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The Jewish Studies program offers an interdisciplinary approach to exploring Jewish history, cultures, literature, and languages. Students can focus on various specializations such as Modern Jewish Experience, Biblical Israel and Early Judaism, Holocaust Studies, American Jewish Life, Jewish Arts and Literature, Zionist Movements, or Jewish-Christian Interactions.
This major facilitates comprehensive exploration of Jewish civilization across time, examining its historical development, cultural expressions, social structures, literary works, philosophical traditions, political movements, linguistic heritage, and religious practices. Designed as an inherently interdisciplinary field, Jewish Studies promotes analytical skills and international perspectives while offering flexible academic pathways. Degree requirements include completing thirty (30) credit hours, with a minimum of fifteen (15) at advanced 400-level courses. Hebrew language coursework is limited to eight (8) credits counting toward the degree total.
The majority of Penn State’s applications come from traditional, first-year students. The following types of students are considered first-year applicants (or freshman applicants, as some refer to them): Current high school student in his or her senior year; Student who has earned a high school diploma or a GED and has no post-secondary coursework; Student who has attempted 17 or fewer credits (semester hours) of college coursework at a regionally accredited college/university before attending Penn State; Current high school student who may have enrolled in another institution(s) before graduating from high school (dual enrollment); Student who may have attended Penn State on a nondegree basis.
English Language Proficiency
The following are ways in which you can satisfy the language proficiency requirement: TOEFL: A minimum TOEFL score of 80 on the Internet-based TOEFL or 550 on the old paper exam and a minimum of 20 in each section of the new paper exam (code #2660); IELTS: A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 on the academic test.