Jewish Studies and Israel Studies at Maryland

Together the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center and Program for Jewish Studies and the Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies provide research and teaching that is daring, innovative, and complex. Between them, the two centers host eleven full-time faculty members whose teaching spans the Late Bronze Age to the present, and disciplines including history, cultural and film studies, and philosophy. Every year, about a thousand students take our courses.

Meyerhoff Center

Formally, established in 1983 is one of the largest Jewish Studies programs in the North America. Whether it is the history of medieval thought, the question "Is Judaism a Religion," or computational models models and tools for studying texts, our faculty innovate every day in and out of the classroom through pedagogy and cutting edge research. Our classes allow students to explore the ancient Mediterranean to modern Zionism and everything in between.

Gildenhorn Institute

Since its founding in 2006, the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies has been dedicated to the study of and research on Israel in all its variety, but also to presenting political, cultural and general interest programs featuring Israel and its place in the Middle East. A leading principle has been to go "beyond the conflict" to explore the intellectual history of Zionism, the ideologies of fighters for and against the Jewish State, impacts on the US domestic and foreign policy, and self representation in literature, film, and comic books. The issues we cover are complex and sometimes divisive, and we seek to create an environment that is rigorous, empathetic, and challenging.

Academic Programs

Major in Religions of the Ancient Middle East

Minor in Religious Studies

Major in Jewish Studies

Minor in Jewish Studies

Minor in Israel Studies

Minor in Hebrew