Skip to main content

Jewish and Israel Studies at Northwestern

The Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies at Northwestern University is a hub for transformational undergraduate and graduate education, innovative faculty and student research, and accessible and engaging communal programming. The Crown Center houses the Jewish Studies Program, an interdisciplinary unit of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, which brings together faculty from across the humanities and social sciences. Undergraduate students can major or minor in Jewish Studies ​or Hebrew studies, and can choose from dozens of annual courses  on the full gamut of Jewish thought, history, literature, and culture--from the ancient world of the Hebrew Bible to the modern history of the State of Israel. The Crown Center also houses the Jewish Studies Graduate Cluster, which offers graduate students across the university advanced training and research support for interdisciplinary work in Jewish Studies.

Faculty affiliated with the Crown Center are award-winning educators and scholars, who approach the fields of Jewish and Israel Studies from diverse chronological, geographic, and disciplinary vantage points. The Center hosts a steady stream of visiting professors and postdoctoral fellows from Israeli universities, and facilitates collaborative research between students and faculty at Northwestern and those in major Israeli universities.

The Center also serves a broader public audience through an extensive array of vibrant public programs. It hosts four annual lectureships, cultural and artistic performances, and other educational opportunities and events.