Go to Israel!
Listed below you will find various opportunities for short and long-term experiences in Israel. Included in the list are programs for studying, working, volunteering, and exploring around Israel. These opportunities are aimed at both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young adults not currently enrolled in an educational institution. Click on a program's title to be taken directly to its website. If you have additional questions about these opportunities, please contact Michelle.
Experiential Programs
Universities and Academic Institutes
Yeshivot
Specialized Academic Programs
Kibbutzim and Ulpanim
Scholarships
Experiential Programs
Hasbara Fellowships
Hasbara Fellowships is a leadership development seminar for top Jewish university students from across North America. Due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, there is a necessity to develop young Jewish leaders who are educated and knowledgeable about Israeli history and politics, as well as capable of communicating a pro-Israel message to the Diaspora community, specifically on college campuses. Trips run in the winter and the summer.
Livnot U'Lehibanot
Livnot U'Lehibanot offers 2, 3, 6 or 20 week programs introducing participants to the foundations of Jewish tradition through learning, work on building projects and community service. Based in Tzfat and Jerusalem, the programs are open to young adults ages 21 to 30.
WUJS-Arad
This is a 5 month program for Jewish university graduates which includes Hebrew language instruction, as well as an amazing range of courses in Jewish History, Judaism, Modern Israel, the Middle East, Contemporary Jewry, and Hebrew and Jewish Literature. The program, situated in Arad, also includes extensive hiking, mobile seminars and a three week volunteer experience.
Sherut La’am
Sherut La'am (literally, "Service to the People") is a volunteer program combining intensive Hebrew study with real-life experience in the Israeli work force. Sherut La'am participants are placed in jobs that use their skills to benefit Israeli society through the work of public, non-profit agencies, while gaining valuable work experience. Open to college students and graduates between the ages of 19 and 35.
Shatil/Tnuat Aliyah
SHATIL (of the New Israel Fund) and Tnuat Aliyah (of the Jewish Agency) offer a placement project to match volunteers and interns with organizations in the social change sector. Help these organizations strengthen democracy and promote social justice by writing grant proposals, teaching English, conducting research or helping with public relations. Scholarships and stipends are available for some placements. The minimum commitment is 3 to 6 months.
Otzma
OTZMA is a service-based leadership development program offering young adults ages 20-26 the unique opportunity to contribute and acquire an in-depth understanding of Israel and the Jewish people. Participants gain an "insider's" perspective while working and learning in three consecutive and distinct tracks, including immigrant absorption, areas of urban renewal, social service work experiences and kibbutz. The three tracks are woven together by an educational program where participants delve deeply into both the history and contemporary life of Israel and the Jewish people.
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Universities and Academic Institutes
Hebrew University - Jerusalem
This semester or year-long program offers a diversified academic experience in the fields of Judaism, Israel, Middle East and religious studies. Opportunities are also afforded to students who wish to pursue independent study or research internships in their major areas of study. Program includes 2 months of Summer Ulpan and 4 or 8 months of academic study.
University of Haifa
Being the only university in the north of Israel, the University of Haifa attracts students from cities, towns, and villages from the surrounding areas, as well as students from other areas who want the opportunity to experience Haifa. The university is a world class research institution with internationally recognized faculties in the humanities, the social and natural sciences, law, education, social welfare, and health studies.
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University offer semester and year-long programs, as well as a summer session. Focus is on historic and modern day Israel, Middle East affairs, Judaica and a variety of liberal arts subjects. Among the program's unique features is a voluntary community involvement policy which brings overseas students into the disadvantaged neighborhoods of the Tel Aviv area to establish 'big brother/sister' relationships.
Bar Ilan University
Bar Ilan University offers an opportunity for people from religious backgrounds to experience life in Israel. Men study in the University's Institute of Higher Torah Studies and women study in the University's Torah Institute for Women. Spend a semester or a full academic year taking Jewish studies, Hebrew language instruction, or general studies classes.
Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Ben Gurion University offers courses, internships and faculty-supervised research opportunities in human resettlement, desert ecology, archaeology, Middle Eastern studies, Jewish studies, health sciences and engineering. Choose from semester or year-long programs. Scholarships are available specifically for this program.
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Yeshivot
Pardes
Learn more about Jewish heritage in an open, warm and challenging environment. Pardes is not affiliated with any denominational or political group and encourages respect for religious diversity and tolerance. Students choose from a year-long or summer program and participate in a weekly community service project.
The Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem
The Conservative Yeshiva offers men and women a serious study opportunity for learning traditional Jewish texts during a year in Israel. The egalitarian, open-minded environment, combined with the wonderful learning and warm religious community at the CY enables students to experience life in Jerusalem and throughout the country.
Beit Midrash – A Liberal Yeshiva
Beit Midrash is an equal opportunity yeshiva in the heart of Jerusalem. Its unique program is dedicated to the passionate study of Jewish text and tradition in an egalitarian and liberal setting, aiming to help students find their own place in Jewish practice and Jewish life, based on the study of traditional texts with rabbinic and modern commentaries. Beit Midrash is a joint project of Hebrew Union College and institutions affiliated with the Reform and Reconstructionist Movements.
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Specialized Academic Programs
The Weizmann Institute: The Karyn Kupcinet International Science School for Overseas Students
The Weizmann Institute offers the opportunity to work alongside top researchers while learning something about life in Israel today. Studies are divided into Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Sciences. Lab work centers on current research topics including: immunology, cell biology, lasers, the use of computers in modeling and simulation. Summer and winter program opportunities available.
The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, situated at Kibbutz Ketura, adjacent to the Jordanian and Egyptian borders, is a regional center for environmental leadership that encourages environmental cooperation between peoples. Students and faculty participate in lectures, field trips, and group and individual studies, in an effort to work toward peace and sustainable development. The program provides a balanced scientific, political and social understanding of complex environmental issues.
Medical Electives
Tel Aviv University offers medical electives to medical students in their clinical years, working at affiliated hospitals. Length of time is variable. Participants take part in the routine departmental activities; participate in supervised rounds, bedside instruction, seminars and conferences. They observe most of the professional activities, but due to many restricting conditions, practical hands-on training is very limited. Theoretical lectures are not given as part of this program, and no clinical or basic research is undertaken.
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Kibbutzim and Ulpanim
For more information about opportunities to study or work on a Kibbutz, visit the Kibbutz Program Center.
 Working Visitors on Kibbutzim
Participate in Kibbutz life, working a six day week, 6-8 hours per day, on the Kibbutz. Participants are assigned various jobs according to the needs of the kibbutz, which could be in agriculture, industry or services. Accommodation, food, use of facilities available on kibbutz, occasional trips and a small amount of pocket money provided. Typical duration is 2-6 months.
Project Oren
Project Oren provides young adults a unique opportunity to experience kibbutz and explore Israel. Participants live, work and study Hebrew on kibbutz. Participants also explore their Jewish history and heritage through a rich program of lectures, workshops, and trips throughout the program. Students delve into Zionism, the peace process, Israel-Diaspora relations, the Holocaust, Jewish identity and much more. The past, present and future all come together as students discuss where they come from, who they are, and where they are going.
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Scholarships
University of Arizona Hillel Foundation
Our Hillel is proud to offer scholarship funds for UA students wishing to participate in Israel programs.
Israel On-Campus Coalition
If you are a student interested in participating in an Israel program (study abroad, post-college programs, volunteer and internship opportunities), financial help in the form of scholarships or stipends might be available. This site contains a list of resources and contact information that can help you in getting to Israel on the program of your choice.
The University of Arizona Center for Judaic Studies
The University of Arizona Center for Judaic Studies offers several scholarships and grants for students to travel to Israel. Requirements vary according to the scholarship or grant.
Hillel Leadership Scholarship Program at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are partners in exciting leadership programs which offer scholarships for study in Israel and provides participants with outstanding enrichment activities. Applicants must be current undergraduates who have completed at least one year of college who will return to their home universities as undergraduates after their time of study in Israel.
The Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship
The Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship Fund is dedicated to the memory of Alisa Flatow, a 20 year old student studying in Israel killed in a terrorist attack in near the settlement of Kfar Darom on April 9, 1995. Alisa was in Israel to study her religion and to live among the Israeli people.
The Fund has been established to encourage others to follow in Alisa's footsteps by studying Judaism at schools in the State of Israel. To qualify for a scholarship award, studies must be of a post-high school nature. Study can be in programs which earn college credits. For instance, a student may attend a yeshiva and receive credits which may be applied to his degree program at a University. Programs at Israeli universities combining secular and Judaic studies will be reviewed by the Fund's Committee to determine eligibility on a case by case basis.
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