Interdisciplinary Certificate
Program in Jewish Studies

Міжнародна міждисциплінарна сертифікатна програма з юдаїки

General information

The International Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish Studies operates under the auspices of the A. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

The Certificate Program is a two-year academic online program in Jewish Studies. Although the program has been operating for over 15 years, it underwent significant organizational changes starting in 2020. More than 15 new courses were introduced, new qualified instructors were invited to teach, and the principles of working with students and alumni were rethought.

The program provides students with foundational knowledge in the field of Jewish Studies, equivalent to a minor at the undergraduate level. It allows participants to further specialize in the field through continued academic education or to pursue careers related to Jewish history, culture, and communities.

The program focuses on the history, culture, and literature of the Jews of Eastern Europe, particularly Ukraine. Special emphasis is placed on applied disciplines such as epigraphy, regional studies, archival research, and museum work.

Program goals:

To provide fundamental knowledge of Jewish history and culture, with a focus on the Jewish experience in Eastern Europe;
To promote the development of Jewish Studies in Ukraine;
To foster a community of specialists in the field;
To support the study and preservation of Jewish heritage.

In addition to its educational curriculum, the Certificate Program organizes conferences, seminars, field expeditions, and workshops that allow students to share their research and gain hands-on experience.

Upon completion, students receive a certificate endorsed by the A. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, along with a transcript listing all completed courses and grades earned over the two years of study.

Who is the program for?

Students of the humanities who plan to specialize in Jewish Studies, as well as researchers, local historians, historians, and journalists with prior education or academic degrees who wish to continue their studies in this field;
A wider audience of those interested in expanding their knowledge of Jewish history and culture.

Our core lecturers:

Prof. David Fishman, Dr. Yulianna Tsvietkova, Dr. Kateryna Malakhova, Dr. Larysa Karachevtseva, Prof. Dmytro Tsolin, Dr. Mykhaylo Tyaglyy, Dr. Mordekhai Yushkovsky, Dr. Artem Fedorchuk, Roman Hardashuk, Mikhail Vogman, Sophia Korn, Alexandra Fishel, Yuliia Ponomarenko, Alie Gany, Olha Yakovleva, Leonard Okhochynskyi.

Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish Studies and war

After the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, the Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish Studies did not stop its work; on the contrary, it expanded its activities.

Student engagement did not decrease even during the difficult days of the blackout, when most Ukrainian cities were without electricity.

Program history

The project began as a program for undergraduate students at the National University “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.” Until 2020, classes were held in person.

The program made a breakthrough in the fall of 2020, when it became a fully online international educational program open to all interested. Since then, the project’s reach has expanded, and the audience has grown.

In 2023, a partnership agreement was signed with the A. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

As of today, students from all over Ukraine study in the program.

The audience includes researchers for whom Jewish Studies are part of professional development, community activists, Jewish educators, museum workers and archivists, journalists, and others.

In 2020, for the first time, participants with academic degrees in history and other disciplines joined the program. Today, almost a third of the students hold a degree and consider this program their second higher education.

During 2020-2025, we have introduced a number of new courses, among them:

“An introduction to the traditional Jewish art” – Dr. Boris Khaimovich (Israel) – 2021.
2 “The history of the Holocaust” – Dr. Mykhaylo Tyaglyy – 2020.
“History of anti-Semitism – a modern perspective” – Dr. Vyacheslav Likhachоv – 2020.
“Jewish legal tradition” – Dr. Yulianna Tsvietkova, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) – 2021.
“An introduction to Yiddish literature” – Dr. Mordechai Yushkovsky (Israel) – 2021.
“Jewish religious and secular movements in Eastern Europe” – Prof. David Fishman (JTS, New York) – 2022.
“The Crimean Jews” – Dr. Artem Fedorchuk (Israel) – 2021.
“An introduction to Jewish liturgics” – Prof. Dmytro Tsolin – spring 2023.
“History of the Karaite community” – Dr. Yurii Radchenko – spring 2023.
“Modernism in Yiddish literature” – Tetiana Nepypenko – spring 2023.
“History of the State of Israel” – Dr. Vyacheslav Likhachоv (Ukraine) and Dr. Artem Fedorchuk (Israel) – autumn 2023.
“War in Jewish history” (open lecture course by different speakers) – autumn 2024

We are working to attract new specialists and expand our course offerings.

Attracting students

Since the summer of 2020, the Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish Studies has hosted online Open Days for anyone interested in the program.

Since the summer of 2021, the program has also held Summer and Winter open lecture sessions to attract a broader audience in Ukraine to the field of Jewish Studies.

Beginning in 2020, the program launched a series of open courses available to all. Participants who successfully complete the course assignments receive a separate certificate of completion.

The list of program partners has significantly expanded.

In 2020, the program began cooperating with several academic institutions and organizations, including V.I. Vernadsky Taurida National University (Kyiv), Kyiv National Linguistic University, and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

We are also in ongoing discussions with the Department of Jewish Studies at Ariel University (Israel) and the Department of Jewish Studies at the University of Wrocław (Poland).

The program’s budget has increased by more than 1.5 times thanks to support from new donors.

Curriculum

The curriculum includes more than 20 elective and compulsory courses.

The compulsory part of the program: Hebrew (compulsory, two years) and Yiddish (two years, one year is compulsory).

The courses are devoted to:

A first introduction to Jewish history and culture (Introduction to traditional Jewish culture, Introduction to the history of East-European Jewry)
Jewish Classical Texts and Intellectual History (Introduction to Jewish Classical Texts, Jewish Literary monuments of the Middle Ages, Hasidism: History and Beliefs, Jewish religious and secular movements in Eastern Europe, Jewish philosophy, Introduction to Jewish liturgy)
Yiddish culture and literature (Workshop in Yiddish literature, Jewish Religion and Culture in the Soviet Union (1917-1952))
studies of the Eastern European shtetl and its material heritage (The Material Culture of Eastern European Jewry, Jewish epigraphy and necropolistics workshop),
other elective courses covering various aspects of the history and culture of the Jews of Eastern Europe: History of anti-Semitism, History of Crimean Jews (special course) History of the Karaite community, Jewish legal tradition, History of the State of Israel — survival in an enemy environment, An Introduction to Jewish Traditional Art.

The professors of the program are academics recognized in their fields from universities in Ukraine, Poland, USA and Israel, who are engaged in continuous research work. Some courses are taught by graduates of the program who have continued their academic careers.

We are constantly working to expand and improve the program. In the last two years, the following courses have been introduced into the program:

Jewish Literary monuments of the Middle Ages
Yiddish modernist literature
History of the State of Israel – survival in an enemy environment
Introduction to Jewish liturgy

and others.

The program includes mini-courses of invited experts (3-5 lectures) in different areas of Jewish history and culture, special courses by Prof. David Fishman (JTS)