Report on the State of Jewish Studies

The Association for Jewish Studies has released a report on the state of the field, based on a survey of more than 2,800 faculty members. Among the findings:

• 78 percent of those who earned a Ph.D. before 1980 report finding a full-time, tenure-track position immediately or within one year. For the most recent Ph.D.s (awarded since 2010), only about one-third found a full-time, tenure-track position within a year of graduating.
• More respondents (30 percent) reported enrollment declines in their programs than reported enrollment increases (21 percent).
• The most widely taught courses are modern Jewish history, Bible, Holocaust studies, ancient Jewish history, Jewish thought and theology, and Jewish literature.
• About 10 percent of instructors have taught one or more online courses.