Dr. Joseph E. Aoun, Northeastern University President Photo by Craig Bailey/NU Photography

Joint undergraduate and graduate degrees, a sharing of resources in Jewish studies and enhanced library resources are among the benefits of a pathbreaking collaboration between Hebrew College and Northeastern University.

Announced on July 5, the initiative is one of the most expansive partnerships between a private university and a Jewish college. The presidents of HC and Northeastern said the agreement calls for a close and extensive collaboration, the sharing of resources and expertise, joint faculty appointments and the ability for students to take classes at each campus. The two institutions will remain independent.

“In this era of increased worldwide opportunities, no institution can truly thrive on its own,” said Dr. Joseph E. Aoun, President of Northeastern University, located in the heart of Boston. “This partnership broadens our cross-cultural education and expands our global initiatives. Sharing our existing resources and creating joint endeavors will provide the students at both institutions with unparalleled access to leading scholars and world-class education on Jewish history and culture.”

The collaboration will yield expanded offerings in Jewish studies, shared library resources of over one million volumes and joint undergraduate and graduate degrees and programs.

“We are proud to collaborate with Northeastern University and work closely together with its department of Jewish studies,” said Dr. David M. Gordis, President of Hebrew College. “We look forward to sharing our extensive wealth of knowledge with each other and to creating joint initiatives that provide students interested in Jewish studies with the academic experience they will need to become leaders on both the local and global scales.”

In addition to the expansion of offerings in Jewish studies, a joint undergraduate program leading to a bachelor’s degree from each institution will be formed, as well as a joint bachelor’s-master’s degree program that will allow students to earn the two degrees concurrently. A combined program leading to a Master of Arts in Teaching from Northeastern and a Master of Jewish Education or Master of Arts in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College is also planned. Courses at both institutions will be made available to each other’s matriculated students, and the institutions will share access to their extensive online distance learning programs and technology resources.

Northeastern University’s Snell Library and Law Library will share their combined resources of over 1.3 million volumes with Hebrew College’s Rae and Joseph Gann Library’s 125,000 volumes. The College’s collection includes Judaica art, Jewish education curricula, archival documents, rare books and manuscripts, as well as extensive online databases in Judaica, humanities, social sciences and education.

Long-term plans proposed by Northeastern University and Hebrew College include a joint executive training program for Jewish communal and educational leadership; professional development programs for Jewish educators and communal leaders and programs in interreligious education. There are also plans to establish a joint program between Hebrew College and Northeastern’s “Dialogues in Civilization” faculty-led travel program that would take place in Israel.

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