Undergraduate Minor

The Undergraduate Minor in Jewish Studies was founded in 2005. The program is notable for its chronological and disciplinary scope, involving faculty from a large number of departments throughout the campus and the GTU. The aim of the minor is to cultivate the potential of budding Jewish studies scholars among the undergraduate population, some of whom may go on to graduate studies in Jewish studies or in related disciplines. Students who have a significant Jewish studies component in their undergraduate programs can draw together courses in the field and receive credit toward a minor. The program allows students to work closely with members of the exceptionally strong faculty, to be mentored by graduate students from the JDP, and to participate in the intellectual life of the broader Jewish studies community on campus.

The minor requires a total of five upper division courses, all take for a letter grade; one of these must be the “Introduction to Jewish Studies,” currently a two-unit course. At least three of the five courses must be taken at UC Berkeley; two may be taken at the GTU. Two of the courses must cover disparate historical periods from an existing “sequence” of historical survey courses (Biblical Period, Late Antiquity, Medieval and Early Modern Periods, and the Modern Period). The other two courses are electives in Jewish history, literature, film, or, if the student has the relevant advanced language background, in Hebrew literature or other areas of Jewish literature or culture (such as Yiddish). An official list of courses that count toward the minor is available each semester, but the formation of each individual program is generated by the student’s initiative and can encompass courses outside this list.

For an application form and list of eligible courses, please see application and courses.

510-642-4915 - Program in Jewish Studies - University of California, Berkeley - 250 Barrows Hall MC 1940 - Berkeley, CA 94720-1940