Melton Center for Jewish Studies (MCJS)

Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Samuel M. Melton, the Samuel M. Melton Center for Jewish Studies was established at The Ohio State University in 1976, the first center for Jewish studies at an American public university. Mr. Melton was committed to changing the state of Jewish education, even if it meant establishing institutions and footing the bill himself.

While Ohio State’s Department of Near Eastern and South Asian Languages and Literatures manages Hebrew and Jewish studies coursework and advises majors and minors in these fields, the Melton Center for Jewish Studies focuses on educational programs on and off campus and offers graduate fellowships and scholarships for students.

Jewish studies at The Ohio State University comprises one of the largest and most diverse programs in the country, offering an impressive selection of courses, a multidisciplinary faculty, and a wide range of events. Our faculty is internationally recognized in their respective fields, including History, Philosophy, Political Science, Music, English, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Germanic Languages and Literatures, Classics, Art, and Education.

Ohio state provides students with a first-rate opportunity to explore the academic breadth of Jewish studies course work, and our graduates have the privilege of studying with some of the very best scholars in the field. Undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in several fields of Jewish studies is offered.

The range of teaching and research in Jewish studies conducted by Melton faculty is among the broadest in the nation. The Ohio State University has the one of the largest Judaica library collections in the country, with a full-time Judaica librarian and over 300,000 volumes.

To develop, promote, and support the study, teaching and research of Jewish studies by faculty and students at The Ohio State University;

To encourage an interest in the study of all aspects of the Jewish experience within the Central Ohio community, and to sponsor educational programs for the general public service;

To seek outside funding to encourage the growth of the Jewish Studies programs at Ohio State.