Jewish Communal Services (M.A.)

Why Jewish Communal Services?

The Master of Arts in Jewish communal services is a program that prepares students for careers as professional leaders for the Jewish community. Graduates enter careers in a variety of settings in non-profit organizations. The program utilizes a multi-dimensional curriculum that combines courses in leadership and communal service with Judaic studies and practical field experience. Core components include six graduate Jewish studies courses, six professional courses, supervised internship, and practicum seminar. All students are required to complete internships in the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area.

Graduates of the program typically work in a service based agency within the Jewish community. Many alumni hold positions locally and nationally with Jewish Federations, Hillel, Jewish Community Centers, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Jewish hospitals, Jewish Volunteer Connections, various Jewish camps, social service agencies and synagogues.

Why Towson University?

There is simply no better place to pursue a graduate degree in Judaic Studies. Towson University is ideally located just minutes from Baltimore City, Pikesville, Owings Mills, and Reisterstown. Students seeking internship and employment opportunities benefit from a vast local network of Jewish communal organizations, non-profit agencies, synagogues, community centers and day schools. Students can also look forward to becoming part of a well-organized community, enriched by the agencies of the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.

Towson University’s Baltimore Hebrew Institute represents our commitment to providing support for the education and training of Jewish educators, scholars and communal professionals who exemplify excellence in their chosen fields. Through Towson’s BHI, students enrolled in Judaic Studies graduate programs have access to a variety of special programs and social activities, as well as scholarship and fellowship opportunities.

Faculty

The shining strength of the Master of Arts in Jewish communal services is its eminent faculty. The roster of professors includes prominent educators with credentials in a dozen key areas of Jewish scholarship, as well as authors of notable works about the politics of Israel and the Middle East; Jewish literature; Jewish philosophy; Jewish mysticism; the American Jewish community; American Jewish history; biblical and rabbinic texts; and the archaeology of Israel. Faculty members coordinate archaeological excavations in Israel, lecture worldwide, and are invited to conferences and public discussions of the major challenges facing Israel, American Jewry, and Jews throughout the world.