Fast Facts

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Centennial SealFounded

Hebrew College was founded in 1921. Visit our Centennial page.

Mission

Reimagining Jewish learning and leadership for an interconnected world. Making our lives more meaningful, our communities more vibrant, and our world more whole.

Affiliation

Hebrew College is a pluralistic institution, open to all forms of Jewish expression, commitment and practice. We welcome diverse perspectives on any given Jewish topic, both to encourage a dynamic exchange and to foster respect for other points of view. The College is not formally affiliated with any religious institution or denomination. Read the College’s Mission Statement.

Location and Campus

Hebrew College is located in the Greater Boston area — one of the leading regions of Jewish innovation and entrepreneurship and home to Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), a progressive federation encompassing a wide range of Jewish religious and social-justice institutions, affiliated and independent congregations, day schools and supplementary Jewish schools that are at the forefront of Jewish education. The Hebrew College campus, designed by Moshe Safdie and Associates, sits on nearly 7 acres on a hillside in Newton Centre, MA and is composed of four interconnected buildings, totaling 72,000 square feet.

overview of new campus

In January 2023, Hebrew College will relocate from its current location in Newton Centre to a new shared campus (pictured above) with Temple Reyim at 1860 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02466. The new shared campus offers an inspiring model for Jewish communal sustainability, inclusion, and innovation and builds on the strength of our collaboration with our new shared campus partners: Temple Reyim,  Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center, Kesher Newton, Zamir Chorale of Boston, Jewish Arts Collaborative, Jewish Women’s Archive, Keshet, and the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis.

Hebrew College offers formal academic classes on campus. Informal community classes and programs take place on campus, as well as at synagogues and other off-campus locations. Matriculated Hebrew College students are permitted to take academic courses through partner institutions of the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium (10 Theological Institutions in Boston Area), and can apply the credit towards a Hebrew College degree.  Matriculated Hebrew College MJED students who are also enrolled in the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies take courses both at Hebrew College and at Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem).

Status

A private, not-for-profit, graduate degree-granting institution, Hebrew College offers programs leading to rabbinical and cantorial ordination, and master’s degrees in Jewish education and Jewish studies, and provides non-degree community adult, youth and professional development study opportunities.

President

Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld

Annual Budget

$8.5MM (FY`21)
Management Audited Financials 

Students

    • Graduate Degree: 115 — 77 full-time and 38 part-time
    • Non-degree: 43
    • Community Learning: 1,840
    • Teen Learning: 102
    • Wexner Fellowships (12-year total): 17
    • 88% retention rate for first-year graduate students returning for their second year (includes new student cohorts enrolling between fall 2011 through fall of 2020)
    • 74% of new ordination students graduated within 6-7 years (includes new student cohorts enrolling between fall 2009 through fall of 2016)
    • 89% of graduate students are receiving from Hebrew College some form of fellowship, scholarship or need-based grant

Alumni

  • Rabbinical student placement rate: 94%
  • Cantorial student placement rate: 97%
  • Master of Jewish Education – Pardes program placement rate: 100%
  • Rabbis working in pulpits:  Reform movement synagogues (28%),  Conservative movement synagogues (28%), independent synagogues (28%), Reconstructionist movement synagogues (13%), Renewal movement synagogues (2%)
  • Number of states where rabbinical & cantorial alumni work: 22
  • Number of countries where alumni work: 4
  • Alumni employers: synagogues, Jewish day schools, Hillels, Jewish communal/nonprofit organizations, assisted living/hospital chaplaincy;
  • Alumni positions: spiritual leaders (rabbis, cantors, rav-hazzanim), executive directors, pastoral counselors, scholars, educators and heads of school, musicians, artists, social activists, community organizers
  • Loan default rate: 6.3% (Cohorts = classes of 2017 to 2019). Source = US Department of Education)

Faculty and Staff

  • Full-time faculty: 9
  • Adjunct faculty: 90
  • Full-time staff: 33
  • Part-time staff: 20

Gann Library

90,000 volumes

Graduate Degrees Offered

Community Education Opportunities (Non-Degree)

supported by cjp logoCJP Supported Adult Programs

Professional Development: Centers & Institutes

Teen Learning Programs

Accreditation

Hebrew College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).

College Partners

On Torah Commentary

Watch, listen and read the words of Torah emerging from the students, faculty and alumni of our school. May they draw you more deeply into sensitive listening, probing questioning and humble speaking of Torah and Jewish living.

Publications

Hebrew College Social Media