From New Master’s Programs to a Certificate in Experiential Jewish Education, Yeshiva University Expands its Offerings

Graduate education at Yeshiva University continues to thrive—and grow. A new Executive MBA program and master’s programs in arts and education join an academic landscape already home to one of the nation’s top medical schools, one of the finest law schools, and leading graduate schools for social work, psychology, Jewish studies and Jewish education and administration.

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In the past year, the University has introduced a variety of new master’s and certificate programs and expanded existing ones, in response to student demand and interest.

The Center for Executive and Professional Education at the Syms School of Business will launch an Executive MBA program in August, featuring classes on Sundays.

Syms’ MS Program in Accounting, now in its third year, is continuing its successful expansion and has nearly tripled in size since its inception. A new feature offers classes during the summer for non-accounting majors who choose to attend.

YU’s Graduate Programs in Arts and Sciences is also expanding its offerings. The math department unveiled a new PhD program in Mathematical Sciences this past fall, a selective program open to students who have already completed 60 credits of graduate-level study.

The math department is also continuing to offer its MA program in mathematics, currently in its second year, in addition to a BA-MA option that is now open to current YU students who wish to take graduate level courses during their senior year on campus and apply those credits toward a master’s degree.

The department of economics is launching a new MS program in quantitative economics (MQE), slated to begin in September. It is considered a pre-experience program, open to recent college graduates. Similar to the master’s in math, the MQE also includes a BA-MS option open to current YU students who wish to earn credits towards their graduate degree.

This past fall, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration introduced an Accelerated Master’s Program in Jewish education.  The one year, full time program balances intensive course study alongside practical teaching experience in the classroom.  A select cohort of ten students proceed through the program together, enriching one another by sharing their knowledge and learning experiences.  The program is fully sponsored by the Jim Joseph Foundation and applications are currently being accepted for the fall, 2012 cohort.

Azrieli Graduate School continues to expand program offerings and was recently approved by the New York State Education Department to offer two new Master’s degrees leading to New York State teaching certification.  Students who hold an initial certification in Childhood Education 1-6 can now enroll at Azrieli in the 36-credit Advanced Childhood Education 1-6 program leading to NYS professional teacher certification.  Students who wish to teach at the middle/high school level can enroll in a 42 credit Adolescence Education program leading to initial/professional certification in grades 7-12 biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, social studies, English and Hebrew.  Additionally, undergraduate students can begin these MS programs as seniors in the joint BA/MS program with Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women.  Both certification programs will begin in the fall, 2012.

The Institute for University-School Partnership, with generous support from the Jim Joseph Foundation, currently has 51 educators enrolled in the 2nd year of its Online Certificate Programs in Differentiated Instruction, Educational Technology Integration, and Student Support. In the coming year they will be adding a brand new program in Online/Blended Instruction and Design. Each online program lasts 30 weeks and is broken up into 3 courses of 10 weeks each. These programs are taught entirely online and asynchronously with weekly assignments and outstanding instructors who provide weekly feedback and practical take-aways to enhance the learning of students in the classroom.

For the first time this year, the Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) partnered with the Machon Puah Institute to offer a certificate program for graduates of YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary to educate them on halachic and medical issues related to infertility.

In June, the CJF will launch the second installment of its Certificate Program in Experiential Jewish Education, sponsored by the Jim Joseph Foundation. The curriculum comprises four seminars that focus on the theories and applications of experiential education: imparting values, creating experiences, cultivating communities and self development. Participants are also connected with a mentor who works with one on one and guides them in developing a final focal project.

Learn more about all of YU’s graduate schools by visiting www.yu.edu/academics/graduate-schools/.

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Oscar-Nominated Film Screened at YU Film Festival; Director Participates in Q &A

On February 16, Yeshiva University hosted a special screening of “Footnote,” the thought-provoking Israeli film that has created so much Oscar buzz, followed by a rare behind-the-scenes discussion with director Joseph Cedar.

The film, scheduled for theatrical release in mid-March, explores the lives of father and son Talmudic scholars who find themselves in competition with each other. It won “Best Screenplay” at Cannes, “Best Picture” at the Ophir Awards and is nominated for “Best Foreign Language Film” at this year’s Academy Awards.

“It’s an incredible privilege to have a screening of the film before it opens in theaters,” said Dr. Eric Goldman, adjunct associate professor of cinema at Yeshiva and Stern College and artistic director of the festival. “Joseph Cedar is in the mold of our students—a practicing Jew interested in blending Torah and Madda in his life. He mixes Torah, his traditional community, and culture in his life’s work as a filmmaker.”

Members of the YU community flooded the Beren Campus’s Schottenstein Cultural Center for a sneak preview of the movie as part of the YU Ring Family Film Festival, titled “A Lens on Israel: A Society through its Cinema.” The four-part festival is supplemented by a variety of lectures, workshops and open forums with leading Israeli actors, writers, producers and directors.

After the screening of “Footnote,” Cedar joined Goldman onstage for a frank question-and-answer session with the audience. Cedar shared his inspiration for the film and addressed curiosity about the characters’ resemblance to real people. He also spoke about his own relationship with the sacred text at the heart of “Footnote” and its influence on his writing process.

“The value of argument is what drives all the dialogue in the Talmud,” said Cedar. “From a dramatic point of view, that’s also what drives any story. The idea is that the direction is not necessarily towards resolving conflict, but deepening it, and using any kind of argument to crystallize the subject on which we’re arguing is a style and a thinking process I’ve adopted as a storyteller.”

Estee Goldschmidt ’11S, a second-year medieval Jewish history student at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Judaic Studies, came to the film with her Talmud class, taught by Dr. Yaakov Elman. “Academic Talmud has this idea that it’s the unbiased and most rational and honest approach to Talmud and this movie really turns that perception of academia on its head,” she said. Goldschmidt found the conversation with Cedar especially illuminating: “It was like being there while the film was being made.”

“This movie encapsulates what a Jewish-Israeli film should be,” said Dr. Norman Adler, University professor of psychology and special assistant to the provost for cultural affairs. “The multilayered story touches on tradition and modernity and filial piety versus intergenerational conflict and questions how we approach our traditional texts in this post-modern age. The tension and dialectic, crafted into great art, helps all of us—especially our students, who are grappling with these questions—to see the world through the lens of a brilliant creative artist.”

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