ISAAC BREUER COLLEGE OF HEBRAIC STUDIES

   Admission Required Courses Majors and Minors   
Degree Requirements   School Regulations

 
Isaac Breuer College of Hebraic Studies provides a rich undergraduate background for men who seek an advanced, structured, yet flexible, comprehensive, and intensive program in the major areas of Jewish learning.  Established in 1982 in recognition of a major gift by the late Hermann Merkin and his wife, Ursula, in memory of her father. The College is the successor of Teachers Institute for Men, 1917–66, and Erna Michael College of Hebraic Studies, 1966–82.

IBC is located at the Wilf Campus and benefits from its association with several of the University's other schools and their educational resources as well as from the wealth of public and private educational facilities available in New York City. Faculty and students alike seek to create an atmosphere that provides and promotes the highest standards of ethical conduct and scholarship in the achievement of personal and professional goals.

Major areas of study are Talmud, Bible, Hebrew language and literature, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy and ethics, and Jewish Law.

IBC also provides career preparation for those interested in Jewish education, ordination, or graduate Hebraic or Semitic studies. Its rich offerings in other areas qualify it as a preparatory program for both ordination at the affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and for advanced graduate study at Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies.

Isaac Breuer College curricula may lead to a Hebrew teacher’s diploma and the degrees of associate in arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of arts.  Accredited by the National Board of License for Hebrew Teachers, it is a member of the American Association of Hebrew Teachers Colleges.

A wide range of courses is taught in Hebrew and provides valuable supplementary training in the utilization of primary sources, research methods, and independent work.

Admission
To qualify for admission, a student must be a graduate of a Jewish all-day high school or have completed the equivalent work. Candidates also may be considered for Early Admission.

All prospective students meet with the dean for admission and placement purposes.

Required Courses
Students must register for at least 12 credit hours per semester.

The following courses in Hebrew language, literature, and culture are required of all students:

Majors and Minors

Students may select majors or minors from among the following:

Regardless of how much transfer credit is granted to a student, at least half of the credits required in the major or minor must be taken at Isaac Breuer College.

The written approval of the Office of the Dean is necessary for a waiver or substitution of one course for another in the requirements for graduation or for a major or minor - use Request for Waiver of Prerequisite Form (R15). Students must secure this approval prior to taking the substitute course.

Curricula
Associate in Arts

Degree Requirements

A. Course and credit requirement
Completion of 72 credit hours, including the courses required listed previously for all students, and two additional electives. A maximum of 36 of these credits may serve as transfer credits to Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School under the procedure outlined here.

B. Residence requirement
Students must be in full-time residence at Isaac Breuer College at least four semesters.

C. Grade requirement
Students must achieve a minimum cumulative average of 2.0 in all studies and minimum grade of C in all courses used to meet the requirements in the major. Students presenting two minors must have a cumulative average of 2.0 in each minor, with no individual grade in that minor below C-.

D. Administrative requirement
Each student must have filed an Application for Degree during the registration period of the semester in which he completes all requirements.

 Hebrew Teacher's Diploma

Holders of the Hebrew teacher's diploma will receive, on application to the National Board of License for Hebrew Teachers and/or regional licensing boards, a license to teach in schools under the jurisdiction of those boards.

Bachelor of Science
Degree Requirements

A. Course and credit requirement
A major and a minor, or three minors, and the following courses:

the required courses previously listed for all students, and enough additional courses in Hebrew language, literature, and culture to total 90 (Note: none of these courses may be counted toward any other bachelor's degree at Yeshiva University);

an additional 64 credits in liberal arts (no more than 10 in the field of Hebrew language, literature, and culture), including all those required of YC students.

B. Examination requirement
Each student must pass a comprehensive examination in the major or a qualifying examination in each minor.

The same residence, grade, and administrative requirements apply here  as for the associate in arts, with the additional requirement of a minimum 70 credits at Yeshiva University.

Students should note the prohibition of two bachelor's degrees in four years (see heading below on Work Load).

Bachelor of Arts

The purpose of the Bachelor of Arts program is to prepare teacher- scholars specially trained to serve as teachers of Hebrew and cognate subjects in grades 7-12. It is open to select students who possess at least an intermediate knowledge of Hebrew, are strongly motivated to enter the field of education and are prepared to undertake a rigorous curriculum. Students who complete the program are awarded a Hebrew teacher's diploma in addition to the bachelor of arts degree.

IBC maintains intensive personal counseling contacts with each student, and the student and his counselors periodically evaluate all factors bearing on his continuation in the program.

Unlike the students in the associate in arts program, Hebrew teacher's diploma, and bachelor of science programs, who may simultaneously be enrolled in the bachelor's programs at Sy Syms School or Yeshiva College, bachelor of arts students at Isaac Breuer College may not be in any other degree program. They may, however, take their elective credits at Yeshiva College as visiting students.

Degree Requirements

Course and credit requirement
The required courses listed previously for all students, and enough additional courses in Hebrew language, literature, and culture to total 112 credits, distributed as follows: BIB-24; EDU, JED, and PSY-25; HEB-17; JHI-12; JPH-9; JUD-8; TAL-17.

The additional 64 credits in the liberal arts (no more than 10 in the field of Hebrew language, literature, and culture) as required in the bachelor of science program listed previously.

The same residence, grade, examination, and administrative requirements apply here as for the bachelor of science, with the additional requirement of a minimum 88 credits at Yeshiva University.

School Regulations

Attendance
Students are expected to attend all their scheduled class sessions and College exercises and to be present promptly at the beginning of the hour, unless prevented from doing so by illness or other compelling cause.

A record of each student's attendance in each class is kept by the instructor.  Generally, a student's attendance record is taken into account whenever there may be occasion to determine his status in the University.

Permission to register late in a course does not in itself excuse the student's absence from the classes already held.

Continued unexcused absences will result in the dropping of the student from the course with a grade of G, which may cause him to be placed on probation or to incur academic dismissal from the College.