Jewish Studies Program
The Jewish Studies Program at San Diego State University is an interdisciplinary program serving the students of SDSU as well as the greater San Diego Community. We offer a major in Modern Jewish Studies and a minor in Jewish Studies and are dedicated to teaching a broad range of topics related to Jewish history, religion and culture from the biblical through the modern period. Courses offered through our program are open to all SDSU students. In addition, our faculty are actively engaged in teaching to the broader San Diego community. The program also houses the Lipinsky Institute, which supports our community outreach and annual visiting Israeli professorships.
Give a Gift to Jewish Studies
By supporting Jewish Studies, you are helping to ensure that we remain able to develop new courses, pursue original research, and provide thought-provoking public lectures, programs and outreach to the community.
Visiting Professors and Artists
Each year Jewish Studies hosts visiting Israeli scholars and artists to teach contemporary Israel Studies for students of all backgrounds. The program is supported by the Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative, which seeks to strategically promote, support and catalyze knowledge discourse and interaction on the modern state of Israel through scholarship, engagement and collaboration.
Meet Our Visiting Israeli Scholars for 2021/22:
Ori Elon
Sam Spiegel Film School
(Fall 2021)
Gilad Halpern
University of Haifa
(Spring 2022)
Dr. Meir Litvak
Tel Aviv University
(Fall 2021)
Ronit Weiss-Berkowitz
Tel Aviv University
(Fall 2021)
Jewish Studies Scholarships
It's time to apply for next year's Program scholarships!
Our Program scholarships are intended for students enrolled in the program (and there are not many of them). That's the only thing required for you to win these prizes: you simply have to be minoring or majoring in Jewish Studies.
Program Scholarships:
- Guffan Family Endowed Scholarship
- Rabbi Aaron and Jeanne Gold Scholarship
Don't over-think your application. If asked "why do you study Jewish Studies?" do not write your autobiography of life-long struggles to overcome impossible adversity. Just write a simple paragraph.
Learn more about at sdsu.edu/scholarships.
Hillel College Guide
San Diego State University is listed among the top 60 public universities in North
America where Jewish students choose to attend according to the latest Hillel College Guide.
Resources for Faculty
The Murray Galinson San Diego-Israel Initiative seeks to strategically promote, support and catalyze knowledge discourse and interaction
on the modern state of Israel through scholarship, engagement and collaboration.