Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

."About YU
on the Yeshiva University website 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 Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

's '' hashkafa'' (philosophy) of '' Torah Umadda'' ("Torah and secular knowledge"), which synthesizes a secular academic education with the study of the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. The majority of students at the university identify as Modern Orthodox. The undergraduate body is entirely Jewish, while most of the graduate students are not(, excluding Rabbinical students at '' RIETS'', all of whom, naturally, are Jewish). This is especially the case at the Cardozo School of Law, the Sy Syms School of Business, and the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology. Yeshiva University is an independent institution chartered by

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. It is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

History

Yeshiva University has its roots in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva founded in 1886 on the

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of Manhattan, a cheder-style elementary school founded by Eastern European immigrants that offered study of

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

along with some secular education, including instruction in English. The rabbinical seminary was chartered in 1897. When Lamm took office in 1976, Yeshiva was facing a serious financial crisis. As a result, some of the schools and programs had to be consolidated or closed. The renowned Belfer Graduate School of Science was closed in 1978. Once this was stabilized, additional divisions were added: For example, the Sy Syms School of Business, with divisions for both the undergraduate men and women was opened in 1988. At this time, many of the undergraduate students began to spend their first year (or more) studying in yeshivot and other schools in Israel], which has become an almost universal practice, and a Joint Israel Program regulating these studies was established to allow them to receive credit for this year at Yeshiva. RIETS also maintains a campus in Jerusalem, and many of the rabbinic students spend a year studying there as well. Over the course of Lamm's tenure, enrollment grew considerably to over 2000 undergraduate students. In addition to its undergraduate schools and affiliates, Yeshiva maintains graduate schools in Jewish studies, Jewish education and administration, social work, psychology, law, and medicine. There are over fifteen schools in total. In addition, numerous joint undergraduate-graduate programs with other schools in the New York area and beyond are maintained. The Yeshiva University Museum, an affiliate of the school, is now one of the components of the Center for Jewish History, located in downtown Manhattan. Under Joel's leadership, Yeshiva University's endowment was invested in high-risk investments, including the funds of Bernard Madoff. Losses of at least $110 million resulted. In early 2014, Moody's lowered the school's bond rating by five steps to B1, junk bond level. To raise funds and cut costs, Yeshiva University has sold off real estate, and transferred control of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine to Montefiore Medical Center. Joel created the Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future, folding other programs, both from within and from outside YU, into it. In December 2012, Joel apologized over allegations that two rabbis at the college's high school campus abused boys there in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Investigations into these allegations by '' The Jewish Daily Forward'' and a law firm hired by the university found "multiple instances in which the university either failed to appropriately act to protect the safety of its students or did not respond to the allegations at all." These allegations led to a 380 million dollar lawsuit by former students. The case has since been dismissed. 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. 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.''This is Yeshiva University: 2007–2008'' 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.Moshael Straus Elected Yeshiva U. Board Chief
''The Jewish Daily Forward'', 30 April 2015

Presidents

* Bernard Revel 1915–1940 * Samuel Belkin, 1943–1975 * Norman Lamm, 1976–2003 * Richard M. Joel, 2003–2017 * Ari Berman, 2017–present

Academics

Schools

The university's academic programs are organized into the following schools: * Yeshiva College for Men * Stern College for Women * Sy Syms School of Business ; Graduate and professional schools *Katz School of Science and Health * 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 * Albert Einstein College of Medicine * Yeshiva University High School for Boys *Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls * Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary * Philip and Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music

Rankings

The '' U.S. News & World Reports 2025 "America's Best Colleges" ranked Yeshiva University 98th (tie) in National University. In 2023, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked Yeshiva University as: No. 226 in "Top colleges 2023", No. 118 in Private Colleges, No. 143 in Research Universities, and No. 82 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''.

Campuses

The university's main campus, Wilf Campus, is located in the Washington Heights neighborhood of upper Manhattan. Yeshiva University's main office is located within the Wilf Campus, at 500 185th St. A 1928 plan to build a spacious Moorish Revival campus around several gardens and courtyards was canceled by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

of 1929 after only one building had been erected. Building continued after the Depression in modern style and by the acquisition of existing neighborhood buildings. Since it was founded in 1886, Yeshiva University has expanded to comprise some twenty colleges, schools, affiliates, centers, and institutions, with several affiliated hospitals and healthcare institutions. It has campuses and facilities in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

( Washington Heights, Murray Hill,

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, and Israel. The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Founded in 1973, Yeshiva University Museum is AAMG accredited and aims to provide a window into Jewish culture around the world and throughout history through multi-disciplinary exhibitions and publications. The university's building in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, in the Bayit VeGan neighborhood, contains a branch of the rabbinical seminary and an office coordinating the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program. Under the latter, first year students studying in selected Israeli Yeshivot are considered YU undergraduates. File:Zysman yeshiva college.jpg, David H. Zysman Hall, on Yeshiva's Wilf Campus, is home to the former main beit midrash ( Torah study hall) File:Stern College for Women - Yeshiva University (51878226726).jpg, 245 Lexington Avenue is the campus hub for the Stern College for Women File:Zysman Hall jeh.jpg, David H. Zysman Hall, on the Wilf Campus File:Yeshiva University Gottesman Library.jpg, Gottesman Library File:Yeshiva University Belter Hall.jpg, Belter Hall File:Yeshiva University Schottenstein Center.jpg, Schottenstein Center

Student life

Student publications

The undergraduate university newspaper is ''The Commentator'', and the newspaper for Stern College is ''The Observer''. Law students at Cardozo also edit and publish five law journals. There are numerous other publications on a wide range of topics, both secular and religious, produced by the various councils and academic clubs, along with many official university publications and the university press. The call letters of the student radio station are WYUR, and it is currently an Internet-only station.

LGBTQ+ club controversy and lawsuit

LGBTQ flags at YU's Cardozo School of Law (2022) Yeshiva University has been involved in legal proceedings since April 2021 after it blocked official recognition of a Pride Alliance club for undergraduate LGBTQ+ students and their allies. Controversy over LGBTQ-supportive undergraduate groups has been ongoing since at least 2009, when students created a "Tolerance Club." Its purpose was to promote acceptance of diversity of people within the Yeshiva University community. A founding member said that the group had "determined that the school’s lack of diversity has fostered significant insensitivity to those outside of the mainstream Y.U. culture" and aimed to address that issue. The group's members included undergraduates at both the men's and women's campuses. Although not organized to address LGBTQ issues specifically, the group's promotion of tolerance for sexual and gender diversity generated controversy on the Yeshiva University campus; the student newspaper reported that the administration quashed a panel discussion because they objected to one of the speakers, a gay Orthodox rabbi. This controversy came to a head when the Tolerance Club sponsored a panel discussion entitled "Being Gay in the Orthodox World" in December, 2009. Several hundred people attended this panel discussion. Numerous Jewish news sources covered the panel and the conflict that enveloped the Yeshiva campus in its wake, and the Tolerance Club disbanded in May 2010. A decade later, in 2021, undergraduate students sued the university for refusing to recognize a new

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

+ student group, YU Pride Alliance. The university has retained the pro-religious practice law firm Becket Law as its counsel. A New York court ruled in June 2022 that the university must recognize the undergraduate Pride Alliance. The university appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in August 2022, and a temporary stay was issued by Justice Sotomayor. In a 5–4 decision the full court vacated the stay without prejudice, ruling the NY appeals process was incomplete and thus SCOTUS relief premature. In response, the university put all student clubs on hold in September 2022, pending resolution of their ongoing legal challenges. This lasted for a matter of weeks until an agreement was reached between the plaintiff and defense allowing other clubs to continue operating. YU-affiliated Cardozo School of Law and the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology have publicly supported their own students and voiced their disapproval of the university's position and legal response. At Cardozo School of Law, there has long been an officially recognized LGBTQ+ student group, and the Graduate School of Psychology also publicly supports the LGBTQ members of their communities. The university announced on October 24, 2022 that they approved "Kol Yisrael Areivim", a new LGBTQ student group. According to the university, this new group will be the "approved traditional Orthodox alternative to its current LGBTQ student group, the YU Pride Alliance". There is still a dispute with the Pride Alliance who claimed the university's action as a stunt and distraction. Administrators later described Kol Yisrael Areivim as "a framework within which we hope to eventually form a club". Kol Yisrael Areivim is not included on official club lists, and it does not have any student members. On April 10, 2023, student journalist reported that Kol Yisrael Areivim was still yet to hold a single event. On March 19, 2025, Yeshiva University announced that it would recognize the LGBT student club, bringing an end to the lawsuit. The club renamed itself to "Hareni".

Undergraduate clubs and activities

Student groups include the Yeshiva University Dramatics Society (YCDS), which puts on a performance each semester. A student-run group known as the Heights Initiative sponsors several outreach programs that work with the schools and organizations of the Washington Heights community. Student Government is run through YSU, YCSA, SOY-JSC, and SYMS. Additionally, these groups run community events like the annual Hanukkah Concert and a carnival celebrating Israeli Independence Day. The Yeshiva University Medical Ethics Society (MES) is an undergraduate student-run organization of Yeshiva University which was founded by students in the fall of 2005 with the help of the Center for the Jewish Future toward the goal of promoting education and awareness of Jewish medical ethics in the university itself and the community at large. In the first several years, the group hosted a program of on-campus lectures in the field of medical ethics and Halakha (Jewish law). They also host genetic testing events to help combat the high incidence of various genetic diseases in the Jewish community.

Athletics

Yeshiva University includes a number of

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

-level sports teams. The teams, nicknamed "The Maccabees", include: men's baseball, basketball, golf, volleyball, wrestling, women's basketball, cross country, fencing, soccer, tennis, and volleyball. Because of Yeshiva's dual curriculum, most of the sports teams practice at night, sometimes even as late as 11:00 pm. A few of the sports teams practice or work out before classes begin at 9:00 am; for example, the men's basketball team routinely practices at 6:00 am. Teams have participated in weekend tournaments outside of New York City, with athletes staying with local families in the area. This took place in Boston with the basketball and fencing teams, and in Hollywood, Florida with the baseball team in 2008. Some international students have participated in NCAA sports, with as many as nine different nationalities representing the school on the sports field.

Baseball

Two members of the Yeshiva Maccabees Baseball team were drafted out of college by professional teams of the Israeli Baseball League. Pitcher Aryeh Rosenbaum celebrated a championship with his team in the IBL's first year. From 2023 to 2025, the Maccabees went on a 100 game losing streak spanning three years. On April 8th, 2025, Yeshiva broke their streak with a 9–5 victory over Lehman College in the second game of a split doubleheader.

Basketball

Yeshiva's Men's Basketball team is an annual playoff contender. The most successful eras for Yeshiva basketball in recent history have been at the start and end of the 1990s, as well as the dawn of the 2020s. Banners hang in the Max Stern Athletic Center commemorating seasons from both eras. The 2007–08 season had particular note as Yeshiva was home to the Skyline Conference's Rookie of the Year. In 2018, the team won the Skyline Conference title in a game against SUNY Purchase, earning its first-ever NCAA berth and considerable media coverage. The current head coach of the team is Elliot Steinmetz, who has been with the team since 2014. Steinmetz succeeded Jonathan Halpert, the longest ever tenured NCAA men's basketball coach in New York City at 42 years. Steinmetz, a practicing lawyer, has been especially successful at attracting high caliber athletes, recognizing that Yeshiva's status in the Orthodox Jewish world means its athletics programs have unique access to a global talent pool from which to recruit players. In the 2019–20 season, the men's basketball team's only loss was in the season opener, with the Maccabees going on to win the Skyline Conference championship. This was the second time in three years that the Maccabees made the NCAA Division III Tournament. They won the first two rounds, pushing them into the Sweet Sixteen (3rd round) for the first time in school history. Before they played in the third round, the NCAA tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. After a 7–0 season in 2020–21 also abbreviated by COVID-19, the Maccabees entered the 2021–22 season on a 36-game winning streak, the longest current streak in NCAA men's basketball in any division, and were ranked #2 in the preseason by the Division III basketball website ''D3hoops.com''. During this streak, the team was featured by media outlets as diverse as

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, CNN, the ''

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'', the ''

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'', and ''

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''. After previous #1 Randolph–Macon lost in overtime, the Maccabees, with their winning streak having reached 44 games, inherited the #1 ranking in the ''D3hoops.com'' poll released on November 29, 2021, marking the first time any Yeshiva team had topped any national poll. The Maccabees received recognition from the ESPN and NBA Twitter accounts for their 50th straight win, the longest winning streak in NCAA Men's Division III Basketball. As of December 29, 2021, the men's basketball team held the then-longest active winning streak in men's college basketball with 50 consecutive wins. On December 30, 2021, the men's basketball team lost their winning streak.

Fencing

One of the most successful teams in Yeshiva University sports history is the fencing team, known as the "Taubermen", named after the coach of the team, Professor Arthur Tauber, who served as the head coach of the team from 1949 through 1985. Olympic gold medalist Henry Wittenberg was at one time the coach of the wrestling team.

Tennis

In 2014, the Men's Tennis team won the Skyline Conference championship, becoming the first team in school history to advance to the NCAA tournament in any sport. In 2015, the Men's Tennis team repeated as Skyline Conference champions and went back to the NCAA National Tournament, advancing to the second round. They lost to the defending National Champions Amherst College. In 2016, the Men's Tennis team won the Skyline Conference a third year in a row and advancing to the NCAA D3 National Tennis Tournament again. The Men's Tennis team repeated as Skyline Conference champions in 2017 and 2018 to extend this streak of success to five consecutive NCAA National Tournament appearances.

Other sports

Since 2010, the Men's Cross Country and Men's Volleyball teams have won multiple championships. Many of the Maccabees have gained attention nationwide, like Sam Cohen won an individual championship as well as Capital One Academic honors. Other attention grabbers come from Women's Basketball and Women's Fencing.

Notable alumni

*Professor of Hebrew Literature & Philosophy at Harvard Shaye J. D. Cohen (B.A. 1970) *Former Vermont Governor

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, consultant, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 20 ...

(M.D. 1978) *Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein, of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (J.D. 1979) *Mass murderer and terrorist Baruch Goldstein (B.A. 1977, M.D. 1981) *Restaurateur and writer Eddie Huang (J.D. 2008) *Rabbi and Director of Torah Umesorah Joseph Kaminetsky (B.A. 1932) *Singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky * Aaron Klein, author and chief strategist for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. *Diplomat Daniel C. Kurtzer (B.A. 1971) *Rabbi and 3rd president of Yeshiva University Norman Lamm (B.A. 1949, Rabbinic Ordination 1951, PhD. 1966) *New York Congresswoman Grace Meng (J.D.) *Republican political strategist Nicolas Muzin *Law professor A. Leo Levin at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

(B.A. 1939) *Author Chaim Potok (B.A. 1950) *Baseball executive David Samson (J.D. 1992) *Rabbi and author Harold M. Schulweis (B.A. 1945) *Radio network president and host Nachum Segal (B.A. 1984) *Former Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver (B.A. 1978) *National Public Radio host Laura Sydell (J.D.) *Professional basketball player Ryan Turell (2022) *President of the United Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten (J.D. 1983) *Triple Crown-winning racehorse owner Ahmed Zayat (B.A. 1983)

Notable staff

* Adrienne Asch, bioethics scholar * Abraham Cahan, publisher of the socialist Jewish Daily Forward newspaper (English Department of Etz Chaim Yeshiva) * Paul A. M. Dirac, Nobel Prize winner in Physics * Paul Greengard, Nobel Prize winner in Medicine *

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...

, US Senator * Julius B. Maller, educator and sociologist * Oliver Sacks, British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer * Red Sarachek, basketball coach * Joseph B. Soloveitchik, rabbi * Telford Taylor, lawyer * Bob Tufts, Major League Baseball pitcher, taught sports marketing * Henry Wittenberg, Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling, taught wrestling * Herman Wouk, author * James Yates, judge

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Authority control Orthodox Jewish universities and colleges Universities and colleges in New York City Washington Heights, Manhattan Jewish seminaries 1886 establishments in New York (state) Private universities and colleges in New York City Moorish Revival architecture in New York City Jewish universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges established in 1886 Universities and colleges in Manhattan