Admission Requirements
Preliminary Consultation with an Admissions Counselor
As part of the application process to DeLeT, we require you to speak with one of our admissions associates.
The Application
Please submit all elements of the application by the application deadline
Short Essays
Please complete two essays (2-3 pages each) answering each of the following questions:
- Why do you want to be a Jewish day school teacher? What in particular attracts you to the DeLeT program? In your response, it will be important to describe your experience working with children or adolescents, any teaching experience you have had to date, and how your own identity and values have influenced this decision.
- Please reflect on the daily work of day school teaching from your current vantage point:
- If you currently work in a Jewish day school: Based on your experiences, what do you anticipate might be some of the rewards and challenges of the daily work you would be doing as a classroom teacher in a Jewish day school?
- ii If you do not work in a Jewish day school, please choose one of the following questions to answer:
- What do you feel are the greatest challenges for teachers? What traits do teachers need to have in order to meet those challenges, and which of these traits do you possess that will help you meet these challenges?
- What do you think is the role of Jewish day school education in our society? How do you see yourself playing a part in this work?
Resumé
Please include a resumé that focuses on your academic and professional accomplishments, awards, honors, publications, and any significant leadership positions in which you have served.
Letters of Recommendation
- One Supervisor Reference: You must have one reference from your current direct supervisor.
- One Collegial Reference: One additional reference from a professional colleague. (Can be supervisor or peer).
- Optional additional reference: While optional, you may choose to include an additional reference who can speak to your teaching skill, ability to work with colleagues, academic strengths, or Jewish community leadership.
Transcripts
Please request transcripts at least four weeks before the application deadline to allow time for them to be sent to HUC-JIR. Transcripts need to be received in order to schedule an interview.
Please provide us with one copy of an official transcript from all of the following:
- The college from which you graduated as well as any other colleges you attended. (This includes any school at which you took a college-level course for transfer credit.)
- Any graduate schools where you have been enrolled, as well as schools where you have taken graduate-level classes.
- Any “Year Abroad” programs or other foreign studies. (If grades from international programs are recorded on your college transcript you do not need to submit a separate transcript.)
Have your schools mail the transcripts directly to:
Office of Recruitment and Admissions
Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion
3101 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45220
mwaldron@huc.edu (if sent electronically)
International Applicants:
Year-by-year records from colleges and universities attended are required. The record must indicate the number of hours per week devoted to each course, grades received for each course, and degrees awarded, with dates the degrees were conferred. This information must be provided in English. If this information is not available in English, it is the applicant’s responsibility to have it professionally translated and certified before it is sent to HUC-JIR. If grades are not determined on a 4.0 scale system, please include guidelines in English from the school that explain the grading system.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Scores
International applicants for whom English is not the first language must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The TOEFL is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in approximately 100 centers outside the United States. The TOEFL school code for HUC-JIR is 1291.
Certificate Requirements
The heart of the 13-month DeLeT credential program is a full-year teaching residency in a Jewish day school in the Los Angeles, San Diego, or San Francisco Bay areas (partner schools vary each year). Through a carefully staged sequence of teaching responsibilities, students gradually learn the intricacies of teaching and, just as importantly, they learn how to think like sophisticated teachers so that they can continue to learn about teaching throughout their careers. In-classroom mentors and visiting Clinical Educators (CEs) offer support and supervision throughout the year.
During the school year, students engage in coursework two evenings each week via video conference. All students come to campus for a month-long full-time intensive summer institute during both the summer before and the summer after their teaching residency.
Students who successfully complete the program are awarded a Certificate in Day School Teaching from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and may earn a California Preliminary Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. They may also apply to continue their studies in a 2 semester Master of Art in Teaching (MAT) program.