Distance Learning. The Reform Movement requires that the first year of rabbinical school be spent studying at their rabbinical school in Israel. Students may take rabbinical program courses online. Most schools require the SAT or ACT, and many also require SAT subject tests. In the Reform and Conservative movements in the U.S., rabbinical school is 5 years. At the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, we believe that a sustained encounter with God, talmud torah (sacred study), shmirat mitzvot (observance of the commandments), and gemillut hesed (acts of lovingkindness) enables people to thrive, to cultivate lives of spirit and to change the world for the good. A full explanation can be found in the Academic Catalog. Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. The Rabbinical Program goals are listed here. It was great preparation for the ALEPH learning experience. Below is a summary of some details of the rabbinical program. Students attending JTS’s List College of Jewish Studies who want to apply to The Rabbinical School should speak with a dean at the earliest opportunity. Awards are made based on academic achievement, leadership potential and demonstrated commitment to the core values of the Rabbinical School. The Rabbinical School awards numerous multi-year Merit Fellowships to incoming students each year. All qualified applicants will be considered for admission without regard to age, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, … The second most popular Rabbinical Studies degree that people obtain is a certificate. While a master's degree is the likely degree choice, acquiring a certificate degree isn't out of the question. Deciding to apply to rabbinical school is a big step. The most common Rabbinical Studies degree earned was a master's degree and it also has the widest range of school possibilities as well. Entrance requirements to Conservative rabbinical study centers include a background within Jewish law and liturgy, familiarity with rabbinic literature, Talmud, etc., ritual observance according to Conservative halakha, and the completion of an undergraduate university degree. anon69953 March 11, 2010 "In some sects, a rabbi must also spend time in Israel prior to working for a congregation." As a rabbinical student, you will experience an extraordinary five-year journey that will expand your intellectual curiosity, nurture your search for spiritual meaning, and fulfill your aspirations to implement tikkun olam, the healing of our world. The dean will direct these students to the courses that will best prepare them for entry into The Rabbinical School and which may secure advanced standing for them in the rabbinical program, shortening their time to ordination. Years before coming to rabbinic school I got an MFA in writing and literature at Bennington, and that's a low-residency program too, as many creative writing MFA programs are. Depending upon where a student lives, they may take 25% – 90% of their courses on our streaming platform. We look forward to learning about your path toward rabbinic studies. You will have the unique opportunity to spend your first year of study at our Jerusalem campus. Rabbinical College of America hasn't explicitly named a policy on SAT/ACT requirements, and it hasn't published average SAT or ACT scores. All accepted students who apply for need based financial aid are considered for Merit Fellowships. Orthodox smicha (rabbinical ordination) comes in two types: Yoreh Yoreh (mastery of day-to-day law) and Yadin Yadin (mastery of Jewish civil law), and the length of time depends on how quickly you learn the prescribed rabbinic material for each classification. Every student must take this step to continue through rabbinical school. In the Jewish tradition, one becomes a rabbi after receiving “smicha,” or ordination, from the rabbinical seminaries of the different movements of American Judaism (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Orthodox), from an independent rabbinical school, or privately from an individual rabbi.