Admission Requirements
Application
Start your process with Part 1 of our application. Once you submit Part 1, you are officially in our system as an applicant. You will soon receive email instructions for creating an account and moving on to Part 2.
In-Person Meeting
Before filling out Part 2 of the application, we recommend that applicants contact us to set up a conversation and/or a virtual visit. We would love to introduce you to a classroom experience and/or set up a chat with you and a student and/or professor. This will help you learn if the Zelikow School is a great match for you.
Full Application
This is the bulk of your application, which includes in-depth questions about your desire to pursue this professional degree. If you have already submitted Part 1, you should have received an email with login instructions for Part 2. You can return to edit this application at any time.
Personal Statement Essays
These two writing samples are your chance to share why the Zschool is the right place for you. You will upload these essays in the “Supplemental Materials” section of the application portal.
Personal Statement
We want to understand you better. We are looking for a well-written personal statement that addresses the following themes. Please do not exceed 7 double-spaced pages:
- Personal Background
- Jewish Identity
- Academic Background
- Work Experience
- Professional Goals
Short Essay
Please respond to one of the following prompts in succinct, well-written prose. Please do not exceed 3 double-spaced pages:
- Defend an unpopular opinion you hold of Jewish life and why you believe it is unpopular.
- You are the leader of an elite team funded with unlimited budget to solve a problem confronting the North American or global Jewish community. What would you choose and why do you believe it is worth investing community resources to solve it?
Supplemental Materials
Students applying for a degree are required to submit 3 letters of recommendation (2 for applicants to the Certificate). Please include at least 1 letter from each category below:
- Professional Recommendation: You are encouraged to select a current or previous supervisor of paid or volunteer work. Working applicants must submit a recommendation from a current supervisor unless otherwise approved.
- Academic Recommendation: This can be a college professor or instructor with whom you have engaged in serious academic study. If you have been out of school for 5+ years, adult or informal education instructors work too.
- Jewish Life Recommendation: This should be someone who knows you in the context of Jewish organizational/communal life. If you know a graduate of the Zschool, this is a great place to include them, but only if they know you well enough to comment meaningfully on your candidacy.
Transcripts
(From all past institutions of higher learning, whether or not they were degree-bearing)
Please have your schools mail the transcripts directly to:
Office of Admissions and Recruitment
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
3101 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45220
tward@huc.edu
GRE scores
Only required for candidates with GPA below a 3.0 from the previous degree-bearing academic institution.
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.
In-Person Interview
Interview with a panel of Administrators and Faculty of the Zelikow School. This allows you to present yourself “off the page”. The interview is also a chance to ask questions of various Zelikow School stakeholders. There is space on the application to indicate your availability.
Degree Requirements
Degree Expectations: The degree is conferred upon successful completion of a minimum of 34 credits and fulfillment of the academic requirements.
Course Requirements: 2 summers of the full Zschool course load in Nonprofit Management and Jewish Communal Dynamics.
Fieldwork (internship): You will benefit from up to two years of supervised field practice and related practicum course in an experiential learning environment that is constructed to meet educational objectives by integrating leadership theory with on-the-job learning.
Capstone Project: A two-semester experience in research methods, Human-Centered Design, and our business model accelerator for the Jewish nonprofit. In the first semester, students develop research on a challenge confronting the Jewish communal ecosystem. In the second semester, students participate in a Launchpad, which replicates the experience of a high-tech business accelerator in order to develop leaders who can innovate within existing organizations or launch their own startups. Capstone projects involve original research (such as surveys, interviews, observations, or analysis of existing data), provide hands-on experience in business model generation, and explore innovation protocols that have practical application.
Seminar in Global Nonprofit Innovation: The Windmueller Israel Seminar is an experience designed to explore challenges in Israel that take place at the fault lines of social justice and how nonprofits have developed creative and innovative ways to meet those challenges. Past trips have explored the intersection of Israel’s high-tech community and innovative NGOs, meeting with leaders like Jonathan Medved, founder, and CEO of OurCrowd, and Dyonna Ginsburg, Executive Director of OLAM, to understand how creative problem solving and business principles in the for profit and social enterprise sectors can be put to use in nonprofits. The trip is offered every other year (even-numbered years) and begins in mid-December. Students in the MAJNM degree track receive a partial scholarship and are required to attend the Seminar for credit, though they must cover their travel expenses.
Others
USC Dual Degree Program
USC Dual Degree: Master’s in Social Work and MA in Jewish Nonprofit Management
Students in this dual degree program of nonprofit management and Master’s degree in Social Work develop the vital skills that remain the foundation for the successful leadership of social service organizations. Students experience a practice-based curriculum that places them in fieldwork (internships) that serve as the foundation for learning. Fieldwork takes place in both social work and nonprofit agencies and provides a learning laboratory where students can apply what is learned in the classroom in a real-world experience that develops new areas of professional competence.
USC Dual Degree: Master’s in Public Administration and MA in Jewish Nonprofit Management
Big picture social change, research, and leadership give students the right conceptual frameworks and practical skills to oversee all aspects of community planning and policy making. Students in this dual degree develop policy and leadership practices that support a strategic understanding of how the application of financial and program resources shape a community’s future. The program is project-based and through field internships and consulting projects, students can apply what is learned in the classroom in a real-world experience that develops their professional expertise.
USC Dual Degree: Master’s in Communication Management and MA in Jewish Nonprofit Management
Marketing, branding, and management are the foundation of this dual degree. Students taking this dual degree develop a unique set of nonprofit management and marketing practices that emphasizes their preparation to lead the rethinking and design of how organizations communicate their mission, vision, and values in the nonprofit marketplace. The program is project-based, and through field internships and consulting projects, students establish their abilities as critical consumers and producers of data and learn how to effectively lead the communications and public relations strategy of a nonprofit.
Finance, business development, and executive leadership provide a foundation of business knowledge to lead forward the nonprofit organization or start your own in a time of dramatic change.
USC Dual Degree: Master’s in Business Administration (part-time) and MA in Jewish Nonprofit Management
Students in this dual degree develop both the business and nonprofit conceptual frameworks including practical application of accounting, operations management, and organizational strategy. Students learn by doing in-field internships and consulting projects that improve awareness of the key challenge’s leaders face and the cultural competencies needed to be an effective executive.
Dual Degree with another university or college
Design your own dual degree master’s program by attending the University/College of your choice and the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management. The summer intensive design of the dual degree allows students the opportunity to complete a degree at another graduate school and the MA in Jewish Nonprofit Management. The degree requirements of both institutions’ programs should be reviewed in advance of acceptance and will need to be met prior to the degree being conferred.
HUC-JIR Concurrent Degree Program with Master of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management
Students pursuing a degree at HUC who are seeking to better position themselves in the job market or develop specialized skill sets may want to consider completing a Master of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management concurrently. The Zelikow School partners with the Cantorial School and Rabbinical School. Students accepted into these HUC programs seeking to strengthen their skill sets in nonprofit management and cultivating their leadership potential in synagogues and educational institutions may concurrently earn a Master of Arts in Jewish Nonprofit Management. The HUC Concurrent Degree program is open to students at HUC-JIR stateside campuses (Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York).
Degree Expectations: The degree is conferred upon successful completion of a minimum of 34 credits and fulfillment of the academic requirements.
Course Requirements: 2 summers of the full Zschool course load in Nonprofit Management and Jewish Communal Dynamics.
Fieldwork (internship): One year of supervised field practice and related practicum course in an experiential learning environment that is constructed to meet educational objectives by integrating leadership theory with on-the-job learning.
Capstone Project: A two-semester experience in research methods, Human-Centered Design, and our business model accelerator for the Jewish nonprofit. In the first semester, students develop research on a challenge confronting the Jewish communal ecosystem. In the second semester, students participate in a Launchpad, which replicates the experience of a high-tech business accelerator in order to develop leaders who can innovate within existing organizations or launch their own startups. Capstone projects involve original research (such as surveys, interviews, observations, or analysis of existing data), provide hands-on experience in business model generation, and explore innovation protocols that have practical application.
Seminar in Global Nonprofit Innovation: The Windmueller Israel Seminar is a 2.5-week experience designed to explore challenges in Israel that take place at the fault lines of social justice and how nonprofits have developed creative and innovative ways to meet those challenges. Past trips have explored the intersection of Israel’s high-tech community and innovative NGOs, meeting with leaders like Jonathan Medved, founder, and CEO of OurCrowd, and Dyonna Ginsburg, Executive Director of OLAM, to understand how creative problem solving and business principles in the for profit and social enterprise sectors can be put to use in nonprofits. The trip is offered every other year (odd-numbered years) and begins in mid-December. Students in the MAJNM degree track receive a partial scholarship and are required to attend the Seminar for credit, though they must cover their travel expenses.
SOC Occupation Code: 11-0000 and 11-2031-00 (Management Occupations, Public Relations and Fund-raising)