Jewish Studies and Social Work
JTS offers a dual-degree program through the Gershon Kekst Graduate School of JTS and Columbia University’s School of Social Work (CSSW). This dual-degree program prepares students for professional leadership careers in the Jewish community. Students are admitted to both schools and attend them concurrently. Upon completion of the program, students receive both an MA in Jewish Studies from JTS and an MS in Social Work from Columbia.
Visionary faculty and Jewish communal professionals created the program more than 30 years ago with a goal still important today: to provide future Jewish communal professional leaders with the essential knowledge, skills, and experience to meet the challenge of building Jewish community in an increasingly complex world.
The curriculum at the Gershon Kekst Graduate School emphasizes an academic approach to Jewish studies. Students study Jewish history, tradition, and culture with JTS’s esteemed faculty. Through elective courses, students can take advantage of the full spectrum of study available at JTS.
Admissions
Prospective students interested in Jewish Professional Leadership must apply to both JTS and CSSW. Contact Admissions at gsadmissions@jtsa.edu to learn more.
Program Requirements
Students are required to take a minimum of 72 credits in total.
The JTS MA consists of 33 credits, of which 6 credits are transferred from Columbia University’s School of Social Work (CSSW). In order to fulfill the Kekst Graduate School and program requirements, a student may also need to take additional prerequisite Hebrew-language courses.
At CSSW, a minimum of 45 credits must be completed—depending on the method of concentration. Field work is an integral part of the total educational experience at CSSW, providing students opportunities to use the theoretical content learned in courses.
JTS Course Requirements
33 credits distributed as follows:
- MDS 5102: Classics of the Jewish Tradition (3 credits)
- BIB 5011: Introduction to Hebrew Bible (3 credits)
- RLC 5025: Introduction to Rabbinic Literature (3 credits)
- One course in American Jewish History (3 credits)
- One course on contemporary Jewish social issues (3 credits)
- One course in Jewish Ethics (3 credits)
- Three elective course approved by the advisor (9 credits)
Note: 6 credits are counted from the CSSW curriculum towards the JTS degree
Additional Requirements for Graduation
The social work program at CSSW provides an integrated course of study that offers a combined approach of classroom and field instruction. Depending on their particular interests, students are admitted into one of four different method areas (listed below).
Depending on the area of concentration, students must complete a minimum of 45 credits. In order to meet the requirements of any of these method areas, students must take the practice courses in the core sequence, four terms of field work, and the required background courses. Jewish Professional Leadership students are exempt from taking T660A: Human Behavior and Social Environment and the second-year field-practice core course requirements.
- Social Enterprise Administration: emphasizes building knowledge, skills, and values in administering programs
- Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming: emphasizes direct practice, community practice, movement from case to cause, development of innovative and responsive social programs, and program resources
- Policy Practice: emphasizes policy analysis and advocacy
- Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice: emphasizes assessment, intervention, and evaluation within a field of practice
Length of Study
The program can be completed in 2-3 years of full-time study. The length of time depends on the student’s requirements at JTS (often based on the level of Hebrew proficiency upon enrolling) and method of concentration at CSSW. The Admissions Office and Kekst School deans can advise on expected time to completion at the time of application, and the deans will determine a student’s expected trajectory at the time of admission.
