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Department of Humanities Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Home » Jewish Studies » JWST Degree Options & Requirements

JWST Degree Options & Requirements

Jewish Studies explores the texts, histories, cultures, sociologies, languages, literatures and fine arts of the Jewish people from biblical times to the present. It also examines Jewish interactions with non-Jews over the ages, both cooperative and antagonistic, elements of cultural symbiosis, evolving attitudes toward and images of Jews within various non-Jewish cultures and the history of antisemitism, including the Holocaust.

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Bachelor’s (BA)

Students will take at least 30 credits in Jewish Studies, including:

  • AP/HUMA 1880 6.00 The Jewish Experience: Symbiosis and Rejection
  • AP/HUMA 3831 3.00 Torah and Tradition: Jewish Religious Expressions from Antiquity to the Present

A minimum of 12 credits in Hebrew (Note: students with proven proficiency in Hebrew will complete 12 credits from the list of courses where the language of instruction and/or texts are in Hebrew or in another Jewish language such as Yiddish.).

A minimum of 9 credits (in addition to HUMA 3831) at the 3000 level from at least two of the six categories listed below:

  • Antiquity to the Middle Ages
  • Early Modern to Contemporary Studies
  • Literature, Culture and the Arts
  • History and Social Sciences
  • Classical Jewish Texts
  • Languages

Note: Students cannot count HUMA 1880 both for major credit and for General Education credit.

Checklists:

Honours BA

To meet program requirements, all Foundations courses will count as 6 credits towards the major.

Students will take will take at least 42 credits in Jewish Studies including:

  • AP/HUMA 1880 6.00 The Jewish Experience: Symbiosis and Rejection
  • AP/HUMA 3831 3.00 Torah and Tradition: Jewish Religious Expressions from Antiquity to the Present

A minimum of 12 credits in Hebrew (Note: Students with proven proficiency in Hebrew will complete 12 credits from the list of courses where the language of instruction and/or texts are in Hebrew or in another Jewish language such as Yiddish);

A minimum of 12 credits at the 4000-level

Students must take six credits from each of the six categories listed below:

  • Antiquity to the Middle Ages
  • Early Modern to Contemporary Studies
  • Literature, Culture and the Arts
  • History and Social Sciences
  • Classical Jewish Texts
  • Languages

Note: Jewish Studies courses listed under more than one of the categories noted above may satisfy more than one of the requirements noted above. (Example: AP/HIST 4100 6.00 may count towards the required 12 credits at the 4000-level as well as the required 6 credits in both the Antiquity to the Middle Ages category and the History and Social Sciences category).

Checklists:

Specialized Honours BA

Graduation requirement: students must successfully complete (pass) at least 120 credits which meet the Faculty’s degree and program requirements with a cumulative grade point average of at least 5.00.

General education: a minimum of 21 general education credits as follows:

  • 6.00 credits in natural science (NATS)
  • a 9.00 credit approved general education course in the social science or humanities categories
  • a 6.00 credit approved general education course in the opposite category to the 9.00 credit course in social science or humanities already taken

Major credits: students will take at least 57 credits in Jewish studies including:

  • AP/HUMA 1880 6.00 (cross-listed to: HIST 1190 6.00);
  • AP/HUMA 3831 3.00;
  • a minimum of 18 credits in Hebrew (Note: students with proven proficiency in Hebrew will complete 18 credits from the list of courses where the language of instruction and/or texts are in Hebrew or in another Jewish language, for example, Yiddish.);
  • a minimum of 18 credits at the 4000 level.

Students must take six credits from each of the five categories listed below:

  • Antiquity to the Middle Ages
  • Early Modern to Contemporary Studies
  • Literature, Culture and the Arts
  • History and Social Sciences
  • Classical Jewish Texts
  • Upper-level credits: at least 36 credits at the 3000 or 4000 level, including at least 18 credits at the 4000 level.

Credits outside the major: at least 18 credits.

Note: Jewish studies courses that are listed under more than one of the categories noted above may satisfy more than one of the requirements noted above. (Example: AP/HIST 4100 6.00 may count towards the required 18 credits at the 4000 level as well as the required six credits in both the Antiquity to the Middle Ages category, and the History and Social Sciences category.)

Checklists:

Honours Double Major BA

To meet program requirements, all Foundations courses will count as 6 credits towards the major.

The Honours BA program may be pursued jointly with any other Honours Bachelor’s degree program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, or with approved Major degree programs in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Science or the Lassonde School of Engineering. For further details on requirements, see the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.

HONOURS (DOUBLE MAJOR) INTERDISCIPLINARY BA PROGRAMS

To meet program requirements, all Foundations courses will count as 6 credits towards the major.

Jewish Studies may be linked with any Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. Students must take as least 42 credits in Jewish Studies and at least 36 credits in the interdisciplinary program. Courses taken to meet Jewish Studies requirements cannot also be used to meet the requirements of the interdisciplinary program. Students in these interdisciplinary programs must take a total of as least 18 credits at the 4000-level including at least 12 credits in Jewish Studies and 6 credits in the interdisciplinary program. For further details of requirements, see the listings for specific Honours (Double Major) Interdisciplinary BA Programs.

Students will take will take at least 42 credits in Jewish Studies including:

  • AP/HUMA 1880 6.00 The Jewish Experience: Symbiosis and Rejection
  • AP/HUMA 3831 3.00 Torah and Tradition: Jewish Religious Expressions from Antiquity to the Present

A minimum of 12 credits in Hebrew (Note: Students with proven proficiency in Hebrew will complete 12 credits from the list of courses where the language of instruction and/or texts are in Hebrew or in another Jewish language such as Yiddish);

A minimum of 12 credits at the 4000-level

Students must take 6 credits from each of the six categories listed below:

  • Antiquity to the Middle Ages
  • Early Modern to Contemporary Studies
  • Literature, Culture and the Arts
  • History and Social Sciences
  • Classical Jewish Texts
  • Languages

Note: Jewish Studies courses listed under more than one of the categories noted above may satisfy more than one of the requirements noted above. (Example: AP/HIST 4100 6.00 may count towards the required 12 credits at the 4000-level as well as the required 6 credits in both the Antiquity to the Middle Ages category, and the History and Social Sciences category).

NOTE: The two core courses of HUMA 1880 AND HUMA 3831 do not meet requirements in any of these five categories. As such, they do not appear in these lists.

Honours Minor BA

To meet meeting program requirements, all Foundations courses will count as 6 credits towards the major.

The Honours BA program may be pursued jointly with any Honours Minor Bachelor’s degree program in the Faculties of Arts, Environmental Studies, Fine Arts, or with approved Minor degree programs in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Science or the Lassonde School of Engineering. For further details of requirements, see the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.

The Jewish Studies Minor

The Jewish Studies minor enables students from other departments to complement their majors with an increased knowledge and understanding of major events and central ideas that have shaped the development of Jewish civilization and culture.

HONOURS (MINOR) BA PROGRAM

To meet program requirements, all Foundations courses will count as 6 credits towards the major.

The Honours Minor must be pursued jointly with an Honours BA program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

Students will take at least 33 credits in Jewish Studies, including:

  • AP/HUMA 1880 6.00 The Jewish Experience: Symbiosis and Rejection
  • AP/HUMA 3831 3.00 Torah and Tradition: Jewish Religious Expressions from Antiquity to the Present

24 additional credits in Jewish Studies

Note: at least six credits in the minor at the 4000 level.

Note: Faculty legislation requires that, in order to obtain an Honours BA (120 credits), students must take at total of at least 18 credits at the 4000-level including as least 12 credits at the 4000-level in each Honours Major or Specialized Honours Major.