Welcome to the Meyerhoff
Center for Jewish Studies

The Meyerhoff Center is one of the largest of its kind in the country and is the academic home of twelve core faculty members, as well as affiliate faculty, hosting the academic programs in Jewish Studies, Israel Studies, and Religious Studies. The Center has a threefold mission: (a) to foster the research in Jewish Studies and related fields; (b) to train students in the fields of Jewish Studies, Israel Studies, and Religious Studies at the Graduate and Undergraduate levels; and (b) to serve as a resource to the wider community through public programs, library collections, and special events.

Our faculty have a range of expertise, ranging from the Bible to present-day Israel, and covering Hebrew language and literature, Jewish history, Bible, rabbinics, Jewish philosophy, and Yiddish language and literature. Their interests extend to contemporary American religions, Middle East politics and society, and digital humanities. The Center has contributed substantially to the building of the University's library collections, which now houses an excellent research collection in Jewish Studies.

Our academic programs include sixty Jewish Studies majors, forty Jewish Studies minors, forty Religious Studies minors, and twelve Israel Studies minors. In addition, a small and select group of graduate students study in our MA in Jewish Studies (especially our Morningstar track for Hebrew Language Education), and in PhD programs in other units. Our programs of study combine intensive languages, close contact with faculty, intellectual rigor, and interdisciplinary breadth.