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Jewish Studies MA

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Jewish Studies MA (2024), click here

Gain expertise, develop your knowledge of Hebrew and prepare for a future career in research or across multiple industries through this degree. Taught from the only Hebrew and Jewish Studies department in the UK, the Jewish Studies MA at UCL enables you to choose from a selection of modules that cover all areas, periods and aspects of Jewish studies. You’ll graduate with skills ideal for academic careers or professional roles in education, the media and more.

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

£16,000

£8,000

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

£33,000

£16,500

Duration

1 calendar year

2 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2025

Applications accepted

Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025

Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

One year’s university-level study or equivalent of either Hebrew (Modern or Biblical) or Yiddish is required. Incoming MA students’ language skills will be assessed in a short placement test during induction week. Students without prior Hebrew or Yiddish language knowledge will be obliged to take one 30-credit module in Hebrew (Modern or Biblical) or Yiddish as part of the MA programme.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

All students are introduced to the disciplines, theories, methods, and practice of learning and research in Jewish Studies, and those without prior knowledge of Hebrew learn the language at elementary level. An extensive range of optional modules are available in Jewish history, literature, languages, and Jewish thought, from antiquity to the modern world.

Who this course is for

The MA is equally designed for:

students with a background in Jewish studies who wish to further their studies, with or without focus on a specific area
students with a background in other, relevant disciplines who wish to learn Hebrew and/or develop their knowledge of Jewish studies
The programme is particularly suited to students wishing to progress to doctoral research, or to pursue relevant professional careers.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

UCL Hebrew & Jewish Studies is unique in the UK and Europe, with an outstanding international reputation for its research, teaching, and expertise. We aim to provide a warm, friendly, and highly ambitious environment for study.

We offer a wide range of taught modules, with further options available in other departments at UCL and elsewhere in London. Our students are given individual attention and encouraged to pursue their own interests and research.

UCL is located in central London, within walking distance of the British Museum, the British Library, and other specialist libraries such as the Warburg Institute, the Wiener Holocaust Library, and SOAS, University of London. With its own specialist library in Jewish Studies, students have access to some of the best resources for academic research in the subject.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Career paths for our graduates are wide-ranging and include education at all levels, NGO activity, academic research and HE, the clergy, accountancy, IT, and much more.*

*Graduate Outcomes Survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2017 - 2022 cohorts.

Employability

The Jewish Studies MA at UCL enables you to choose from a selection of modules that cover all areas, periods and aspects of Jewish studies. You’ll graduate with skills ideal for academic careers or professional roles in education, the media and more.

Networking

Our location offers students access to a treasure trove of collections and research institutions, including the Senate House, the British Library, the Wiener Holocaust Library, the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Oxford and Cambridge University collections, and UCL's own collections dedicated to Jewish history and culture.

These institutions also offer a wide range of seminars, lecture series and other opportunities to exchange ideas. The events organised by the UCL Institute for Jewish Studies, the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies, and the Jewish Historical Society of England offer further opportunities to connect and network.

UCL Careers also offers a range of services, providing access to skills development, recruitment and networking events.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and other media such as occasional film viewings. Students will be expected to visit the major archives and libraries in the London area or beyond, depending on their specific areas of research and interest. The Third Term is devoted to revision sessions and the dissertation project.

A 15-credit module is equivalent to 150 hours of study and a 30-credit module is equivalent to 300 hours. This includes contact time, private study and the undertaking of coursework assignments.

Assessment is mainly through unseen examinations, coursework, long essays, and the dissertation.

For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 9-12 hours per week. Outside of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials, full-time students typically study the equivalent of a full-time job, using their remaining time for self-directed study and completing coursework assignments.’

In the First and Second Term, full-time students can typically expect between 12 and 15 contact hours per teaching week through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. In the Third Term and the summer period students will be completing their own dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors.

Modules

Jewish Studies is a dynamic area of study that can be approached from many disciplinary perspectives, including those of history, religious studies, literature, linguistics, and politics.

You are introduced to the disciplines, theories, methods, and practice of learning and research in Jewish Studies through the compulsory Jewish Studies MA Core Course. This course brings together MA students from different academic backgrounds and provides them with a coherent graduate-level introduction to this diverse and fascinating field. It consists of a weekly two-hour lecture, and tutorials. The programme begins by providing you with a theoretical overview of the main approaches to the field, presenting key concepts in history, politics, linguistics, and literature from a Jewish Studies perspective. It then moves on to examine topics within each of these disciplines in more depth.

You can then choose from a wide range of Jewish Studies modules including history (such as the Jews in Antiquity, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the Middle East), politics (such as the Arab-Israeli Conflict, US-Israeli Relations and the Peace Process), language (Biblical and Modern Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, Syriac, Ugaritic and Sumerian), literature (such as Israeli and Yiddish writing) and Jewish religious culture (such as Hasidism).

Those without prior knowledge of Hebrew or Yiddish learn the language at elementary level.

Finally, all students undertake a Master's dissertation which should be based in part on primary sources.

Part-time students are expected to complete the MA Core Course (HEBR0078) in the First Year of study. In case they need to join a beginners' course in Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew or Yiddish, this course also needs to be completed in the First Year.

Finally, all students undertake a Master's dissertation which should be based in part on primary sources and will be taken in the Second Year.

Compulsory modules

MA Dissertation

MA Jewish Studies Core Course

Optional modules

Introduction to Biblical Hebrew

Modern Hebrew for Beginners

Intermediate Biblical Hebrew

Moses Maimonides in Jewish Thought and History

Modern Hebrew (Lower Intermediate)

Modern Hebrew (Higher Intermediate)

Advanced Modern Hebrew

Biblical Aramaic

Syriac

Elementary Yiddish

Intermediate Yiddish

History of Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture

Ugaritic

European Jewry and the Holocaust

History of the Jews in Poland

Judaism and the Origins of Christianity

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Jewish Studies.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£16,000	£8,000
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£33,000	£16,500

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

Students may incur additional costs for research for the MA thesis. This will vary on a case-by-case basis and depending on the nature of the research undertaken.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

The department advertises the Hester Rothschild Scholarship (to the value of £800) to applicants to the MA Jewish Studies. It is awarded on a competitive basis and may assist with additional costs.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

why you want to study Jewish Studies at graduate level
why you want to study Jewish Studies at UCL
what particularly attracts you to this programme
how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme
where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This programme only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.