Official Study Guide for Germany
Jewish Studies
The Jewish Studies degree programmes focus on teaching and researching over 3,000 years of history, religion and culture of the Jewish people in the Orient and Occident.
Overview of the academic discipline
Jewish studies (also known as Jewish studies or Yiddish culture, language and literature) is an academic discipline dedicated to all aspects of Judaism. Depending on the subject area, Jewish religion, history and the developments of modern Judaism are researched. The aim of the course is to be able to independently translate and analyse historical and modern source texts and place them in the correct context. Degree programmes such as ‘Ancient Languages and Cultures’ also deal with Jewish, including Yiddish, history, language and culture.
Which topics are included in the curriculum?
The programme includes language training (Hebraicum, depending on the university also Aramaicum, Yiddicum and Jewish Spanish), courses on the Jewish holy scriptures (Torah) and their interpretation. The programme also covers rabbinical literature, halacha and liturgy, Jewish philosophy and intellectual history, Hebrew linguistics and literature, the history of the Jewish people, German-Jewish literature and culture as well as Yiddish language and literature.
What are the requirements?
All degree programmes are open to applicants regardless of their religious affiliation.
School subjects that provide important knowledge for this degree programme are History, English, Latin, Greek and Ethics/Philosophy.
What study programmes are there to choose from?
The degree programmes are often offered at universities in the form of combined Bachelor's degree programmes. Master's programmes that build on this cover a broad spectrum of Jewish studies.
What job opportunities are there after graduation?
Graduates in the field of Jewish Studies can find jobs in publishing or as editors in the press, radio and television or in public relations, advertising, association work and in libraries and documentation. They can also work in adult education, at universities and other research institutions.