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.
- 3 courses in Hebrew (standard pathway) OR 6 courses in Hebrew (language pathway). For either pathway, students may start with HEBREW 111-1 or a higher course, based on placement testing.
- Introduction to Judaism (JWSH_ST 230-0) / (RELIGION 230-0) OR Jewish Studies: An Overview (JWSH_ST 210-0)
- Introduction to Hebrew Bible (JWSH_ST 220-0) / (RELIGION 220-0)
- 4 courses in one of the concentration options:
- Literature, Language, and Arts
- History and Social Sciences
- Religion and Philosophy
- Self-designed concentration (with approval of director of undergraduate studies)
- 3 electives (standard pathway) OR 1 elective (language pathway). Electives may be drawn from any concentration or additional courses listed on the program website, but exclude JWSH_ST 101-7 and JWSH_ST 101-8, and no more than 1 unit of JWSH_ST 399-0.
Course List Course Title GERMAN 234-1 Jews and Germans: An Intercultural History I GERMAN 234-2 Jews and Germans: An Intercultural History II JWSH_ST 242-0 Imagining Modern Jewish Culture in Yiddish and German or GERMAN 242-0 Imagining Modern Jewish Culture in Yiddish and German JWSH_ST 266-0 Introduction to Yiddish Culture: Images of the Shtetl or GERMAN 266-0 Introduction to Yiddish Culture: Images of the Shtetl JWSH_ST 278-0 Modern Hebrew Literature in Translation JWSH_ST 279-0 Modern Jewish Literature JWSH_ST 280-6 Topics in Israel Studies JWSH_ST 350-0 Representing the Holocaust in Literature and Film JWSH_ST 366-0 Yiddish Culture and the Holocaust or GERMAN 366-0 Yiddish Culture and the Holocaust JWSH_ST 379-0 Storytelling in American Jewish Literature JWSH_ST 396-0 Topics in Modern Jewish Culture Consult director of undergraduate studies or program website for additional options Course List Course Title JWSH_ST 203-1 Jewish History I: 750-1492 or HISTORY 203-1 Jewish History I: 750-1492 JWSH_ST 203-2 Jewish History II: Early Modern, 1492-1789 or HISTORY 203-2 Jewish History II: Early Modern, 1492-1789 JWSH_ST 203-3 Jewish History III: 1789-1948 or HISTORY 203-3 Jewish History III: 1789-1948 JWSH_ST 280-4 Topics in Israel Studies JWSH_ST 347-0 Christians and Jews or HISTORY 347-0 Christians and Jews JWSH_ST 348-1 Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia or HISTORY 348-1 Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia JWSH_ST 348-2 Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia or HISTORY 348-2 Jews in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia JWSH_ST 349-0 The Holocaust or HISTORY 349-0 The Holocaust or GERMAN 349-0 The Holocaust Consult director of undergraduate studies or program website for additional options Course List Course Title JWSH_ST 280-5 Topics in Israel Studies JWSH_ST 339-0 Topics in Judaism RELIGION 339-0 Topics in Judaism RELIGION 333-0 Judaism in the Modern World Consult director of undergraduate studies or program website for additional options
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.
- 6 Hebrew courses (language pathway) OR no Hebrew courses (standard pathway)
- 1 introductory course, either Introduction to Judaism (JWSH_ST 230-0) / (RELIGION 230-0) OR Jewish Studies: An Overview (JWSH_ST 210-0)
- 4 electives (language pathway) OR 6 electives (standard pathway)
- Eligible elective courses include Jewish Studies courses except for JWSH_ST 101-7 or JWSH_ST 101-8, and no more than 1 unit of JWSH_ST 399-0 Independent Study
- Other courses that may be applied as electives include courses that may count towards the major concentrations, and additional courses listed on the program website.
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:
- Any two courses from the following list:
- Third-year Hebrew. (A single quarter of third-year Hebrew will suffice to satisfy this requirement.)
- A course on a classical Jewish text in Hebrew in the Department of Religious Studies.
- A course on Hebrew literature read in Hebrew.
Students who complete two years of Yiddish language are exempted from this requirement and need only complete ten courses to complete the major.
- Religion 230: Introduction to Judaism.
- One course covering the biblical period.
- One course covering the rabbinic period.
- Two courses covering the post-rabbinic periods (viz., post-800 C.E.)
- Five other courses listed by Jewish Studies as counting for major or minor credit. (Third-year Hebrew and third-year Yiddish can count toward this requirement.)
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:
- A three-course survey of Jewish history providing a basis for advanced work and a unified view of the history of the Jews in the Western world. Included are:
- Introduction to Hebrew Bible or any course in the history of ancient Israel; one course that deals with the history or culture of the Jewish people in the Middle Ages;* and one course covering some aspect of modern Jewish history.*
- Two courses in Jewish religion chosen from the following:
- Introduction to Judaism, Introduction to Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Judaism in the Modern World, Jewish Thought in the 20th Century, The Rise of Rabbinic Judaism, Literary Expressions of Rabbinic Judaism, The Art of Biblical Narrative, and Topics in Judaism, or similar courses approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
- Two additional courses, chosen from among the following fields:
- Jewish literature (e.g., Modern Jewish Literature; Art of Biblical Narrative; Representation of the Holocaust in Literature and Film; Introduction to Eastern European Jewish Culture);
- Jewish philosophy (e.g., courses covering thinkers such as Maimonides, Rosenzweig, or Levinas, or similar courses approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies);
- Sociology or anthropology of Jewish communities.
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.
- Two courses conducted in Hebrew. This requirement will probably be satisfied by third year Hebrew (216-1, 216-2, or 216-3).
- One course on a classical (pre-modern) Hebrew text read in Hebrew. This course can be conducted in English, but the readings must be in Hebrew, not in translation. The course satisfying this requirement will typically be a course on biblical, rabbinic or mystical texts in the Department of Religious Studies, as RELIGION 329 or RELIGION 339.
- One course on modern Hebrew literature. This course can be conducted in English, and the readings may be in translation or Hebrew. It can cover any Hebrew literary texts from the Haskalah period through the contemporary period.
- One course on modern Israel. This course will not cover literature. Typically, it will be from the Department of History, Political Science, Sociology or Anthropology.
- One elective. The elective must be chosen from one of the following areas:
- Hebrew literature or Jewish literature, read in translation or in the original
- Israel Studies
- Courses in the Department of Linguistics relevant to Semitic languages and cultures
- Courses covering classical Hebrew texts in translation or in the original
- Courses conducted in Hebrew (e.g., third year Hebrew, 216-1, 216-2, or 216-3, or the fourth year Hebrew course, 316-1, 316-2, or 316-3 Advanced Topics in Hebrew Literature)