Admissions

Only students who intend to work toward the Ph.D. degree are considered for admission to the Joint Doctoral Program. The JDP will consider applicants who have earned B.A. degrees, as well as those who hold M.A. degrees. Preparation for the program must include the following:

• at least six university-level courses in Jewish studies (not required if the applicant holds an M.A. in Jewish Studies or a related field);
• at least two years of university-level Hebrew language courses (i.e., completion of second-year college Hebrew or level dalet in a recognized Ulpan) or the equivalent (proficiency as a native speaker of Hebrew or prior extensive course work requiring proficiency in reading primary courses or critical academic texts).
• Proficiency in a language other than English and Hebrew
• An undergraduate degree in one of the following fields is encouraged
• Jewish Studies
• Near Eastern Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Literature
• Religious Studies
• Political Science
• Linguistics
• Sociology
• History
• Philosophy
• Anthropology

An undergraduate major in related fields may also be deemed acceptable at the discretion of the admissions committee.

Applications are considered only once a year for admission to the following fall semester. Applicants must also submit three letters of recommendation and a twenty-page writing sample.

All applicants from a country in which English is the official language are required to take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) within a five year period prior to submitting an application to the Joint Program. The GRE results are but one factor in determining acceptance to the Program, and they are critical in the determination of certain grants and fellowships granted on a competitive university wide basis. All applicants are required to take the GRE except for those for whom English is not a native language and who have spent less than one year in schools or universities where English is the language of instruction. Those students are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Applications must be submitted to both the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Theological Union (http://www.gtu.edu/admissions/applications/PhD) and the University of California (http://www.grad.berkeley.edu/prospective/index.shtml) by December 15th.

For more information on applying to Berkeley as a Graduate Student and for an online application, go to the following link:

Berkeley Grad Division and Online Application
For additional information please contact:

Program in Jewish Studies
250 Barrows Hall #1940
Berkeley, CA 94720-1940
http://jewishstudies.berkeley.edu/

Admissions Office
Graduate Theological Union
2400 Ridge Road
Berkeley, CA 94709
510.649.2460 or 800.826.4488
gtuadm@gtu.edu