Jewish Studies Minor

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Admission Criteria

Current UB students seeking admission to the Jewish Studies minor should complete the College of Arts and Sciences Major/Minor Change Request Form.

Course Requirements

Jewish Studies Core (18 credits)

JDS 103LEC - Introduction to Judaism Credits: 3
JDS 329LEC - Medieval Judaism Credits: 3
Four JDS electives or courses from other departments with approved Jewish Studies content (2 electives must be at the 300/400 level)

Notes

Minimum grade of C+ in JDS 103
Two other courses in Jewish Studies (may include Hebrew) with a grade of C or better.
If declaring minor a year in advance before planned graduation, please see your Department academic advisor about JDS 103 and JDS 329 requirements
UB Seminar courses cannot count towards minor requirements.

Total Credits Required for Minor: 18

Total Credit Hours Required represents the minimum credits needed to complete this program, and may vary based on a number of circumstances. This chart should not be used for financial aid purposes.

Academic Requirements

Minimum grade of C+ in JDS 103 required

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of all requirements, the student will have knowledge to:

Develop critical thinking and abilities to read and analyze complex written texts – a set of skills to help become more competitive on professional job markets.
Discuss Judaism in a wide range of interdisciplinary contexts, including philosophy, history, literature, ethics, language, comparative religion, and critical theory.
Understand and apply key concepts, theories, and methods in the academic study of Judaism.
Conduct research: pose questions, obtain evidence, analyze sources, assess information, and construct an argument.
Understand critical methods of inquiry and use critical reading skills.
Hone effective written communication skills in academic writing: to engage primary and secondary sources, to access critically the methods these sources use, and to express a point of view on a subject and support it with evidence.
Cultivate oral communication: present research findings clearly, analyze primary and secondary sources in class discussion.
Engage in thinking collectively within a group through group projects, including but not limited to using theatrical, cinematic and other ways of expression to develop and display an ability to think critically and independently about a problem at hand.
Develop language skills in modern Hebrew for conversation and to read classical and modern Hebrew texts in their original language (if taking Hebrew language for four semesters).