The Advanced Diploma is a nine-month graduate qualification that provides instruction in the Hebrew language for students with a first degree whose knowledge of the language is at an intermediate or lower intermediate level at the time of entry with the objective of bringing their knowledge up to an advanced level.

The advanced level Hebrew is intended to prepare students for two possible pathways after the course:

• an MPhil degree with a research component, with a view to advancing thereafter to a PhD or another career requiring high-level language and research skills;
• a career in specialist Hebrew language teaching (in, for example, the Secondary Education Sector).

The Diploma consists of three taught modules, which are assessed by written and oral examinations at the end of the course. These are as follows:

Paper 1
Classical Hebrew language: to be assessed by one written examination paper, including translation and grammatical parsing questions.

Paper 2
Modern Hebrew language: to be assessed by one written examination paper, including translation and grammatical parsing questions, and an oral examination in Modern spoken Hebrew.

Paper 3
Either (i) History of the Hebrew language; or (ii) introductory Aramaic. (i) will be assessed by essay questions; (ii) will be assessed by a written examination paper, including translation and grammatical parsing questions.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be expected to

• read Classical Hebrew texts with a good understanding of the grammatical structure of the language and its vocabulary (Module 1),
• read and speak Modern Hebrew with good fluency and understanding (Module 2),
• have a good scholarly knowledge of the history of the language or extend their language skills to include a knowledge of Aramaic up to a preliminary level (Module 3).

Skills and other attributes:

• Understanding of scholarly bibliographical tools and digital resources;
• Knowledge of the production of medieval Hebrew manuscripts (based on visits to the Cairo Genizah collection in the University Library);
• Presentation skills.

Continuing

Continuation from the Advanced Diploma in Hebrew Studies to an MPhil programme in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is not automatic, and interested students will be required to:

• submit an MPhil application via the Applicant Portal, including a workable and relevant research proposal, and demonstrate that they have the required academic knowledge and skills to carry out their project.
• obtain at least 65 per cent overall in their Advanced Diploma and satisfy the admissions requirements set for the MPhil.

The prospective MPhil supervisor may also set additional admissions criteria (e.g., a particular grade for a particular paper).

Admission is at the discretion of the Degree Committee, which judges each applicant on their own merits and in accordance with its own set of rules and regulations.

Open Days

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the Postgraduate Open Day page for more details.

See further the Postgraduate Admissions Events pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Departments

This course is advertised in the following departments: