The Master's in Jewish Studies is built around two core components: 1. Doing Jewish Studies: this core course offers an in-depth introduction to academic Jewish Studies as a profession. Centering on concrete historical cases and sources, it is designed to help you place your area of specialisation within the broader field, both historically and theoretically. You will acquire a broad repertoire of scholarly approaches, which you will learn to apply in your own research trajectory. 2. Term paper: the term paper is connected to the Winterschool in Hebrew and Jewish Studies, which offers an interdisciplinary exploration of a selected theme through a combination of lectures, reading groups, site visits and ateliers.

The programme includes the International Winter School in Jewish Studies: one week with staff and students on a location somewhere else in Europe or Israel, together with students from the Open University of Israel and Sorbonne Université (Paris). Centred around a challenging theme, lectures, excursions and meetings with local Jewish communities and heritage institutions are offered

You can tailor the programme to your own interests through a broad range of electives. Each student’s trajectory is designed in close consultation with the programme director and study adviser. Some recent examples: East European Jews in the Cold War; Central texts in Jewish mysticism; Early modern Yiddish; Secular Judaism; Talmud havruta; Gender in the Hebrew Bible; Orthodoxy and LHGBTQ+; Israeli memory culture of the Shoah.

In the Master's thesis you report on research which you carry out under the supervision of an academic staff member involved in the programme. In the electives you can prepare for the topic you wish to explore and master the tools to tackle it.