Frequently Asked Questions about HC

How many students attend Hebrew College?

How big is the Newton Centre campus?

What is Hebrew College’s relationship with Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS)?

Who are Hebrew College’s academic and community partners?

When was Hebrew College founded?

How many employees, full- and part-time, work at Hebrew College?

Is Hebrew College accredited?

Do you have to be Jewish to attend Hebrew College?

What is pluralistic Jewish education?

How many students attend Hebrew College?

Hebrew College serves a wide range of students through our various programs.

Jewish Professional Education: About 250 students—mostly at the graduate level—are enrolled in academic degree and certificate programs and courses.

Adult Learning: Through Me’ah and the Me’ah Graduate Institute in Greater Boston and national sites, Hebrew College serves about 1,000 adult learners annually. Several hundred adults attend Hebrew College special events and lectures each year.

Youth Education: Our Prozdor Hebrew High School enrolls over 800 teens from Greater Boston and southern New England. Camp Yavneh is home to about 520 children and teens during the summer.

How big is the Newton Centre campus?

Completed in December 2001, the Hebrew College’s campus, designed by Moshe Safdie and Associates, is located on nearly 7 acres on a hillside abutting Andover Newton Theological School. Four interconnected buildings, totaling 72,000 square feet, house the College: the Nathan H. and Sadie Stone Friedman Building, Cutler-Chafetz Building, Rae and Joseph Gann Library and Gould-Florence Campus Center.

What is Hebrew College’s relationship with Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS)?

Since the Newton Centre campus was in its early planning stages, Hebrew College and ANTS have been engaged in a collaboration to strengthen interfaith relations. In 2008, the two institutions founded the Center for Interreligious and Communal Leadership (CIRCLE) with a generous grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. CIRCLE’s mission is to help cultivate relationships among the students, staff and faculty of the two schools through formal and informal programming.

back to top

Who are Hebrew College’s academic and community partners?

Hebrew College has collaborative relationships with a variety of academic institutions and communal organizations. In addition to ANTS (see above), the College collaborates with Northeastern University to offer a Doctor of Education in Jewish Education Leadership; the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies to provide the Hebrew College Day School Educators Program; and BBYO and Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston (CJP) in the training of experiential Jewish educators. CJP has been a major partner of the College in creating and offering Me’ah, our two-year, intensive adult learning curriculum, to students in the Greater Boston area, as well as Ikkarim, an adult learning program for parents of young children.

When was Hebrew College founded?

We were founded as Hebrew Teachers College in 1921. The College’s first campus was a converted home on Crawford Street in Roxbury, Mass. For the full story of Hebrew College’s founding, please see our History of Hebrew College.

How many employees, full- and part-time, work at Hebrew College?

About 70 employees work at the College.

back to top

Is Hebrew College accredited?

Hebrew College is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

Do you have to be Jewish to attend Hebrew College?

No. Although most of our students are Jewish, we welcome students of all backgrounds and beliefs.

What is pluralistic Jewish education?

Hebrew College’s commitment to pluralism means that we are open to all forms of Jewish expression, commitment and practice. We seek to engage diverse perspectives on any given Jewish topic, both to encourage a dynamic exchange and to foster respect for other points of view. Hebrew College, true to our roots, strives to encompass the broadest spectrum of Jewish life and to model k’lal Yisrael, a community of all Jews, while welcoming members of other faiths to join our vibrant conversation.

back to top