Jewish Studies (BA)

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Offered by the Jewish Studies program , College of Arts and Sciences .

Admission to the Program

Formal admission to the major requires a grade point average of 2.00 (on a 4.00 scale) and the approval of the director of the program.

University Requirements

120 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or better
Completion of college writing requirement
Completion of university mathematics requirement

General Education Requirements

A total of ten courses, consisting of two courses from each of the five foundational areas
At least one course from Area Five: The Natural and Mathematical Sciences must include a laboratory science component
No more than two courses may be taken in the same discipline

Major Requirements

39 credit hours with grades of C or better and minimum of 18 credit hours at or above the 300-level

Course Requirements

Required (18 credit hours)

Note: HEBR-116 Hebrew, Elementary Modern I (3) and HEBR-117 Hebrew, Elementary Modern II (3) are prerequisites for the language requirement but do not count toward the major.

HEBR-216 Hebrew, Intermediate Modern I (3)
HEBR-217 Hebrew, Intermediate Modern II (3)
or equivalent proficiency in Hebrew as approved by the Jewish Studies faculty.
HIST-245 Modern Jewish Civilization (3)
JWST-205 Ancient and Medieval Jewish Civilization FA2 (3)
JWST-481 Senior Thesis in Jewish Studies I (3)
JWST-482 Senior Thesis in Jewish Studies II (3)

Jewish Literature (3 credit hours)

Complete one course from the following:

JWST-210 Voices of Modern Jewish Literature FA2 (3)
Other Jewish literature course approved by program director

Jewish Thought (3 credit hours)

Complete one course from the following:

HIST-419 Holocaust (3)
RELG-220 Religious Thought FA2 (3)
RELG-471 Topics in Jewish Religion (3)
Other Jewish thought course approved by program director

Jewish Life (3 credit hours)

Complete one course from the following:

HIST-419 Holocaust (3)
HIST-443 History of Israel (3)
HIST-473 American Jewish History (3)
JWST-491 Internship in Jewish Studies (1-6) (3 credit hours required)
SISU-319 Arab-Israeli Relations (3)
SOCY-340 Israeli Society (3)
Other contemporary Jewish life course approved by program director

Electives (12 credit hours)

Complete 12 credit hours from the following:

Note: Related courses from other university departments may be used with approval of the program director.

HIST-419 Holocaust (3)
HIST-443 History of Israel (3)
HIST-473 American Jewish History (3)
JWST-210 Voices of Modern Jewish Literature FA2 (3)
RELG-471 Topics in Jewish Religion (3)
SISU-319 Arab-Israeli Relations (3)
SOCY-340 Israeli Society (3)
Internship or independent study approved by program director

Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its combined bachelor’s/master’s programs. See Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees for more information.