Financial Aid, The Graduate School

Only matriculated MA and DHL students in The Graduate School taking six or more credits per semester may apply for financial aid. PhD candidates are eligible only for merit-based fellowships administered by the dean of The Graduate School. PhD students who wish to supplement their fellowships, or to obtain student loans in lieu of fellowships, may apply for the loans through the Financial Aid Office by completing all of the regularly required financial-aid application materials. Loan eligibility for fellowship recipients is not guaranteed.

Financial aid consists of tuition and housing scholarships, loans, stipends, or some combination of these types of aid. New York State residents who plan to be full-time students are required to apply to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). Graduate students are not eligible for Pell Grants.

Jewish Professional Leadership Programs

Students in The Graduate School who are applying to or enrolled in the dual-degree Program in Social Work are required to apply to Columbia University School of Social Work for financial assistance, as well as to JTS. Contact CUSSW for their application and information at (212) 854-2867 or School of Social Work. Students in the dual-degree program in Public Administration are required to apply to Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs for financial assistance, as well as to JTS. Contact SIPA for their application and information at (212) 854-6216 or through SIPA.

Wexner Fellowships

Graduate students who plan to pursue careers in the North American Jewish community are eligible for this fellowship sponsored by the Wexner Foundation. Applications are available from the Wexner Foundation or by contacting the foundation at 8000 Walton Parkway, Suite 110, New Albany, OH  43054, (614) 939-6060.

Merit-Based Fellowships and Scholarships

The following merit-based fellowships and scholarships are available at JTS. Recipients are usually chosen at the time of admission and selection is made on the basis of academic strengths and other qualifications. Financial need is not a factor.

PhD Fellowships

The Graduate School awards five-year fellowships to outstanding PhD students, on a competitive basis. Each fellow receives an award including full tuition, as well as an annual stipend of approximately $24,000 per year, health insurance, summer stipends, and teaching opportunities. Some of the awards also include a dissertation stipend of $12,000.

All new applicants to the PhD program are automatically considered for the fellowships, and no additional fellowship application is required. In order to be eligible for these fellowships, candidates must have complete applications submitted to the doctoral program by January 2.

The awards are made possible by these fellowships and grants:  

  • Gerson D. Cohen Fellowship
  • Professor Saul Lieberman and Dr. Judith Berlin Lieberman Graduate Fellowship in Talmudic Studies
  • Rabbi Benjamin Plotkin Fellowship
  • Stroock Fellowship in Ancient Judaism
  • Kohns Foundation Fellowship
  • Anna and William Blanksteen Fellowship for the Study of European Jewish Civilization
  • Dr. Bernard Heller Fellowship
  • Jacob Shatzsky Memorial Fellowship
  • Stanley J. Friedman Graduate Fellowship in Jewish History
  • Elbogen Fellowship (awarded every four years)
  • Rabbi Seymour Siegel Scholarship
  • Robert Rifkind Fellowship in Advanced Jewish Studies
  • Michael Klebanoff Fellowship
  • Betsey and Edward E. Cohen Fellowship
  • Louis and Alice Schimberg Scholarship
  • Charles H. Revson Foundation Fellowships in Judaica

MA Fellowships

The Graduate School offers a number of merit fellowships for students pursuing the MA. In addition to general Graduate School MA merit fellowships, fellowship opportunities include the following among others:

  • Phyllis and Gerald Haas Graduate Fellowship in Jewish Communal Service
  • William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship
  • Robert Lee Kohn's Foundation Fellowship
  • Klagsbrun Fellowships for Jewish Leadership
  • Sylvia and Julius Pollak Scholarship Fund for Michigan Students
  • Satinover Family Fellowship in Jewish Women's Studies
  • David G. and Syd E. Cullen Fellowship
  • Bernard Manekin Fellowship in the History of Jewish Art
  • Tuttleman Fellowship for Jewish Art
  • Pollak Family Charitable Fund Fellowship for the Master's Program in Jewish Art

For further information, please complete our inquiry form, or contact us at:

The Graduate School
3080 Broadway
New York, NY  10027
(212) 678-8024