Middle Eastern Studies: Hebrew and Jewish Studies

The one-year Master's programme Hebrew and Jewish Studies focuses on Jewish culture and intellectual life from antiquity to the present.

The programme covers a broad range of subjects, periods and approaches: Second Temple period and ancient rabbinic Judaism, medieval culture, with particular emphasis on philosophy and history of the sciences, early modern and modern cultural and intellectual history (including Amsterdam's Jewish past), book history, Modern Hebrew and Israeli literature and culture, and Yiddish studies.
Hebrew and Jewish Studies is situated in a city rich in Jewish life and infrastructure. Local institutions include the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, the Ets Haim/Livraria Montezinos, the Jewish Historical Museum, and the Municipal Archive. Together the University of Amsterdam and these institutions host extensive collections, ranging from primary sources to contemporary scholarly literature and material objects. We maintain excellent connections with other departments within the university as well as other academic and Jewish institutes, where students can find additional expertise. Thanks to the staff's national and international networks, most graduates find jobs in their area of expertise.