For any questions, please contact the office of the School for Basic Jewish Studies. Important Notice:
It is the student’s responsibility to verify that they have fulfilled all Basic Jewish Studies obligations before completing their degree. |
Bachelor's Degree (BA) Master's Degree (MA) Doctoral Studies (PhD) |
| No, Basic Jewish Studies courses are not categorized as general courses. For information on general courses, please consult your relevant home department. |
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What is an online course?
An online course is conducted independently by the students through the course’s Lamda website without a designated meeting time. Students must actively participate in the course during the academic year by contributing to forum discussions, completing assignments, and taking the final exam Assignments are an integral part of the course grade. Failure to submit assignments disqualifies a student from taking the exam. Some online courses may include one or two optional face-to-face meetings (via Zoom) with the lecturer. Detailed schedules for these meetings will be published on the School for Basic Jewish Studies website after the first month of the academic year. While attendance at these meetings is not mandatory, it is highly recommended. Registration for online courses follows the same process as other courses via the "Inbar" system under the online course category. |
A Beit Midrash course offers an introduction to traditional Jewish study methods, particularly paired study ("chavruta"). It combines guided textual study of Talmudic topics with exploration of Jewish thought, philosophy, and other cultural and spiritual domains. For example, click here |
A shared course is offered by one of the departments in the Faculty of Jewish Studies (e.g., Jewish History, Bible, Hebrew Language, or Jewish Art) and is attended by students enrolled in Basic Jewish Studies as well as students specializing in the department. For the course to be recognized as part of Basic Jewish Studies, students must register under the appropriate Basic Jewish Studies course code. |
How can I request a special exam date? - Undergraduate students: Requests for special exam dates in Basic Jewish Studies are handled by the Status office. Submit a request through the Inbar portal.
- Graduate students:
- Master's degree Requests are handled by the School of Basic Jewish Studies. Complete the special request form and email it to: yesod@biu.ac.il.
- Doctoral students: Contact the School of Graduate Studies. Students who received approval for a special exam date must independently study the material covered in the course during the relevant academic year.
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How many classes can I miss during the academic year?
Attendance is mandatory for all in-person classes. Students may miss up to two classes per semester (justified absences with supporting documentation). Students who do not meet attendance requirements may be banned by the instructor from course participation and restricted from taking the exam. Students who have missed 80% or more of course lectures – shall be considered as having given notice of course withdrawal; the instructor is authorized to not grade their exam, even without giving advanced notice, even if the student came to the exam. |
Undergraduate students must complete 20 credits (10 annual hours) in Basic Jewish Studies. For female students in the Midrasha, each annual course (4 credits, 2 weekly hours) counts as 2 credits (1 weekly hour). For semester-long courses, credits are halved accordingly. For any credit-related inquiries, consult the Midrasha or the Institute for Advanced Torah Studies. | The School of Basic Jewish Studies office cannot manually enroll students in full courses. New slots may open daily during registration periods, as students often change courses. We recommend checking the "Inbar" portal regularly during the registration period. |
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Non-Jewish students are exempt but must complete the equivalent number of hours in general studies. Undergraduate students should submit a request via the Inbar portal with supporting documents, and the Status office will advise the Curriculum Planning (Talam) Office to convert the Jewish Studies clusters to the General Studies clusters. Graduate students should contact the School of Graduate Studies. | Exemption requests must be submitted during the first academic year of the degree program. High school studies are not recognized for academic exemptions per Council for Higher Education (CHE) regulations. Be aware that exemptions may affect tuition fees for that academic year. For inquiries, contact the Tuition department before submitting the exemption request. For guidelines on submitting exemption requests see: Bachelor degree Master degree Doctoral studies | - Undergraduate students: From the Status office.
- Graduate students (master's and PhD): From the School of Basic Jewish Studies.
Exemptions are not visible in the "Inbar" system/portal. Students must ensure they receive the official email confirmation. | Can I appeal a decision regarding an exemption request (Master’s and Doctoral degrees)? Students may appeal exemption decisions via Inbar within the following timeframes: - Appeals for requests submitted during fall semester registration may be filed between December and January.
- Appeals for requests submitted during spring semester registration may be filed in May.
All appeals must be submitted as a new request for exemption via the Inbar portal.
Students wishing to appeal in person must schedule an appointment by contacting yesod@biu.ac.il. |
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Yes, students interested in enrolling as auditors must first review the list of available courses and select the course they wish to attend. For registration as an auditor: See the relevant link (Hebrew) Once you have been accepted as an auditor "Free Listener" (subject to approval by the Curriculum Planning (Talam) office), you can contact the School of Basic Jewish Studies at yesod@biu.ac.il, and we will assist you with enrollment based on course availability. |
