Cantorial certification

Application Requirements

Preliminary Consultation and Audition

As part of your application process to becoming a cantor at HUC-JIR, we require that you to speak with a professional in the Department of Admissions and Recruitment and/or Cantor Ellen Dreskin, Coordinator of the Cantorial Certification Program of the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. This informal, preliminary consultation and audition is a way for us to get to know you better, for you to ask your questions and be sure now is the right time for you to apply to HUC-JIR. Simply email CantorialCertification@huc.edu to set a date and time.

The Application

If you’ve applied in the past, or are familiar with our application process from years past, you may be interested to know that we’ve changed our process, and we continue to maintain our high admissions standards.

Here are the steps you should take:

First, click here here to fill out the preliminary interview form and upload a sample video.

Then, begin Part 1 of your application for admission. We’ll ask you a few, simple questions about yourself and your educational background.

Then, after you’ve submitted Part 1 of your application, we’ll confirm its receipt and email you instructions on how to start Part 2. Part 2 of the application asks program-specific questions.

There is one application deadline and interview period for the Cantorial Certifcation program. All application materials, including Part 2 of your application, letters of references, transcripts and test results, must be received by the deadline in order to receive an interview. HUC-JIR does not offer rolling admissions.

Personal Statement and Admissions Essays

As you fill out Part 2 of your online application, you will be prompted to submit your Personal Statement and Admissions Essays. Your answers to the following questions help us get to know you as an individual, a student, a Jew, and a Jewish educator. Your personal statement and two essays, resume and picture should be consolidated into one document that you will be asked to upload.

Personal Statement: In no more than six double-spaced, typed pages, and respond to the following questions:
1. Why do you want to be a Cantor? Discuss your intellectual, musical, religious and spiritual development as well as the life experiences that have led you to make this decision.
2. Give evidence that you are a self-motivated, pro-active and disciplined learner and how this is reflected in your educational background and life experiences.
3. Identify resources that will help you through this process (possible mentors, a sponsoring Cantor and institutions of higher learning).
4. How many years have you worked as a soloist in your congregation (and any other congregations)? Please describe your current position.
5. Explain the circumstances that make it impossible for you to enroll as a full-time student at HUC-JIR.
Short Essays: Please respond to each of the following questions separately. Limit your response to the two questions to a total of six double-spaced, typed pages.
1. Reflect on a Torah portion that you have found meaningful or challenging. You may include classical or contemporary commentary that has been helpful to you in understanding the text.
2. What do you find most compelling and what do you find most challenging about Reform Judaism? In your opinion, what are the most significant issues facing the Reform Movement today, and what is the role of the rabbi and the Movement in addressing these?

Required Documents

In addition to the online Part 1 and 2 of your application, HUC-JIR requires a number of supporting application documents that should be emailed or sent to the National Office of Admissions and Recruitment on the Los Angeles campus. Do not send documents to any other campus or department of HUC-JIR, as this will delay or prevent us from receiving your complete application by the deadline.

Transcripts

Please provide us with one copy of an official transcript from: The college from which you graduated as well as any other colleges you attended. (This includes any school at which you took a college-level class.) Any graduate schools where you have been enrolled, as well as schools where you have taken graduate-level classes. Any “Year Abroad” programs or other foreign study. (If grades from international programs are recorded on your college transcript you do not need to submit a separate transcript.)

Have the schools mail the transcripts directly to:

National Office of Admissions and Recruitment, Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion
3077 University Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Please request transcripts with sufficient time to allow them to arrive by the application deadline.

For international applicants, year-by-year records from colleges and universities attended are required. The record must indicate the number of hours per week devoted to each course, grades received for each course, and degrees awarded, with dates the degrees were conferred. This information must be provided in English. If this information is not available in English, it is the applicant’s responsibility to have it professionally translated and certified before it is sent to HUC-JIR. If grades are not determined on a 4.0 scale system please include guidelines in English from the school that explain the grading system.

Letters of reference

Good references come from individuals who know you well enough to give the Admissions Committee input on your candidacy and reflect on specific experiences you have had that will make you a strong candidate.

You must have one academic reference. College professors or instructors with whom you have engaged in serious academic study should write the academic references. If you have been out of college more than five years you may obtain academic references from adult or informal education instructors.

Of the remaining two references, HUC-JIR encourages you to submit a Judaic reference from a cantor ordained/invested by HUC-JIR and a professional reference from a supervisor of your work, paid or volunteer, preferably in a Jewish setting.

Please use the Reference Letter Request Form to submit the names and contact information of your references. HUC-JIR will not accept more than four letters of reference. The individuals you list as references will receive an email from HUC Admissions informing them that you have requested they write a letter of reference on your behalf. It is recommended that you are in touch with your chosen references prior to filling out this online form to alert them that they will receive this emailed request.

The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, provides students the right to inspect their records. This includes letters of recommendation submitted in the application process. HUC-JIR carefully reviews all letters of reference. However, we find that letters written in confidence are most useful in assessing a candidate’s qualifications and promise. By using the Reference Letter Request Form, you are automatically waiving your right. Please contact admissions@huc.edu with any questions or concerns.

Reminders regarding references: Please allow each reference enough time (at least one month) to complete his or her letter of reference. If you wish to substitute, delete, or add references after you have submitted their names in the online Reference Letter Request Form, you must report this in writing to the National Office of Admissions by emailing admissions@huc.edu

Letter of congregational support

One clergy member, as well as the president of your current congregation, will need to sign a letter in support of your candidacy. The letter demonstrates an understanding on the part of your congregation of the time that you will need to devote to your studies, as well as the various aspects of the cantorate which you will be asked to develop, refine or take on as a part of the Certification Program. These may include Adult Education, Religious School teaching, Committee facilitation, as well as Life Cycle counseling and officiation at various life cycle rituals.

The letter of support should be mailed directly to:

National Office of Admissions and Recruitment, Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion
3077 University Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90007

Please request the letter with sufficient time to allow it to arrive by the application deadline.

Checklist

Use this checklist as a guide to completing your HUC-JIR Admissions Application.

To be completed online:
- Part 1 of your application
- Part 2 of your application (including uploading your Personal Statement, Admissions Essays, Resume and Picture)
- Online Introductory Course fee (paid as part of Part 2 of the Application)
- Reference Letter Request Form

Additional items (to be sent directly to HUC-JIR Office of Admissions and Recruitment):
- Transcript(s) – undergraduate and graduate school (if applicable)
- Letter of Congregational Support

National Office of Admissions and Recruitment
Hebrew Union College — Jewish Institute of Religion
3077 University Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90007

admissions@huc.edu

Admissions Requirements

What We Look For

We are looking for highly qualified applicants for all of our programs. HUC-JIR’s student body is diverse and there is no “correct path” to becoming a strong candidate. Each applicant is viewed as a unique individual. For example, a degree in Jewish studies or Music is not required but it is important to have some background with liberal arts classes where reading and writing are emphasized.

You must be able to meet the following requirements by June of the summer you intend to enroll.

A B.A., B.M. or B.S. degree from an accredited college or university.
Two years of college-level Modern Hebrew or its equivalent, as demonstrated by performance on the Hebrew Proficiency Examination given by HUC-JIR at the time of your admissions interview.
Completion of a preliminary consultation and audition with the Coordinator of the Certification Program
A readiness for graduate study, including the capacity to meet the intellectual, ethical, and emotional demands of a distance education program, and the capacity to develop the self-discipline it entails.
A serious commitment to academic study.
A commitment to Reform Judaism and K’lal Yisrael.
An ability to engage in abstract reasoning, to think analytically and conceptually and to formulate mature judgments.
An aptitude for clear oral and written self-expression.
Preparation and performance of three pieces of music; a classical Jewish liturgical piece, a contemporary Reform liturgical selection, and a popular, operatic, or musical theatre selection that highlights dramatic interpretation or stylistic variety. Knowledge of music theory, and the ability to sight read and play a simple piano or guitar selection.
Participation in a three week introductory online course, to be offered immediately following audition/interview week.
Current policy states that applicants who are married to or in committed relationships with non-Jews will not be considered for acceptance to this program.

The Hebrew Requirement

The Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music requires a Hebrew language proficiency equivalent to two years of college-level Modern Hebrew, as demonstrated by performance on the Hebrew Proficiency Examination.

Admissions decisions are reached independently of the results of this exam. Admitted applicants who do not demonstrate sufficient proficiency in Modern Hebrew may be required retake the exam, or defer enrollment to improve their language skill.

Preparing for the Exam
The Hebrew proficiency test consists of three sections: reading comprehension, writing, and Modern Hebrew grammar. There is also an optional biblical text section for applicants whose proficiency exceeds the minimum requirements. Here are some general guidelines for preparing for the exam:

Applicants need to demonstrate that they can:

Read texts with comprehension texts (with and without vowels) that discuss daily life, describe people and places, narrate past events, and project to the future;
Recognize and use pronouns with or without pronominal endings;
Recognize and use nouns in various contexts (in construct forms/smichut, with adjectives, definite and indefinite, singular and plural);
Recognize and use (with and without vowels) active and reflexive verbs (Pa’al, Pi’el, Hif’il, Hit’pael and Nif’al) to describe past, present and future events;
Recognize and use subordinate clauses (e.g., because, in spite of, if, then, etc.);
Demonstrate facility with linguistic elements such as, definite article (Hey), prepositions, prepositional phrases, smichut; and
Write a simple composition of approximately 200 words on a particular topic.

Below are a few resources to help you prepare for this Hebrew requirement: For an in depth evaluation of your abilities, download the Sample Hebrew Proficiency Examination (the answer sheet excludes the essay). This Examination is of a similar difficultly level to the actual exam but only a quarter of the length. In addition, check out these resources to improve your Hebrew.

Sample Hebrew Proficiency Examination and Answer Sheet

Resources to Improve your Hebrew

Interview, Audition and Psychological Evaluation

A personal interview and audition with the Admissions Committee is required as part of our evaluation of your candidacy. This on-campus interview provides the Committee the opportunity to get to know you better and allows you to expand upon the information you have provided in your application. For your audition, you will be asked to sing three pieces of music showing your ability to perform the classical repertoire, an accompanied Reform piece, and a folk composition. In addition, you will be asked to sight sing a simple folk tune. You will also be asked to sit for a Music Theory Exam.

We reserve the right to deny an interview to applicants who do not meet the admissions standards. Please do not make travel arrangements to a campus until you receive confirmation from HUC-JIR that you have been granted an interview.

Participation in HUC-JIR’s Cantorial program can be highly stressful, and both physically and mentally demanding. Participants must have the interpersonal skills needed to interface with people in diverse situations and the capacity to meet the intellectual, ethical, and emotional demands of graduate school. Being able to complete academic studies in such an environment is an essential aspect of participating in the program.

To help ensure that applicants can meet the essential requirements of participating in the program and their career upon graduation, all interviewed applicants are required to complete a psychological evaluation, which includes an interview with a psychologist and psychometric testing. The psychological interview and testing is paid for by HUC-JIR.

Testing will be scheduled to take place at the time you are scheduled for your on-campus admissions interview. At that time, you will be asked to sign a release form authorizing the release of the psychological evaluation report to HUC-JIR.

Online Introductory Course

In the three weeks between Interview/Auditions and the issuance of acceptance notifications, each applicant will participate in a three week introduction to Online Learning at HUC-JIR and the DFSSM Certification Program. The course will include both synchronous and asynchronous activities. Each candidate must participate in live weekly sessions, and spend an additional 4–6 hours each week in course preparation and assignments. The course is designed to help candidates navigate the software and online modalities currently used by HUC-JIR and to learn about the different types of course models that will be used and subjects that will be covered.

The course will help one to assess one’s capacity for online learning, and will give applicants an idea of the amount of time and effort necessary to succeed in this program, as well as the numerous avenues of support provided by HUC-JIR.

The fee for this Online Introductory Course is $75.00 and is paid with Part 2 of your online application. It is non-refundable.

Becoming a New Student

In preparation for you pending enrollment as a new student, we highly suggest that you visit our For New Students page that outlines the post-interview/post-acceptance next steps of the admissions process. Key to your preparation will be completing the required Medical Forms and submitting Financial Aid documentation.

Start Your Application

Preliminary Interview form

Part 1 of the Application