The Department of Jewish Art

This page is updated for the academic year 2023-2024.
Information for the academic year 2024-2025 will be updated in the coming days.
 

Master's in Jewish Art 

The program is intended for those holding a BA in art, especially (but not limited to), teachers, staff of museums, galleries, auction houses, artists and art lovers, as well as graduates of BA programs in Jewish Studies, the humanities and social sciences. 

The program focuses on the variety of perceptions of Jewish identity by societies and individuals during all historical periods. Jewish Art is discussed as a means of expressing ideas and interpersonal communication. The program covers both plastic art and the broad phenomenon of visual culture. We will discuss Jewish art in the diaspora as "minority art" existing in collaboration with or as polemic against the art of the majority, as well as artistic expressions of gender issues and perspectives of national and religious minorities. The program covers various form of Israeli art in dynamic development and encompassing a variety of representation of all population strata and sectors.   
 

Research Topics (partial list) 

Phenomenology of Traditional Jewish art in the Middle Ages and Early Antiquity 

Visual folklore and material culture of the people of Israel 

Expression of Jewish identity in art and culture 

Visuality in the modern era 

Gender issues in Jewish and Israeli art 

Plastic arts in the era of the Holocaust 

Trauma and post-trauma in Jewish and Israeli art 

Jewish art as a source for documenting Jewish history in the diasporas 

Collections, Jewish museums and exhibitions of Jewish art 
 

Track A - with research paper (thesis) 

Admission Requirements 

A bachelor's degree with an average of 78 (consideration is conditional on a personal interview for candidates with borderline data). 

Candidates with degrees in Jewish Studies and the humanities or with significant experience in the art or art history fields will not be required to complete additional prerequisite courses. 

Candidates with degrees from other Faculties or fields of knowledge will be required to complete supplementary studies consisting of 2-4 course hours (4-8 credits), depending on the thesis topic and the supervisor's considerations. 
 

Hour and seminar quotas: 

14 NIS (28 credits), as detailed below: 

Compulsory courses - 3 course hours (6 credits) 

Seminars - 6 hours (12 credits) 

Elective courses - 5 hours (10 credits) 

The degree program duration is two years. 
 

Language Requirements 

English course for master's degree candidates. Criteria for exemptions to qualified candidates are detailed on the English as a foreign language page on the BIU website). 

Another language at the supervisor's discretion according to research needs. Studies of an additional foreign language will be calculated 2 course hours (4 credits) as part of elective courses in the department.
 

Jewish Studies 

In accordance with university requirements as detailed on the website of the BIU School for Basic Studies in Judaism. 
 

Track B without a research paper 

A bachelor's degree with an average of 78 (consideration is conditional on a personal interview for candidates with borderline data). 

The normal degree program duration is two years. 

It is possible to complete the degree in a year and a half with a concentrated course load (a full year plus the first semester of the following year). 
 

Program Admission Requirements  

Candidates with degrees in Jewish Studies and the humanities or with significant experience in the art or art history fields will not be required to complete additional prerequisite courses. 

Candidates with degrees from other Faculties or fields of knowledge will be required to complete supplementary studies consisting of 2 course hours (4 credits), subject to the consideration of the chair of the department graduate committee. 
 

Hour and seminar quotas: 

18 course hours (36 credits), as detailed below: 

Compulsory courses - 4 course hours (8 credits) 

Seminars - 6 course hours (12 credits) 

Elective courses - 8 course hours (16 credits) 
 

Jewish studies 

In accordance with university requirements as detailed on the website of the BIU School for Basic Studies in Judais. 
 

Language Requirements 

English course for master's degree candidates. Criteria for exemptions to qualified candidates are detailed on the English as a foreign language page on the BIU website). 

 

Master’s degree in art therapy – visual arts * 

Track B – non-research track 

Areas of specialization 

The program trains students as art therapists at the master’s degree level. Students acquire in-depth clinical knowledge including hands-on experience with diverse treatment populations and clinical experience with a broad range of treatment domains. The program imparts comprehensive knowledge on current art therapy research in Israel throughout the world. 

The curriculum includes required courses, electives, seminars, exercises, hands-on creative workshops, practicum and field work, total 33.5 AC (73 SC).
   

Program admission criteria 

An undergraduate degree in general arts, psychology, criminology, sociology, education, as well as a major in any department within the faculties of Jewish studies, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and exact sciences faculties from a recognized institution, with a minimum grade point average of 85. 

A group and/or personal interview. 

Completion of prerequisite courses, per student background: workshops and creative work hours, psychology courses and visal arts, with a minimum grade of 80 in each make-up course from an academic institution, as specified below: 

Introduction to psychology     1 AC (2 SC) 

Psychophysiology                   1 AC (2 SC) 

Developmental psychology     2 AC (4 SC) 

Psychopathology                     2 AC (4 SC) 

Statistics                                   1 AC (2 SC) 

Research methods                    1 AC (2 SC)) 

Personality theories                  1 AC (2 SC) 

300 hours of hands-on art training from an institution recognized by the CHE and/or a professional institution and/or an academy of arts in hands-on training recognized by the Ministry of Education and/or the Ministry of Labor, Welfare and Social Services.   
 

Program details 

Program duration is two years. The program meets two days a week (both years) – one day of academic studies at the university and one day of practical field work. 

A third year of studies is required for an art therapy certification, including: accumulation of hands-on work hours per CHE and YAHAT (Israeli Association for Creative Arts Therapies) Students are required to fulfill field-based practicums during the third  year apprenticeship. Additional courses are also available for accumulating credits required for the license.   

Jewish studies 

As per Bar-Ilan requirements as indicated on the School for Basic Jewish Studies page of the Bar-Ilan University website.   

Language proficiency 

English at the master’s degree level (details on placement tests, course levels and exemption eligibility criteria – as specified in the English as a Foreign Language page on the Bar-Ilan website). Students with a minimum grade of 85 in undergraduate advanced English from Bar-Ilan University, Tel Aviv University, University of Haifa, Ben Gurion University, Hebrew University, Ariel University, Open University and the Technion are exempt from the proficiency exam. 

Space in the program is limited. The department and the School of Graduate Studies does not guarantee admission to all applicants even if they meet the minimum requirements. 

* The program received initial accreditation for a graduate art therapy program from the Malag* and is in the process toward permeant accreditation. 

*  The Malag is the Israeli regulatory body for academic programs. 

  

PhD in Jewish Art 

Areas of specialization 

Areas of specialization in the department allow for the study of Jewish and Israeli visual arts and culture from a variety of diverse perspectives. We encourage historical, phenomenological, iconographic, structuralist, postmodernist research, and others. 

In the study of artwork, doctoral students are encouraged to explore issues of: identity; gender; Holocaust, trauma, posttrauma and disabilities; propaganda and politics; ritual, kabbalah, mysticism and spiritualism; and more. 

The department provides academic guidance to students seeking to explore different genres of Jewish art, from ancient times to today, in Israel and the Diaspora: manuscripts and books, drawing and sculpture, architecture, practical arts, Judaica, jewelry, video installations, etc. 

The department encourages interdisciplinary research, emphasizing art as a reflection of historical, social, national and psychological processes. 

Publications of the department faculty may be viewed at: https://biu.academia.edu/Departments/Jewish_Art   
 

Admission criteria 

1.     A minimum master’s degree grade point average of 85 from a recognized institution in Israel or abroad. 

2.     Master’s degree thesis as part of master’s degree studies – minimum of 85. 

3.     Students who completed a master’s degree at a recognized institution in Israel or abroad in a non-thesis track must complete a thesis-equivalent work. 

4.     Students whose master’s degree is not in Jewish studies or humanities must make up courses in the department per their background and dissertation topic.   
 

Degree requirements 

1.     Submission of research proposal within one year of admission to the doctoral program. 

2.     6 AC (12 SC) (three year-long courses) with a passing grade for participation. Course/seminar selection in collaboration with advisor. 

3.     Two years of participation in departmental seminar is mandatory. 

4.     PhD candidates who do not submit their dissertation by the end of the fourth year are required to participate in the departmental seminar from the fifth year onward until they submit their dissertation. 

5.     Bar-Ilan University requirements for PhD students are required as well: basic Jewish studies, English, foreign language. 

6.     Submission of doctoral dissertation within four years of admission to the doctoral program 

 

PhD in Art Therapy 

Research Fields 

The program trains art therapists and provides a master's degree enabling further research and contribution to development of the field as research discipline, as well as opportunities for practical therapeutic work. 

For those already holding an MA with a thesis from a track and an institution in Israel or abroad recognized by the MLA (as awarding an MA with a thesis), it is possible to complete a PhD as part of the program. 

Those who have completed an MA at an institution in Israel or abroad (recognized by the MLA as an institution that grants a master's degree with a thesis) in art therapy may be admitted to a PhD track with research requirements equivalent to a thesis and completing 2 prerequisite course hours. 

Admission to the prerequisite courses and the PhD track are conditional on both a personal interview and departmental evaluation of the research topic. 

Candidates are asked to enter the link below before registering for PhD studies, to submit documentation and coordinate an interview with Prof. Einat Metzl, head of the art therapy program. 

Requirements for both tracks are also detailed at the following link: https://jart.biu.ac.il/node/1779   

 

The School of Graduate Studies Committee does not guarantee admission to all applicants even if they meet minimum requirements and have been recommended for admission by the department. 

  

  

For more details, contact the Jewish Art department directly. 

Telephone 03-5318413, 052-2680798, or by department email  

On the department website or Facebook page