Graduate Programs in
Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies
 

Master of Arts in Jewish Studies

Faculty associated with the Program in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies offer instruction and direct graduate fields in the areas of Jewish history, Hebrew and comparative literature, and the study of Judaism in such departments as History, Comparative Literature, and Asian Languages and Literatures.

The Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies Program offers instruction leading to the M.A. degree in Jewish Studies. Applicants to the M.A. program must show proficiency in Hebrew language equivalent to at least one to two years of college study. Students without the equivalent of third-year college Hebrew will be required to take it as part of their studies in the M.A. degree program at Washington University. The general admissions standards established by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences must also be fulfilled for acceptance.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS INCLUDE:

1. A minimum of 30 units of graduate credit, which may include up to 6 units transferred from another institution. No more than 9 units of credit may be earned in summer school and University College.

2. Ability to use Hebrew source material and scholarly articles, to be demonstrated in a research seminar offered for graduate students in the program, in which a major research paper will be written.

3.  A second major research paper to be written either in a second seminar or in an independent study to be supervised by one of the faculty associated with the program.

4. Students have the option of writing a Master Thesis in place of the two major research papers. Guidelines issued by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences can be found in PDF form here.

COURSES IN JEWISH HISTORY
•  JNE 341, The Jewish People in America
•  JNE 405, Diaspora in Jewish and Islamic Experience
•  JNE 416, Messianic Movements and Ideas in Jewish History
•  JNE 4442, The Jewish Experience in Eastern Europe
•  JNE 485-87, Topics in Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Studies
•  JNE 492, Seminar in Jewish and Near Eastern Studies: Anti-Semitism
•  JNE 502, Proseminar in European Jewish History

COURSES IN JEWISH THOUGHT
•  JNE 444, The Mystical Tradition in Judaism

COURSES IN BIBLICAL STUDIES
•  JNE 400, Guided Readings in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions
•  JNE 4020, Jerusalem, the Holy City
•  JNE 433, Archaeology of the Ancient Near East
•  JNE 4331, Archaic States: Mesopotamia and Egypt
•  JNE 487, Readings in Midrash
•  JNE 4983, Guided Readings in Akkadian
•  JNE 4984, Guided Readings in Aramaic
•  JNE 5122, From Country to Heavy Metal: Ancient Civilizations of the Old World
•  JNE 586, Topics in Biblical Hebrew Texts: Biblical Law
•  JNE 586, Topics in Biblical Hebrew Texts: The Book of Isaiah
•  JNE 586, Topics in Biblical Hebrew Texts: Jeremiah
•  JNE 586, Topics in Biblical Hebrew Texts: King David and His Court
•  JNE 586, Topics in Biblical Hebrew Texts: The Stories about Abraham & Sarah

COURSES IN LITERATURE
•  JNE 406, Spanish Symbiosis: Christians, Jews, and Muslims
•  JNE 420, Topics in Modern Hebrew Literature
•  JNE 4741, Topics in Jewish Literature: Exile, Jewish Historical Experience
      and Literary Imagination
•  JNE 500, Independent Work in Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Studies
•  JNE 5523, Topics in Literature: Red, White, and Bluish: Blacks and Jews in
      American Literature
•  JNE 548, Medieval Jewish Travelogues, Chronicles, and Biographies

COURSES IN RABBINICS
•  JNE 440, Topics in Rabbinic Texts: Midrash
•  JNE 440, Topics in Rabbinic Texts: Mishnah and Gemara

SEMINAR
•  JNE 4020, Jerusalem, the Holy City
•  JNE 405, Diaspora in Jewish and Islamic Experience
•  JNE 4060, Convivencia or Reconquista? Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Medieval Iberia
•  JNE 501, Interdisciplinary Seminar in Jewish Studies

Other appropriate advanced, graduate-level related courses in anthropology, history, various languages and literatures, philosophy, and political science.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS
Students are expected to maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in courses approved for their degree programs. Students with scholarship grants and/or stipend awards are expected to maintain a significantly higher grade point average.

APPLICANTS

  • Applicants must submit official transcripts of all previous postsecondary work
  • GRE scores
  • Three letters of reference,
  • A 500-word essay describing the applicant's interest in the program (part of the Graduate School application)
  • An example of written work, typically a 12-25 page paper written on a relevant topic
  • Completed Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application form.
  • Applicants must have completed at least one to two years of modern Hebrew at the university level.

Full information on the faculty and curriculum associated with the program is contained in "A Guide to Programs in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies," available from Washington University, Campus Box 1121, telephone: (314) 935-8567, email: jines@artsci.wustl.edu

   
       
   

Washington University in St. Louis
Program in Jewish, Islamic and Near Eastern Studies
Campus Box 1121; One Brookings Drive; St. Louis, MO 63130-4899