Programs at the JTS Center for Pastoral Education
The Center addresses essential dimensions of pastoral competence through Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) programs.
Clinical Pastoral Education Units
Our Clinical Pastoral Education programs enable students to connect with vulnerable people in their shared humanity as they search for meaningful responses to the challenges of life and death. Students engage in small group seminars and receive individual supervision, deepening their pastoral identities, theology, and skills.
Seminary students, clergy, and professionals from all faith traditions and all Jewish movements are welcome to enroll in the center’s CPE programs.
JTS Rabbinical and Cantorial Students
As part of their training, students in JTS’s Rabbinical School and H. L. Miller Cantorial School complete a 400-hour unit of CPE and academic coursework in pastoral care and counseling. They also have the option of enrolling in the Certificate in Pastoral Care and Counseling.
- Prospective students: for more information contact us at infocpe@jtsa.edu.
- Current students: find more information on the JTS intranet.
“JTS offers an incredible CPE program. I learned a tremendous amount about the links between self-care and transformation, and the creation of a more caring and compassionate world.”
—Rabbi Annie Lewis, JTS alumna
The CPE Method
- CPE is grounded in the “reflective practitioner” model of learning, which helps students integrate their identities, theologies, and prior knowledge with new insights that emerge through the process of practicing pastoral care.
- The educational components of CPE include student presentations of verbatims—written reports of pastoral visits—as well as group seminars emphasizing attuned engagement with others, seminars on pastoral topics, and individual supervision.
Stipend Support
Students in Hospice and Elder Care CPE are eligible for a stipend granted to the Center through the Caring Commission of the UJA-Federation of New York. JTS rabbinical and cantorial students are also eligible to receive the Paul A. Kaplan Memorial Fellowship in Pastoral Care.
Accreditation
All units of CPE offered are accredited through the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). For comprehensive information about Clinical Pastoral Education, please go to ACPE.
Creating Caring Communities Through Bikkur Holim
This free, online, self-guided course for groups or individuals offers Jewish congregational leaders and volunteers an opportunity to become conversant with carefully selected resources and texts from Jewish tradition and contemporary scholarship in the caring professions.
Military Chaplaincy
The Center for Pastoral Education facilitates the process for students to pursue military chaplaincy training. The U.S. Military Chaplain Candidate Program gives rabbinical and cantorial students the opportunity to experience firsthand what military chaplaincy entails, preparing them to move into the position of military chaplain or reserve chaplain after ordination and to enrich their rabbinate or cantorial path. The Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) offers an array of resources to prospective, current, and former Jewish military chaplains.
