Over 85% of AJR, CA students are accomplished, second-career professionals between the ages of 35 to 65. They have achieved success in such fields as Jewish education, medicine, law, performing arts, academia and business. Now, they are pursuing their dream of becoming a rabbi, cantor or chaplain.

In order to accommodate our students’ significant professional and personal responsibilities, the Academy operates on a Sunday to Tuesday schedule of classes. The flexibility of this schedule is also ideal for the approximately 30% of our students who commute from outside of the Greater Los Angeles area. In recent years, students have commuted weekly from Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Northern California and San Diego.

Our student body, composed of men and women with rich life experience and maturity, is an invaluable asset to the Academy's educational process. Classroom discussions are at the highest intellectual level and a sense of camaraderie and collegiality is evident everywhere. Our students are on an important journey together. As Rabbi Elijah Schochet, PhD, a world renowned expert on the origins of the Hasidic Movement and an AJR, CA Professor of Talmud notes “The Academy’s student body is rich in both gifts of mind and gifts of heart. They bring to our school remarkable intellectual powers and profound sensitivity.”

The Va'ad or student organization is in charge of many of the Academy's co-curricular activities. Daily minyanim are laboratories in leading services and practicing divrei Torah. Special shiurim by guest lecturers are featured throughout the year, and our own Cantorial students provide education in Jewish music by creating cantorial shiurim for the rest of the community. A highlight of the year is the annual retreat, when students, administrators, and faculty all join for a few days of focussed learning, contemplation, and entertainment away from the classroom and the city.

Our students benefit from a faculty and curriculum that represent the teachings and traditions of all of Judaism’s denominations. In addition, the emphasis on spiritual development gives them the “tools” and experience that will allow them to become spiritual leaders and spiritual counselors. As a result of their unique training, our graduates are able to reach out and bring the real beauty of Judaism to Jews of all denominations as well as to those who might otherwise drift away. Well-prepared to work in a variety of settings, they’re being hired by synagogues, day schools, hospitals, universities and other communal organizations across the country.