Yeshiva University

About Yeshiva University 

Now in its second century, Yeshiva University is the oldest and most comprehensive educational institution under Jewish auspices in America. It is an independent university that ranks among the nation's leading academic research institutions and, reflecting the time-honored tradition of Torah Umadda, provides the highest quality Jewish and secular education of any Jewish university in the world. Since its inception the University has been dedicated to melding the ancient traditions of Jewish law and life with the heritage of Western civilization, and each year we celebrate as future leaders make YU their home.

In September 2003, Richard M. Joel was inaugurated as Yeshiva University's fourth president, succeeding Norman Lamm, who had held the office since 1976. President Joel's two other predecessors were Bernard Revel, president from 1915 to 1940, and Samuel Belkin, who served from 1943 to 1975.  Ari Berman was elected the fifth president of YU in November 2016 and will take office in July 2017. 

Our students study at our four campuses: Wilf Campus (500 West 185th Street), Israel Henry Beren Campus (245 Lexington Avenue) and Brookdale Center (55 Fifth Avenue) in Manhattan, and the Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus in the Bronx (Eastchester Road and Morris Park Avenue). The undergraduate schools offer a unique dual curriculum comprising Jewish studies and liberal arts and sciences courses, and our graduate and affiliate schools offer tremendous opportunities for graduate and professional studies. While part of a multifaceted University community, each school retains the intimate character of a smaller institution.

For students who choose to begin their YU education in Israel, the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program is the formal arrangement between Yeshiva University and yeshivot and seminaries in Israel. This program provides structure, support and guidance for the more than 600 young men and women who study in Israel each year. We encourage you to explore this site and learn about all the exciting ways Yeshiva University is bringing wisdom to life.

Some of the world's leading minds make their home in Yeshiva University's classrooms. Beyond a commitment to research and writing, YU faculty members and Roshei Yeshiva [professors of Talmud] engage and inspire their students, drawing them into a continuing pursuit of knowledge and wisdom. They value close interactions with their students and the opportunity to engage with students outside the classroom setting, whether it's meeting informally to continue a discussion started in the classroom or collaborating in the laboratory on new research.

• Stern College for Women

  Many things make Stern College for Women unique: Our tradition of Torah Umadda, reflecting a commitment to timeless values and cutting-edge scholarship; our nurturing campus life, empowering each student to claim her own voice and forge her own path; and our enviable record of success, with alumnae going on to top graduate programs and outstanding careers. The college, founded in 1954 and endowed by the late Max Stern, provides academic majors in 19 arts and sciences disciplines, all leading to the Bachelor of Art degree. In 2009, we began offering an MA in biblical and Talmudic interpretation (our Graduate Program of Advanced Talmudic Studies, known as GPATS). This degree program provides advanced students with an opportunity to study in a full-day traditional beit midrash [study hall] environment

  We take pride in the richness of our curriculum, with excellence in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and are especially well known for educating women in the sciences and mathematics.

• Sy Syms School of Business

  Established in 1987 through the support of entrepreneur Sy Syms to add a new dimension in undergraduate education at Yeshiva University, Sy Syms School of Business is the University's business school for men and women. We offer the unique combination of a complete business curriculum along with an intensive Jewish studies component.

  In combination with liberal arts and sciences and Jewish studies at YU's Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women, we provide a comprehensive education in business fundamentals and practice with concentrations in accounting (CPA), finance, management, information systems and marketing, awarding the BS degree as well as an MS in accounting degree and an Executive MBA degree. Our graduates have taken prominent positions in business and industry.

• Yeshiva College

  Founded in 1928 as the undergraduate college of liberal arts and science for men of Yeshiva University, Yeshiva College embodies a unique mission: to combine Jewish learning with the study of Western and worldwide culture. Our students pursue a rigorous dual education program that combines liberal arts and sciences and preprofessional studies with the study of Torah and Jewish heritage. We provide academic majors in multiple disciplines, all leading to the BA degree. Combined and joint programs are also available with the University's graduate and professional schools as well as with other leading colleges and universities.

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine

  Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a part of Montefiore, is a premier, research-intensive medical school dedicated to innovative biomedical investigation and to the development of ethical and compassionate physicians and scientists. Inspired by the words of our namesake, we have from our inception welcomed students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds who strive to enhance human health in the community and beyond. This is an attribute in which Albert Einstein took great pride when consenting to the use of his name in conjunction with the medical school.

  At the core of the Einstein-Montefiore mission is the pursuit of social justice in meeting the healthcare needs of all individuals, including those from underserved communities.

• Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration

  At Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, you will find an approach to education that is at once rooted in sacred Jewish traditions and simultaneously in modern disciplines that inform our understanding of how children learn.

  How does one teach Gemara while embracing the wisdom of differentiated instruction? What are the early signs of an acute learning disability in a student struggling to learn Hebrew? How can Tanakh be brought to life so that our children do not merely learn about Biblical personalities but engage in a hevruta with them?

  The needs of our schools and communities are great, but your opportunity to transform the educational experience, and with it the future of the Jewish people, is greater. We take seriously our responsibility to train the next generation of educators. Within a collegial and close-knit environment, you will benefit from the wisdom and guidance of an internationally recognized faculty, innovative and comprehensive courses, collaborative student faculty research, intensive field experience, exposure to advanced educational technology, and academic and professional mentoring that is second to none.

  In short, Azrieli will cultivate your talent and creativity and position you to fan the flames of Jewish children at their learning. This is what it means to learn, teach and inspire.

• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

  Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University is located on lower Fifth Avenue in New York City’s Greenwich Village. 

  Cardozo School of Law provides a world-class legal education that encourages and supports creative thinking and effective action in all fields of law. Cardozo is renowned for the creation of the Innocence Project as well as its visionary programs in Intellectual Property and Information Law, and alternative dispute resolution. Recent innovative programs include the Cardozo Data Law Initiative and the Tech Startup Clinic and the Indie Film Clinic. Cardozo’s FAME Center provides leadership in fashion, arts, media and entertainment law. Cardozo is celebrating 40 years with a focus on foundational values of leadership, innovation, activism and ambition. cardozolife.com/#/40years/

  The law school offers approximately 1,100 J.D. and LL.M. candidates a comprehensive legal education in the midst of one of the world’s leading cities for law, business, finance, media and culture. 

  Cardozo offers 15 clinics, as well as field clinics and other practical opportunities for students, providing over 400 field placements for students each year.

  Founded in 1976 by Yeshiva University, one of the finest research universities in the United States, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law has a national reputation for a top-caliber faculty and an innovative academic program that includes a wide range of exciting and practical opportunities. The school's faculty members are known for being widely published legal scholars, as well as for being actively engaged in the pursuit of social justice. They invite ongoing dialogue with their students—inside and outside of the classroom. Almost half of the faculty hold advanced degrees in other disciplines, making them particularly qualified to provide a well-rounded and rigorous legal education.

  Cardozo is noted for its academic strengths in numerous areas of study, and U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks its Intellectual Property & Information Law Program and Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution within the top 10 in the country. The school is also home to the Innocence Project, run by Cardozo Professor Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld. To date the Innocence Project has helped free over 350 wrongly convicted prisoners. 

  Cardozo Law is a secular school that seeks to educate people of all faiths and backgrounds. Yeshiva University is an independent university reflecting the Jewish tradition of Torah Umadda - helping to heal the world. Unlike the law school, which is a secular institution, undergraduate divisions of the university focus on providing an education that is both religious and secular. Cardozo students are not required to participate in any faith-related courses. The university's Jewish tradition expresses itself at the law school in the dedication to the ethical practice of law and the pursuit of social justice. Students from all religions, backgrounds and sexual orientations are welcome at Cardozo.

  The Cardozo community is open and personal. The animated debate in its classrooms and hallways is welcoming and respectful of diverse perspectives and backgrounds. And every day, students and faculty recognize the critical role attorneys play in protecting the rights of all people, around the world.

• Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies

  At the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, you will enrich your Jewish knowledge in a rigorous academic environment. If you are a student with a professional interest in academic Jewish studies, a prospective educator in Jewish secondary schools who wants to make a difference in the lives of your students and your community or ''simply'' a person who seeks intellectual challenge and growth, this is the place for you.

  Through classes, seminars and individual consultation that will lead you to a Master of Arts or Doctor of Philosophy degree, we will guide you toward the realization of your full potential. We also offer a Bachelor of Arts-Master of Arts degree program to enable superior undergraduate students at Yeshiva College and Stern College for Woman to begin their studies for the MA degree. Our curriculum emphasizes the critical analysis of primary sources, the study of the methodology appropriate for a given discipline and extensive readings in the secondary literature.

  Few, if any, comparable programs have a student body with as much command of the classical sources of Judaism and Jewish history. Our alumni and current students hail from a rich array of professional backgrounds and aspirations, from medicine and law to teaching and rabbinical studies. And whether you are working in the classroom or preparing a dissertation or other independent study project, our internationally renowned expert faculty will be available to direct you.

  Our location at Yeshiva University's Wilf Campus affords stimulating association with several of the University's other schools and affiliates and provides easy access to the major resources of the institution. This includes comprehensive research collections in Jewish studies at the Mendel Gottesman Library, numbering approximately 300,000 volumes, as well as a full complement of relevant databases and electronic resources, rare books, manuscripts and archives that offer deep and diverse support of our programs, all accompanied by a knowledgeable library staff with significant expertise in the field.

• Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology

  Established in 1957, Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology is housed in state-of-the-art facilities in the recently renovated Louis E. and Dora Rousso building on the Yeshiva University Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus. Our nationally recognized programs prepare doctoral-level psychologists and master’s-level counselors for successful and rewarding careers by providing extensive coursework, practicum and externship experiences and research opportunities. As public awareness and acceptance of mental health issues continues to grow, we remain committed to training psychologists who make a difference in the lives of individuals and society as a whole.

  Under the leadership of Dean Lawrence J. Siegel, Ferkauf continues to enjoy a prominent position among our peers, providing top-level academic and field preparation for a group of strong students. The Ferkauf reputation extends beyond our borders: 64 countries are represented in our student body. Our graduates, eligible for New York State licensure in psychology, fill leadership positions in a wide range of institutions.

• Wurzweiler School of Social Work

  Established in 1957, the Wurzweiler School of Social Work offer a "methods-based" curriculum and concentrations in social/clinical casework, social group work and community social work/administration. Field placement agencies are selected for their diversity, quality of service to the community, opportunities for learning, expertise of supervisors and eagerness to collaborate with the school to create a challenging educational venture for our students.

  Watch a short video about why Wurzweiler is exceptional, featuring the new Chair of the Wurzweiler Board of Overseers and social worker Froma Benerofe, LCSW.

  Our students come from over 60 countries, including Israel, Canada, France, Japan, South America, Eastern Europe and Africa. Many are just like you—working people who have to balance the demands of school, work and family. Students find that our individual attention and flexible programming help them succeed.

  Since our inception, more than 7,000 students have received master's degrees and more than 165 doctorates have been awarded.

  Our alumni are therapists, managers, administrators, researchers, professors of social work, college deans and legislators. They are employed in every sector of social services, from neighborhood agencies to the federal government, and are committed to improving the lives of vulnerable populations throughout the world. We emphasize values and ethics, as well as respect for ethnicity, and recognize the importance of religious beliefs and spirituality.

History of Yeshiva University

The University, founded in 1886, is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States that combines Jewish scholarship with studies in the liberal arts, sciences, medicine, law, business, social work, Jewish studies and education, and psychology. It has its roots in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva founded in 1886 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a cheder-style elementary school founded by Eastern European immigrants that offered study of Talmud along with some secular education, including instruction in English.

As of August 2012, Yeshiva University enrolls approximately 6,400 undergraduate students, 3,500 graduate students, and 1,000 students at its affiliated high schools and Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. It conferred 1,822 degrees in 2007 and offers community service projects serving New York, Jewish communities, the United States and Canada. The university has run an operating deficit for seven consecutive years. In 2014 it lost $84 million, and in 2013 suffered a loss of $64 million. In March 2015, the faculty of Yeshiva College passed a "no-confidence motion" against Richard Joel, the university president. Professor Gillian Steinberg, a member of the Yeshiva College executive committee, told The New York Jewish Week that the vote was meant to “signal donors in a meaningful way” and “indicate that the board of trustees is moving in the wrong direction.”

In January 2016 the University disclosed plans to cede almost half of its $1 billion endowment to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as the medical college enters a separate joint venture with Montefiore Health System.

Accreditation

Institutional Accreditation or Recognition - Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Rankings

• The U.S. News and World Report's 2017 "America's Best Colleges" ranked Yeshiva University as the 66th best National University.
• Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine was ranked 38th in the nation in research and 51st in primary care, and its Cardozo School of Law was ranked number 75 among law schools. It ranked #5 in Dispute Resolution & #7 in Intellectual Property Law.
• The Washington Monthly 2013 College Rankings placed Yeshiva University 187th nationally.
• Forbes ranked Yeshiva University as; #135 Of all colleges in America, #102 in Private Colleges, #70 in Research Universities & #63 in the Northeast.
• Internationally, Yeshiva was ranked 156th by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, in the 200s by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities and 269th in the world by the QS World University Rankings.

Student life @Yeshiva University

Yeshiva University maintains four campuses in New York City:

• The Resnick Campus in the Morris Park neighborhood of the eastern Bronx contains the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, along with dormitories, a library, a hospital and other medical facilities.
• The Brookdale Center in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of downtown Manhattan contains the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, law clinics and office, and a dormitory. The Center for Jewish History, which includes the Yeshiva University Museum along with other institutions, is nearby in the Chelsea neighborhood.
• The Beren Campus in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan is home to the undergraduate schools for women, including Stern College for Women and the Midtown branch of the Syms School of Business, along with dormitories and other facilities. The Azrieli School has classes on this campus as well.
• The Wilf Campus is centered around the area of Amsterdam Ave and West 185th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan. Yeshiva University's main office is located within the Wilf Campus, at 500 185th St., and Wilf is considered the main campus. It is home to the undergraduate schools for men, the rabbinical seminary, the Belz School of Jewish Music, the high school for boys, the Azrieli Graduate School for Jewish Education and Administration, the Wurzweiler School for Social Work, and the Bernard Revel Graduate school, along with other divisions, offices, libraries, dormitories, and other facilities.

The high school for girls is located in the Holliswood neighborhood of eastern Queens.

S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program

The university's building in Jerusalem, in the Bayit VeGan neighborhood, contains a branch of the rabbinical seminary and an office coordinating the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program, a formal arrangement between Yeshiva University and 42 men's yeshivot and women's midrashot in Israel that enables students to incorporate study in Israel into their college years. While studying in Israel, students study Jewish subjects while learning firsthand about Israel's land, people, history, and culture.

Yeshiva University Israel advisers visit each school regularly to offer academic guidance, career planning, and personal counseling. In addition, the program sponsors lectures and activities where students can gather under the auspices of Yeshiva University, and a guidance center to provide support for students studying in Israel. Yeshiva University also cosponsors events for American students in Israel, such as the Battle of the Bands and Inter-Seminary Choir Competition, and an annual career fair.

The program is headquartered at the Student Center at Yeshiva University's Israel Campus in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem. Mrs. Stephanie Strauss serves as director of the program.

Student government

Clubs and activities are maintained by the students in each school, generally under the auspices of a student government. Activities are funded by a student activities fee collected by the school but freely distributed by the elected council. (Athletics are usually an academic department.) Each graduate school maintains a student council, such as the Student Bar Association at Cardozo, which, in turn, supports the many clubs and publications in each school. At the undergraduate level, there are separate student governments on the two campuses. Although the two student governments are separate, they work closely in coordinating joint events. The men's schools are represented overall by the Yeshiva Student Union, and specifically by the Yeshiva College Student Association, the Syms Student Council, the Student Organization of Yeshiva (SOY, which represents both undergraduate MYP students as well as RIETS students), and student councils for SBMP, IBC, and JSS. The latter four run most Jewish-related activities on campus, including holiday celebrations and the famed SOY Seforim (Jewish book) sale annually around February, which is open to the general public and attracts large crowds from near and far. There are also individual councils for each class, council committees, a Student Court, and clubs. On the Wilf Campus, the Yeshiva Student Union, run by Aryeh Minsky oversees most of student life on campus. The council consists of Raffi Wiesen, Max Hoffman, Josh Deutsch and semi-popular figurehead Jacob M. Herenstein.

The women's schools are represented by the Stern College and Syms Student Councils; there are also a Torah Activities Council, which coordinates Jewish-related events, and individual class councils, along with various clubs.

The various positions on all councils are chosen by elections open to all students (both as voters and candidates) generally held in the Spring (for the following year's councils), although Freshman and Sophomore class councils are elected in the Fall, the latter owing to the large number of students spending the freshman year abroad in Israel.

The undergraduate men's newspaper is The Commentator, and the undergraduate women's The Observer, as well as a co-ed satirical news site The Quipster; there is also a student newspaper (in addition to a number of law journals) at Cardozo. There are numerous other publications on a wide range of topics, both secular and religious, produced by the various councils and academic clubs, along with many official university publications and the university press. The call letters of the student radio station are WYUR, currently an Internet-only station, available at wyur.net.

Dormitories and student housing

There are dormitory and dining facilities on each campus. Cardozo has a single dormitory building a block south of the classroom building, while Einstein has a number of student housing buildings on campus for single and married students.

Approximately 80% of the undergraduate student populations live on campus.

The Wilf Campus includes three main dormitory buildings: Morgenstern (nicknamed "Morg"), Rubin, and Muss Halls. Many upperclassmen and some graduate students live in the surrounding independent housing that is run by the university or in other nearby buildings; there is also a small high school dormitory on campus, Strenger Hall, which houses some older students as well who serve as counselors.

The Beren campus includes four dormitory buildings: Brookdale, Schottenstein, the 36th Street and 35th Street Residence Halls. Many students live in university-administered independent housing nearby.

Athletics

Yeshiva University is home to a variety of NCAA Division III-level sports teams. The teams, nicknamed "The Maccabees", include: men's baseball, basketball, golf, volleyball, wrestling, women's basketball, cross country, fencing, soccer, tennis, and volleyball.

One of the most successful teams in Yeshiva University sports history is the fencing team, known as the "Taubermen", named after the coach of the team, Professor Arthur Tauber, who served as the head coach of the team from 1949 through 1985. Olympic gold medalist Henry Wittenberg was at one time the coach of the wrestling team.

Because of Yeshiva's dual curriculum, most of the sports teams practice at night, sometimes even as late as 11:00 pm. A few of the sports teams have been known to get in an early morning practice or workout before classes begin at 9:00 am.

Teams have participated in weekend tournaments outside of New York City, with athletes staying with local families in the area. This took place in Boston with the basketball and fencing teams, and in Hollywood, Florida with the baseball team in 2008. Some international students have participated in NCAA sports, with as many as nine different nationalities representing the school on the sports field.

Two members of the Yeshiva Maccabees Baseball team were drafted out of college by professional teams of the Israeli Baseball League. Pitcher Aryeh Rosenbaum, celebrated a championship with his team in the IBL's first year.

Yeshiva's Men's Basketball team is an annual playoff contender. The best era for Yeshiva basketball in recent history has been the first few years and last few years of the 1990s. Banners hang in the Max Stern Athletic Center commemorating seasons from both eras. The 2007–2008 season had particular note as Yeshiva was home to the NCAA Skyline Conference's Rookie of the Year. Since 2010, the Men's Cross Country and Men's Volleyball teams have won multiple championships. Many of the Maccabees have gained attention nationwide, like Sam Cohen won an individual championship as well as Capital One Academic honors. Other attention grabbers come from Women's Basketball and Women's Fencing.

In 2014, the Men's Tennis team won the Skyline Conference championship, becoming the first team in school history to advance to the NCAA tournament in any sport. In 2015 the Men's Tennis team repeated as Skyline Conference champions and went back to the NCAA National Tournament, advancing to the 2nd round. They lost to the defending National Champions Amherst College. In 2016 the Men's Tennis team completed an epic three-peat by winning the Skyline Conference a third year in a row and advancing to the NCAA D3 National Tennis Tournament again.

Student groups and organizations

Student clubs, groups, and organizations are run by the student body. Student groups include the Commentator (a student newspaper) and the Yeshiva University Dramatics Society (YCDS) that puts on a performance each semester. A student-run group known as the Heights Initiative sponsors several outreach programs that work with the schools and organizations of the Washington Heights community. Student Government is run through YSU, YCSA, SOY-JSC, and SYMS. These four student run organizations hold weekly meetings with their respective councils and a weekly meeting with university administrators. Their goal is to help ensure that the student clubs and organizations are receiving the appropriate funding and support. Additionally, they run community events like the annual Hannukah Concert and a carnival celebrating Israeli Independence Day.

In 2009 students gathered together to create a "Tolerance Club", the purpose of which was to promote the idea of there being a diversity of people within the Yeshiva University community. The group was controversial on the Yeshiva University campus. This controversy came to a head when the Tolerance Club sponsored a panel discussion entitled "Being Gay in the Orthodox World" in December 2009. Several hundred people attended this panel discussion. Numerous Jewish news sources covered the panel and the conflict that enveloped the Yeshiva campus in its wake. The Tolerance Club disbanded in May 2010. "

The Yeshiva University Medical Ethics Society (MES), is an undergraduate student-run organization of Yeshiva University which was founded by students in the fall of 2005 with the help of the Center for the Jewish Future toward the goal of promoting education and awareness of Jewish medical ethics in the university itself and the community at large. Since that time, MES working with the CJF has grown from a small group of students with common interests to running events with university-wide participation. In the first several years, they hosted a program of on-campus lectures by experts in the field of medical ethics and Halakha (Jewish law). Topics covered have included stem cell research, cloning, do not resuscitate orders, genetic testing, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, and birth control. They also host genetic testing events to help combat the high incidence of various genetic diseases in the Jewish community. The Society hosts events throughout the year, including an annual conference focused on a chosen medical ethics topic. The events are open to all those who have an interest in learning more about Jewish medical ethics.