JTS, SIPA Offer Dual Degree Program

Aspiring leaders in Jewish affairs will be able to combine secular and religious schooling starting in fall 2009, thanks to a new partnership between the Jewish Theological Seminary and the School of International and Public Affairs.

As interest in Jewish nongovernmental organizations, community organizations, and think tanks has increased, so has the need to combine knowledge of Jewish tradition with practical management skills. The new dual degree program in Jewish studies and public administration will equip aspiring public figures with a backbone for both sectors.

Maud Kozodoy, assistant dean for JTS’s graduate programs, who is temporarily overseeing the Jewish Professional Leadership Program, said graduates would serve in various leadership areas that require similar skill sets.

Despite the program’s two institutional prongs, a JTS press release promised students a “seamless graduate education in which they learn the essential knowledge, skills, and experience to meet the challenge of building Jewish community in an increasingly complex world.”

The new program rides on the coattails of another joint venture between the University and JTS. The Jewish Professional Leadership Program previously included a dual degree program only in Jewish studies and social work through Columbia’s School of Social Work. Under the new structure, both programs will exist side by side to address different aspects of Jewish organizations—social work and public administration.

Prospective students will have to apply and be accepted to both JTS and SIPA. They will complete the program in either two or three years, depending on the number of prerequisites each individual has completed, specifically Hebrew language proficiency. The course map on SIPA’s Web site includes summer courses and alternating semesters in SIPA and JTS.

Tuition will vary each semester based on a student’s current institutional affiliation. During semesters when students are enrolled in both schools simultaneously, they will pay the per-credit fee for both SIPA and JTS. At SIPA, students will take classes in finance, policy, management, and development. At JTS, students will learn the Hebrew language, Jewish liturgy, and Jewish history. The Jewish studies component will include a trip to Israel.

Kozodoy said most applicants will have participated in social justice or community service oriented extracurricular activities during their undergraduate years.

Still, only about 10 percent of SIPA students arrive on campus straight from undergraduate work, and Robert Garris, associate dean of external relations and communications at SIPA, said the program will accept students with professional experience. From the undergraduate pool, SIPA will take students who have participated in internships relevant to the career goals they identify in their application essays.

Kozodoy described the ideal graduate of the dual degree program as “somebody who derives value from the Jewish tradition and wants to bring it to the world and make it a force for good.”

joy.resmovits@columbiaspectator.com