Undergraduate Studies

The undergraduate programs and courses in Jewish Studies (both a major and a minor) and Holocaust and Genocide Studies (a minor) at The University of Texas have been designed to reflect the dynamic complexity of Jewish histories, literatures, populations, traditions, and transformations wherever they have existed. At the same time, the Jewish experience provides a lens through which to examine the evolution of cultural identities across national boundaries, and constructions of nation, race, and ethnicity.

Jewish Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that draws upon faculty from more than twelve departments in the College of Liberal Arts and beyond.  Jewish Studies courses examine a wide range of topics from the Dead Sea Scrolls to Yiddish in America, from Jews in Latin America to multicultural Israel, from the history of the Holocaust to the importance of the Holocaust in contemporary American culture. Jewish Studies faculty have a wide range of expertise and teaching interests. Click here to meet our faculty.

A unique part of Jewish Studies at The University of Texas is the Schusterman Center's Internship Program in Jewish Studies. An internship allows you to acquire work skills and experience as well as build a professional network while earning course credit. 

Learning Hebrew

Among the seven languages that intersect with Jewish Studies is Hebrew, taught through a Department of Middle Eastern Studies program.

Learning Yiddish

Another popular language among Jewish Studies students is Yiddish, taught through the Department of Germanic Studies.
In the video below, students in Dr. Itzik Gottesman's Yiddish class showcase their language skills in a recorded performance set in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin.