Judaism & the Jewish World: Graduate courses

Early 4th-century sarcophagus
from Rome with menorah

Students wishing to obtain a research degree (the D.Phil. or M.Litt.) within the area of Jewish Studies will generally do so within Oxford’s Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Oxford also offers courses that include an intensive teaching element, for those wishing to acquire essential skills (for instance in ancient languages) alongside a knowledge of late antique Judaism.

The one-year M.St. in Jewish Studies includes a substantial element of language work in Hebrew, and can be focused on the history and literature of Jews and Judaism in Late Antiquity.

A more specialised course, on Jewish history and culture up to the beginning of the fifth century AD, is available through the two-year M.Phil. in Jewish Studies in the Graeco-Roman Period. This course is suitable for those who can already work with quite complex texts in Hebrew.

Oxford also offers a one-year M.St. in Biblical Interpretation, examining a range of primary Jewish and Christian texts in rabbinic Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac (as well as Latin and Greek if desired). A sound knowledge of either classical Hebrew, or Aramaic, or Syriac is required, but teaching for a second Semitic language is provided during the course.