Graduate Program in Jewish Studies

at the Ashkenazium

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Master of Arts

Standard European MA accredited by Hungarian Ministry of Education

Taught in English

By top-notch professors from the US, Israel and Europe

Start any time

New seminar starts every 3 weeks

2 Years

20 courses, each 24 class hours

€4000 per annum

Scholarships available for students coming to Budapest

Individual Courses

€400 per seminar, €40 for auditors

Deepen and broaden your understanding of Judaism with the best scholars from the US, Israel & Europe

You know enough about Judaism to know that you need to know more. Whether your Jewish education ended too soon or is just getting started, in the meantime you have developed your intellectual and scholarly skills in other fields and you’re ready to tackle Jewish texts and ideas in a thoughtful, systematic, scholarly manner. The Ashkenazium curriculum will fill your knowledge base of Judaism from its biblical origins to its contemporary life. But no less importantly, the Ashkenazium professors will teach you how to study Jewish texts and teachings independently.

Learn

  • how to analyze difficult texts from the Bible, Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, Rabbinics, Machshevet Israel, Jewish literature and historically impactful texts written by Jewish intellectuals
  • about movements in Jewish history, classical Jewish themes, and essential systems of Jewish thought
  • how to write a graduate-level analytic essay
  • enough Hebrew and Yiddish to be able to read texts with a lexicon at hand & to hold yourself in a basic conversation

Use your degree

  • to acquire a teaching position in Jewish Studies
  • to solidify your CV in applying for any job in the Jewish community: agencies, newspapers, social media, museums, synagogues, youth organizations, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, etc.
  • to enable yourself as a writer and speaker on Judaism

Applications ongoing

Apply anytime, enroll anytime, join classes anytime Check the calendar to see when the next seminar begins

Three-step application process

  1. Fill out online application
  2. Interview with the dean
  3. Scan and send in ID, diploma(s) and transcripts

Questions? Please contact the Registrar by emailing chighel@ashkenazium.eu

Prof. ELLIOT R. WOLFSON
Rabbinics | Kabbalah
Prof. SUSANNAH HESCHEL
Intellectualism | History
Prof. HENRY ABRAMSON
History
Prof. PAUL FRANKS
Intellectualism | Philosophy
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MA in Jewish studies
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Tuition & Costs

For the MA Degree tuition is €4,000 per year (€8,000 total)

Fee per seminar course

For a single seminar the cost is €400 (either in person online). For Hungarian citizens, the tuition fees are waived.

Fee per seminar for online auditors

For auditing a single seminar the cost is €40. Online auditing excludes interactive participation, course assignment and credit

Finacial aid

A limited number of partial scholarships are available for students who demonstrate need and/or scholarly achievement in the past. No scholarships are available for online participation.

apply any time

Ongoing Application

You can apply and be accepted to the Ashkenazium program any time of year. You don’t need to start at the beginning of a semester either at the beginning of the year or in the middle of the year. Thanks to the fact that the entire MA curriculum is structured according to seminars each of which typically runs over a 9-day period, an incoming student starts her or his program with the next seminar course. As soon as the student has accumulated 120 credits, at whatever pace, she or he will have completed the MA degree requirements and will be awarded a diploma at the end of that semester.

apply any time

External Credits & Accelerated Degree

The policy of the Ashkenazium with regard to accepting credits from other comparable university Jewish Studies programs is markedly open. If the credits fall in line thematically with, and meet the scholarly standards of, the Ashkenazium curriculum, the Ashkenazium can accept external credits adding up to ⅔ (80 credits) of its MA program (120 credits). In principle, therefore, it is possible to complete the Ashkenazium MA program in less than 7 months.

Request more information

If you would like to receive a concise and informative fact sheet about the Ashkenazium MA programme, please submit your email below:

Frequently Asked Questions

Not necessarily in Jewish Studies. But in order to apply for the MA program, you do need to have a BA or an equivalent degree, preferably in the humanities, since reading texts and writing essays at an MA level are essential skills.
By no means. Everyone is welcome.
No. Knowledge of Hebrew is an asset for our studies, but not a prerequisite.
Yes, part of the MA curriculum is Hebrew classes, taught at various levels, from beginner’s upward.
Not quite. The courses deal with all aspects of Judaism and with Jews from biblical times and from across the world. Nonetheless, there is a certain weight put on Ashkenazi studies.
€4,000 per year.
Yes, financial aid (up to €2,000 per year) is available for international students who can demonstrate scholarly excellence and/or financial need. The amount of aid will be determined in accordance with these two factors.
To do the MA degree program, you do need to attend classes in person in Budapest. This is not necessary for anyone doing a single course.
As many as you like so long as you are not enrolled in the MA degree program.
Yes, assuming that the credits fall in line thematically with, and meet the scholarly standards of, the Ashkenazium curriculum. If these two criteria are met, the Ashkenazium can accept external credits constituting up to ⅔ (80 credits) of its MA program. The acceptability and value of the external credits will be assessed in each case by the Dean.
You do indeed, and the Ashkenazium staff will take care of this for you. The process for acquiring a Student Visa will be initiated after you have arrived in Budapest.
Not yet. The Ashkenazium plans to have a dormitory in the future. In the meantime, please see the next question …
Yes, the Ashkenazium staff will help you find convenient and comfortable living arrangements in Budapest before you arrive. Apartments in Budapest are not hard to find, and they are relatively inexpensive.
On average, about 700€ per month for a single student. This includes room, board and even Netflix.
Yes, depending on the year and the number of students registered. Trips to Vienna and Prague are our first priority. Moreover, Jewish life in Budapest is quite vibrant, especially during Shabbat and the Holy Days, and the Ashkenazium students are all warmly invited to enjoy the vibrancy.
Yes, there are 4 glatt kosher restaurants in Budapest and 3 kosher minimarkets.
Yes, there are many active synagogues throughout Budapest with daily minyanim.
The Ashkenazium MA is a standard European MA degree accredited by the Hungarian Ministry of Education, officially issued through the Milton Friedman University in Budapest. It is like a comparable degree granted by any other European university. If a US university accepts an MA degree from Oxford or the Sorbonne, there is no legal reason it should not accept the same from the Ashkenazium.
The same question, of course, might be asked about any MA in the humanities. The most obvious answer is: Jewish education. Jobs for teachers of Judaism can be found in various venues, from Jewish schools, to synagogues, to courses offered by Jewish community institutions. Besides positions in Jewish education, all kinds of jobs exist in Jewish communities around the world in Jewish agencies, newspapers, social media, museums, synagogues, youth organizations, healthcare organizations, etc.. Anyone who applies for a job in such an institution who can show in her or his CV that he possesses an MA degree in Jewish Studies will have an obvious advantage over someone who has no such degree or only an BA degree.