Welcome to the Jewish Studies Program at Kent State University! The Jewish Studies Program was introduced in the fall of 1975 and has proudly served the students of KSU (Jewish and non-Jewish alike) with quality academics and interesting programs in the decades since.


Students minoring in Jewish Studies have access to the highest-quality course instruction in the culture, language, literature, history, philosophy, and religious customs of the Jewish people from antiquity to the present. We also offer engaging and substantive programming including on-campus, local, and international events and travel. Special events held throughout each semester, including lectures, films, and art exhibitions, complement and enrich Jewish studies courses. Graduates take a well-developed knowledge of Jewish history and community as well as a skill set applicable in a wide array of careers with them as they journey beyond Kent State University.

The Jewish Studies Minor is housed within Kent State University’s School of Multidisciplinary Social Sciences and Humanities. It is recognized as one of Kent State’s premier programs in interdisciplinary work, providing students with a sophisticated understanding of the ways in which multiple academic fields of study speak to a specific topic in a holistic way. The School provides students with expert instruction, faculty and student mentoring, and a support system designed for student success.

Dr. Herbert Hochhauser passed away on January 1, 2019 at the age of 83.

He was the director of the Ethnic Heritage and Jewish Studies Programs at Kent State from 1980 – 1999. In addition to his academic career he produced numerous films about the Holocaust and won seven Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences for these documentaries. Those awards will be displayed in the library for a time and thereafter will be found in the office of the Director of the Jewish Studies Program in Bowman Hall.