Retention and Graduation

Student Achievement at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California

Each of the programs at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California, a small transdenominational Jewish seminary, is a professional course of study culminating in the completion of a master’s degree. A bachelor’s degree is a prerequisite for all of our programs. We are selective in the admissions process to ensure that accepted students have the ability to succeed both academically and in their chosen fields. In the Rabbinical and Cantorial Schools, both of which require 5 years of full-time study, there is a rigorous evaluation near the end of the student’s third year (or equivalent in credits). Most students who pass that evaluation go on to complete the program. Some study part-time and take longer; others take an extra year to write a Master’s thesis.

The Chaplaincy School program can be completed in less than three years of full-time study. The following statistics are an average for the last four cohort years – those who began the programs in 2002 through 2005. The total admitted in those years was 65 students – 38 in Rabbinical, 11 in Cantorial, and 6 in Chaplaincy.

Rabbinical School

First year Student Retention	Transfer out Rate	3rd-year Student Retention	5 year graduation (less for transfers)	6 or 7 year graduation
89%	0%	92%	71%	87%

Cantorial School

First year Student Retention	Transfer out Rate	3rd-year Student Retention	5 year graduation (less for transfers)	6 or 7 year graduation
91%	9%	91%	64%	91%

Chaplaincy School

First year Student Retention	Transfer out Rate	3rd or 4th year graduation
100%	0%	100%