Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City. The university's undergraduate schools—Yeshiva College, Stern College for Women, Katz School of Science and Health, and Sy Syms School of Business—offer a dual curriculum inspired by Modern–Centrist–Orthodox Judaism's hashkafa (philosophy) of Torah Umadda ("Torah and secular knowledge"), combining academic education with the study of the Torah. While the majority of students at the university identify as Modern Orthodox, many students, especially at the Cardozo School of Law, the Sy Syms School of Business, and the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, are not Jewish.
Yeshiva University is an independent institution chartered by New York State. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and by several professional agencies. It is classified among "Doctoral/Professional Universities".
History
Yeshiva University has its roots in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva founded in 1886 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, a cheder-style elementary school founded by Eastern European immigrants that offered study of Talmud along with some secular education, including instruction in English. The rabbinical seminary was chartered in 1897.
In the 2020-2021 school year, Yeshiva University enrolled approximately 2,250 undergraduate students, and 2,700 graduate students. It is also home to affiliated high schools—Yeshiva University High School for Boys and Yeshiva University High School for Girls—and the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS). It conferred 1,822 degrees in 2007 and offers community service projects serving New York, Jewish communities, the United States and Canada. As of 2015, the university had run an operating deficit for seven consecutive years. In 2014, it lost $84 million, and in 2013, it suffered a loss of $64 million.
In 2012 the Middle States Commission on Higher Education warned the university "that its accreditation may be in jeopardy because of insufficient evidence that the institution is currently in compliance with Standard 10 (Faculty) and Standard 14 (Assessment of Student Learning)." On June 26, 2014, the Middle State Commission on Higher Education, which accredits the university "reaffirmed accreditation", but requested a progress report "evidence that student learning assessment information is used to improve teaching and learning." This was accepted by the commission on November 17, 2016 (wherein the university met the minimum requirements for accreditation).
In January 2016, the university disclosed plans to cede almost half of its $1 billion endowment to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as the medical college enters a separate joint venture with Montefiore Health System.
Presidents
Bernard Revel 1915–40
Samuel Belkin, 1943–75
Norman Lamm, 1976–2003
Richard M. Joel, 2003–17
Ari Berman, 2017–present
Academics
Schools
The university's academic programs are organized into the following schools: Yeshiva College (Yeshiva University) Stern College for Women Katz School of Science and Health Sy Syms School of Business Graduate and professional schools Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Wurzweiler School of Social Work Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology Affiliates Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music Albert Einstein College of Medicine Yeshiva University High School for Boys Yeshiva University High School for Girls Rabbinical and cantorial ordination programs are organized into the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and the Belz School of Jewish Music.
Rankings
The U.S. News & World Reports 2023 "America's Best Colleges" ranked Yeshiva University as the 67th best National University. Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law was ranked number 69th by U.S. News in 2023. Cardozo ranked high in US News law specialties in Dispute Resolution (5th) and Intellectual Property Law (14th) as of the 2023 rankings.
In 2023, Forbes ranked Yeshiva University as: No. 130 of all colleges in America, No. 75 in Private Colleges, No. 93 in Research Universities, and No. 55 in the Northeast. Nationally, Yeshiva was ranked 138th by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and internationally it is ranked in the 900s by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities and 369th in the world by the QS World University Rankings.