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Major and Minor

To discuss declaring a major or minor in Jewish Studies or Hebrew Studies please contact Assistant Director of Jewish Studies, Professor Maayan Hilel, maayan.hilel@northwestern.edu

NEW Requirements for the major*

*Applies for students who begin a Jewish Studies minor or major beginning in fall 2025.

Number of units required to complete the major depends on whether the student chooses the standard pathway or the language pathway.

Students who complete two years of Hebrew language at Northwestern fulfill the major requirements with only seven additional courses.

At least 4 courses must be at the 300-level.

NEW Requirements for the Minor*

*Applies for students who begin a Jewish Studies minor or major beginning in fall 2025.

Number of units required to complete the minor depends on whether the student chooses the standard pathway or the language pathway.

Students who complete two years of Hebrew at Northwestern fulfill the minor with only five additional courses.

OLD Requirements for the major**

**Applies for students who declared a Jewish Studies minor or major before fall 2025.

Prerequisite: Students must complete second-year Hebrew or place out of second-year Hebrew before completing the major.

Courses: The major in Jewish Studies will require the successful completion of twelve courses, at least six of which must be at the 300 level. These courses must include:

Of these twelve courses, at least one must be in the Department of History and one in a department that focuses on the study of literature.

The Jewish Studies major was approved by the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in October 2008.

OLD Requirements for the Minor**

**Applies for students who declared a Jewish Studies minor or major before fall 2025.

The minor in Jewish studies requires the successful completion of seven courses in three general areas:

For students who also satisfactorily complete two years of language study in Hebrew or Yiddish, requirements for the minor are the successful completion of five courses, three in the first area and one each in the second and third areas. First and second year language courses do not count towards the minor. Appropriate third year language courses may be counted.

*Courses that count towards the Jewish Studies Minor can be found on our quarterly course page or yearly course planners. To inquire about other courses, please contact the Director of Jewish Studies.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE HEBREW STUDIES MINOR

The Minor in Hebrew Studies focuses on the Hebrew literary tradition and on Hebrew language skills. Students are required to complete or place out of second-year Hebrew (Hebrew 121-1, 2, 3) and to successfully complete six courses, at least two of which must be at the 300 level. These courses must come from the categories specified below, and a list of the courses that satisfy the requirements under each category is available from the Crown Center.