YU Launches New Undergraduate Degree Programs in Israel Set for Fall 2024
Yeshiva University, in partnership with Bar-Ilan and Tel Aviv universities, is launching a new Israel-based undergraduate program for the fall 2024 semester geared towards new students.
The four-year program, which has been in the works for several years, will provide students with one of two YU degrees which will be accredited in Israel. The four years consist of one year at a YU-affiliated yeshiva or seminary and three years on one of YU’s Israeli campuses, the last of which will consist of courses fully facilitated by YU. The fourth year also requires a summer semester on campus at YU in New York, which will be included in the $36,000/year tuition, which also covers housing and all course materials. All courses will be conducted in English.
“This new initiative will provide new and exciting options for those who want to live in Israel, while also strengthening Yeshiva University's deep bond with Israel for the long term,” Professor Yaffa Zilbershats, the director of the program, told The Commentator. “It will also present additional avenues for collaboration and expand YU's footprint across the Israeli landscape.”
The two degrees offered include Psychology and Multidisciplinary Jewish Studies with Bar-Ilan and Business Administration and Management through the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University. Both programs will include Judaic studies. Zilbershats hopes to offer more degrees as the program grows in the coming years.
The Psychology and Multidisciplinary Jewish Studies track consists of twice-weekly on-campus classes at BIU together with online classes, and the Business Administration and Management degree will consist of online courses together with weekly workshops, internships and meetings with leading executives and academics at TAU.
The men will be housed at YU’s Gruss Institute and the women’s campus will be located at YU’s Chorev L’Banot Campus, both in Jerusalem. The Torah studies will follow a similar structure to YU in New York, with multiple shiur options. The men’s Torah learning program also consists of additional options for advanced students, on top of the standard seder in the beit midrash and shiur. The advanced Gemara shiur is being delivered by Rabbi Assaf Bednarsh, a rosh yeshiva of RIETS who has been teaching at the Gruss Institute since 2004. The women’s Torah studies features classes in Tanach, Halacha and Jewish thought, as well as a beit midrash option with chavruta learning. There will be Shabbat programming and a campus couple to help cultivate a vibrant communal atmosphere, as well as a beit midrash open 24/7 at each campus.
YU in Israel will offer ulpan for those interested in learning Hebrew, as well as tiyulim (trips) exploring Israel, access to YU’s alumni in Israel network and a hands-on experience with Israeli society and individuals. Students will also have access to student guidance through the Shevet Glaubach Center for Career Strategy and Professional Development.
This is not the first Israel-based program YU has launched. In 2017 YU introduced a 5-year dual-degree program with Tel Aviv University for electrical engineering, and in 2022 YU launched an Israel-based program for undergraduate and graduate students in the Sy Syms School of Business. Both programs were ultimately discontinued. The new program, however, is the first undergraduate degree with four full years in Israel that YU has offered.
“We are excited to offer this unique educational opportunity,” Zilbershats said. “Yeshiva University in Israel reinforces our global role as the Flagship Jewish University, enabling our students to not only lead lives of great personal and professional success but also lives of impact and meaning, transforming our world for the better.”
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Photo Caption: YU’s Gruss Campus in Jerusalem
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University
