UCL Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies

Are you interested in Israel? the current situation in the Middle East? Modern Jewish history? Ancient Near Eastern civilisations? Hebrew and other Jewish languages at all levels? Welcome to Hebrew and Jewish Studies at UCL!

We are a relatively small (35 undergraduates, 35 graduates, 14 Faculty), very friendly, and extremely ambitious department. We aim to teach every aspect of Jewish culture to every type of student. Our range of Jewish Studies courses is the widest anywhere in Europe, and we encourage our students to sample the even wider selection of complementary courses available at UCL or elsewhere within the University of London.

International students who spend less than the full academic year at UCL can generally take either the first or the second term of a year-long course and be assessed on their work accordingly.

The majority of our students are Jewish (of every persuasion), but a substantial minority are not, and we make up a colourful international mix, with Israel, the US, the Netherlands and Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Russia, Bulgaria, Korea and Japan represented among the student body and Faculty.

We tend to teach in small seminar groups rather than formal, impersonal lectures, and we are happy to accommodate overseas students for either one of the teaching terms or both.

We are situated at the heart of Bloomsbury, in London's West End and within walking distance of some of the richest and most exciting cultural resources the world over (the British Museum, the British Library, Theatreland, Opera, Ballet, and much more).

International students take full part in all departmental activities; they are encouraged to integrate into College life, and to exploit the potential of UCL's central London location.

Professor Sacha Stern Head of the Department of Hebrew & Jewish Studies

The College houses the largest department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies in Europe, Link to the Jewish Historical Society of England and acts as host to both the Jewish Historical Society of England (JHSE) and the Institute of Jewish Studies (IJS), which organises annual public lecture series and international conferences on all aspects of Jewish civilisation as well as sponsoring research activities in this field. The Jewish Chronicle, the oldest English-language Jewish newspaper in the world, marked its 150th anniversary by endowing a new Chair in Jewish Studies at UCL.

The department is the only one in the UK to offer a full degree course and research supervision in Jewish Studies at the BA Honours, MA, MPhil and PhD levels in every subject of Hebrew and Jewish Studies - philology, history, and literature - covering virtually the entire chronological and geographical span of the Hebrew and Jewish civilisation from antiquity through the Middle Ages to the modern period.

The department of Hebrew & Jewish Studies is linked by special agreement to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, whose academic staff visit and teach in the department on a regular basis, and where all undergraduate students spend their third year.

University College London, founded in 1826 , was the first university to be established in England after Oxford and Cambridge, providing a progressive alternative to those institutions' social exclusivity, religious restrictions and academic constraints. Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778-1859), one of the leading figures in the struggle for Jewish emancipation in England, was among the principal founders of University College and the chief promoter of its Hebrew department. At his instigation, Hyman Hurwitz was appointed as the first Professor of Hebrew in 1828.

Hurwitz himself had no proper academic training and had acquired his Jewish scholarship by the traditional methods of Jewish education. He nevertheless ensured that the study of Hebrew at the College, in line with the liberal traditions on which the College had been founded, was from the start non-dogmatic, critical and free from the confines of any denominational framework. Perhaps the most eminent past holder of what became the Goldsmid chair in Hebrew was Solomon Schechter, elected in 1899, who later headed the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and established its international reputation.

In 1967 the Hebrew Department was extended to include, in addition to the established courses in Hebrew language and literature, a much wider range of courses, with an emphasis on Jewish history. It was renamed the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies and became the only university department in this country to offer such a comprehensive programme in Jewish Studies at the BA Honours, MA, MPhil and PhD levels.

We have been fortunate in receiving generous sponsorship from the private sector to meet the enthusiastic response to the courses we offer, such as from:

• The Sidney and Elizabeth Corob Readership in Modern Jewish History;
• the Jewish Chronicle Chair in Jewish Studies;
• the Catherine Lewis Readership in Modern Israeli Politics;
• the Benzion Margulies Lectureship in Yiddish Studies.

The department has also acquired, through the AHRC, The British Academy, and various other funding bodies, several post-doctoral Fellows working on research projects in various fields of Hebrew and Jewish studies.

The UCL Library houses a remarkable wealth of Hebrew, Yiddish and Judaica, featuring a number of special collections .

These collections include the Mocatta Library, Gaster Papers, the Lucien Wolf collection, and many other items. A number of neighbouring libraries with significant Hebrew and Judaica collections supplement the resources of the UCL Library. Within a short walking distance are the Library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Dr Williams's Library, the Institute of Archaeology and, primarily for research students, the Wartburg Institute Library and the British Library's Oriental Books and Manuscript Department. The Senate House Library, virtually on UCL's doorstep, is extremely useful as a back-up resource and for general reference works.

Student Resources

HJS houses the John Klier Library for students which includes over 1000 items, including core readings, articles, and videos. The department is located close to some of the world's leading museums, and is able to benefit from their resources. These include the British Museum, the Jewish Museum, and UCL's own renowned Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.

Subject Guide

• Guide to the Hebrew & Jewish Studies collection