Ph.D. Program

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS
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APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

PRELIMINARY CONSULTATION

As part of your application process to becoming scholar through the PhD program at HUC-JIR’s School of Graduate Studies on the Cincinnati campus, we encourage you to speak with the Director. This informal, preliminary consultation 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 GradSchool@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, 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, including essay questions.

There is one application deadline. 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 be considered for admission. HUC-JIR does not offer rolling admissions for the PhD program.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

As you fill out Part 2 of your online application, you will be prompted to submit your Statement of Purpose which will help us get to know you as an individual, a student. The statement of academic purpose should describe your background and previous academic work which includes a general description of the intended field of study (e.g. Bible, Rabbinics, The American Jewish Experience, etc.), your academic career plans and the reasons for pursuing advanced study in the field at the College-Institute. The statement of academic purpose should be no more than 1,000 words in length. Your Statement, resume and picture should be consolidated into one document that you will be asked to upload.

SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN WORK

Applicants are requested to submit a paper (published or unpublished) as a sample of their written work.

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 three academic references. Someone who has been your teacher in a formal or informal setting. The context should be one in which the teacher could observe your intellectual capacities and your ability to engage in serious studies in your field.

Please use the Reference Letter Request Form to submit the names and contact information of your references. HUC-JIR will not accept more than three 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

GRADUATE RECORD EXAMINATION (GRE)

All applicants with English proficiency are required to take the GRE General Test. When registering for the GRE, please use the School of Graduate Studies school code number 4349, which directs the results to the National Office of Admissions and Recruitment on the HUC-JIR Los Angeles campus. Do not use the school code number of any other HUC-JIR campus, as this will delay or prevent our receipt of your GRE scores. For GRE information, please see www.ets.org/gre.

We recommend that the test be taken at least four weeks before the application is due to allow time for the scores to be sent to HUC-JIR. GRE scores are only valid for five years. Candidates with a Ph.D. or Masters degree from an accredited institution or prior degree from HUC-JIR that required a GRE score may be exempt from submitting a GRE score. Please email gradschool@huc.edu to find out more about exempting from this requirement.

TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TOEFL)

International applicants for whom English is not the first language must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in approximately 100 centers outside the United States. See the information available at: www.ets.org/toefl.

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 Statement of Purpose, Resume and Picture)
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)
GRE score report will be sent automatically to HUC-JIR. Be sure to use school code 4349.
TOEFL score report (international students only), sent directly from the testing company.

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 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.

A BA or BS degree from an accredited college or university.
An academic record reflecting the ability to do graduate work at a 3.0 grade point average or above on a four-point scale.
Two to three years of college-level Hebrew language study prior to admission.
Completion of the general Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
International applicants from non-English speaking countries must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). International applicants must have a working knowledge of English, and a score of at least 550 on the TOEFL. International applicants are not required to take the GRE but must take the TOEFL.
A readiness for graduate study, including the capacity to meet the intellectual, ethical, and emotional demands of graduate school.
A serious commitment to academic study.
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.

BECOMING A NEW STUDENT

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