on-line and as a hybrid program, and a variety of certificate programs enable students to select from a wide range of specializations, including Jewish special education, early childhood education, day school education, experiential education, Hebrew teacher education and Jewish educational leadership. These areas of specialization are the focus of several professional development initiatives and institutional collaborations:

Center for Jewish Special Education is devoted to improving the quality and range of Jewish special education through professional training, research, curriculum development and consultation.

Early Childhood Institute offers outreach mini courses in specific content areas to entire faculties of early childhood programs at their sites. Courses provide Judaic content knowledge integrated with developmentally appropriate practice.

Hebrew College Day School Educators Program, in partnership with the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, prepares Jewish educators to serve in North American day schools.

Experiential Education partners BBYO and Hebrew College enable invited BBYO employees to pursue an MBA in Nonprofit Management at Indiana University and obtain a Certificate in Jewish Informal Education, Youth Leadership and Camping from Hebrew College in three years. Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) of Greater Boston also partners with the College to enable a select number of Greater Boston YESOD Jewish educators to pursue the certificate.

NETA Hebrew Language Initiative and Hebrew College provide ongoing professional development for teachers of Hebrew language, particularly, but not limited to, those who work in schools using the NETA curriculum. There are approximately 90 participating schools in the U.S. and Canada, South Africa, Israel, Australia and the Former Soviet Union.

Northeastern University Collaborative is a path-breaking partnership between Northeastern and Hebrew College that melds the resources of a major research institution specializing in leadership training, languages and education with Hebrew College’s expertise in Jewish studies and Jewish education. The collaborative launches its first joint degree program in fall 2009, a Doctor of Education in Jewish Education Leadership, combining online and on-campus study at Northeastern with intensive summer institutes at Hebrew College.

JEWISH STUDIES
The Master of Arts in Jewish Studies, offered online or as a hybrid program, prepares students for a career in Jewish academic scholarship, provides a foundation for rabbinic or cantorial study, or enriches personal knowledge of Judaism. The Master of Jewish Liberal Studies, designed for adult learners, enables students to define or refine their personal Jewish journies via an interdisciplinary exploration of Jewish culture and civilization, viewed through the lens of the Jewish humanities. The College offers a comprehensive Hebrew language program, both undergraduate and graduate, that includes a variety of ways to learn Hebrew, for beginner through advanced. Hebrew language is an essential component of many degree and certificate programs at the College; proficiency requirements vary by program.

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Adult Learning

ME'AH
This intensive, two-year, text-based curriculum that takes adult learning seriously was launched in 1994 in Boston, in partnership with Combined Jewish Philanthropies. More than 3,600 adults have graduated or now attend Me’ah and the Me’ah Graduate Institute, in Greater Boston, throughout New England, Metro New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

ME'AH GRADUATE INSTITUTE
Motivated adult learners who want to continue beyond Me’ah can take courses at Hebrew College through the Me’ah Graduate Institute. Those interested in earning an advanced degree may pursue the Master of Jewish Liberal Studies, offered both online and as a hybrid program. Hebrew College also offers a nine-level Ulpan and Hebrew language studies program geared toward adult learners.

SPECIAL EVENTS AND LECTURES
Throughout the year, Hebrew College offers a variety of special events and lectures featuring Hebrew College faculty and guest speakers and performers. 

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Youth Education

PROZDOR
Nationally acclaimed as a model complementary Hebrew high school, Prozdor brings together Jewish teens in an intentional pluralistic community to explore what it means to be Jewish. A wide range of courses, including text study, arts, literature, Hebrew language, history and ethics, as well as retreats and travel opportunities, draw teens from throughout Greater Boston to be part of a dynamic community that builds Jewish leaders. The Makor initiative extends the Prozdor model to congregational middle schools.

CAMP YAVNEH
Founded by Hebrew College in 1944, Camp Yavneh, located in Northwood, N.H., offers a comprehensive overnight summer camping experience for 8- to 16-year-olds in a welcoming, pluralistic community. Yavneh combines traditional summer camp activities with a strong Jewish studies component so that all aspects of camp life reflect Jewish values.

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Interfaith Study and Action

CENTER FOR INTERRELIGIOUS AND COMMUNAL LEADERSHIP EDUCATION (CIRCLE)
Founded in 2008 with a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, CIRCLE is a joint initiative of Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS) and Hebrew College. CIRCLE’s mission is to help cultivate relationships among the students, staff and faculty of the two schools through formal and informal programming. Initiatives include Journeys on the Hill (JOTH), informal seasonal and thematic programming for the ANTS-HC graduate student community; interfaith peer groups; the CIRCLE Fellows Program; and joint HC/ANTS academic courses. While the primary focus is on “Faith Hill,” CIRCLE is also part of a growing local, national and international conversation about the nature of religious education in an age of religious diversity.

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