Jewish Thought
Hebrew University of JerusalemBachelor of Arts (B.A)
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Admission requirements
You can be admitted through one of these tracks:
By bagrut, no psychometric exam
Required bagrut average for direct admission
- Direct admission 9.75 (deserving advancement category 9.4)
Regular track
Weighted score based on the psychometric exam and bagrut (department admission threshold)(our wording)
- Admission threshold for the department 16.000. Explanations of how the calculation is done at the link
Through a preparatory program
Weighted score based on the psychometric exam and a mechina
- 50%/50% (applies to all mechina tracks)
Regular track
Required psychometric score for direct admission (for those eligible for a bagrut certificate)
- Direct admission 550 (deserving advancement category 515)
For adults and those who have studied before6
Weighted score based on the psychometric exam and a bachelor’s degree
- 50%/50% (does not apply when applicants with a degree are admitted directly)
Admission requirements for the second year
- English exemption required
- Hebrew exemption for holders of a non-Israeli bagrut certificate
- Completion of at least 1 academic year of study at an institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education 25 credit points minimum
- Compatibility between previous studies and the department's requirements
- Applicants must meet the requirements for moving on to the second year at the institution where they studied.
- Applicants must have an average grade of 75 or higher in the department in which they wish to continue their studies.
- The most suitable applicants will be admitted following discussion by the department's admissions committee and approval by the faculty's teaching committee
Direct admission for holders of a bachelor's degree/doctorate
- Direct admission for holders of a bachelor's degree/doctorate is available
Weighted score based on the psychometric exam, bagrut, and partial academic studies
- Weighted score based on the psychometric exam, bagrut, and partial academic studies. Relevant admission track. Contact the Registration and Admissions Office to check your chances of admission
Psychometric score for direct admission for applicants aged 30 and older (for those eligible for a bagrut certificate)
- Psychometric score for direct admission for applicants aged 30 and over (for those eligible for a bagrut certificate). Relevant admission track
Transfer track from The Open University of Israel
- Admission requirements for the second yearA transfer track from The Open University of Israel is available
- Students must successfully complete the 3 Open University courses listed below.
- They must also meet the requirements of the transfer track for an additional department or for supplementary studies.
- Students who wish to enter the faculty through the transfer track must take 6 Open University courses totaling 36 Open University credit points, approximately equivalent to 1 academic year in the faculty, and earn at least the required grade in each course, as specified for the department they wish to enroll in.
- Students who meet the track requirements listed below will be admitted to the faculty as second-year students, starting in the 2008/09 academic year.
- Students admitted to the faculty must obtain an exemption from English as a foreign language courses.
These are minimum requirements: meeting them does not by itself guarantee admission.
The requirements are in the institution's words. Names and labels marked "our wording" are our own, written from the same page.
For every track
- Minimum English levelScore of 85/Basic level
- A score of 145, required when the language of instruction in high school is not Hebrew
- Type of psychometric scorePsychometric general multi-domain score, psychometric quantitative-oriented score, psychometric verbal-oriented score
- The Jewish Thought department has one registration track: 113-1440- Jewish Thought double major
- A double-major track combining studies with another department from the combinations table
The Hebrew terms
bagrut averageממוצע בגרותbagrutבגרותadmission trackמסלול קבלהdirect admissionקבלה ישירה“deserving advancement” (affirmative-action category based on socio-economic criteria)ראויים לקידוםweighted scoreציון משוקללpsychometric examפסיכומטריadmission thresholdציון סףdepartmentחוגmechinaמכינה
Check your chances — the institution's calculator
- Source:The institution's siteinfo.huji.ac.ilchecked 2 Oct 2026
- Source:The institution's siteopenu.ac.ilchecked 2 Oct 2026
What you study
The Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which belongs to the Institute for Jewish Studies (one of the oldest institutes at the Hebrew University, inaugurated a few months before the university’s official opening), was established by merging the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah with the Department of the History of Jewish Thought. It has become the largest center for the study of Jewish thought in Israel and around the world.
Studies focus on the masterpieces of Jewish thought through the generations and compare them with the patterns of thought in general philosophy, providing an in-depth familiarity with Jewish thought from the Second Temple period to the modern era. Courses in the degree include: Jewish-Hellenistic Apocryphal Literature, Qumran Literature, Ancient Mystical Literature, the Thought of the Sages, Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Kabbalah in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Jewish Philosophy in the Modern Era, Kabbalah and Mysticism in the Modern Era, Philosophy of Jewish Law, Zionist Thought, Scientific Thought, Myth, and more.
- Source:The institution's siteinfo.huji.ac.ilchecked 2 Oct 2026
- Source:Avodata, Ministry of Laboravodata.labor.gov.ilchecked 2 Oct 20262023 data
After the degree
Graduates' salaries are about average: ₪14,800 average monthly salary 5–6 years after completing their studies
Most graduates go on to a master's degree(average across universities)
- Source:Avodata, Ministry of Laboravodata.labor.gov.il /…/101checked 2 Oct 2026
- Source:Avodata, Ministry of Laboravodata.labor.gov.il /…/12“universities” tabchecked 2 Oct 20262023 data
Admitted students and graduates
for this program at this institution
- Program length: 3 years
- Average bagrut score of admitted students: 106 points
- Average psychometric score 670 points
- Source:Avodata, Ministry of Laboravodata.labor.gov.ilchecked 2 Oct 2026
Money
How the institution is funded
Budgeted institutions
Tuition2026/27
Annual tuition for a full-time bachelor's degree program in the 2026/27 academic year: ₪12,203.
- Source:Council for Higher Educationche.org.il /…/מוסדות מתוקצביםchecked 4 Oct 2026
- Source:Council for Higher Educationche.org.il /…/שכר-הלימודchecked 4 Oct 2026