Over the course of the year, there are eight seminar meetings, each located in-person in Jerusalem.
Each seminar meeting begins with breakfast provided for all accepted fellows. Then, the group splits into the two seminar tracks for 75 minutes.
There are also two shabbatonim (one in November, one in March) to deepen our intellectual, religious, and social bonds.
Finally, TIF convenes a public speaker series to analyze, in depth, public affairs in Israel, Europe, and the United States, and other subjects of pressing significance. Fellows are guaranteed admission to these events, and often have the opportunity to meet as a group with speakers for more private discussion.
One (they meet at the same time!)
The fellowship is free of charge for those in the non-credit track. For students who are in a seminar for credit, the cost of the program is $750.
No. The fellowship is open to all post high-school students studying abroad in Israel who are in Israel for the duration of the academic year.
Students must commit to attending each event, completing the assigned readings before each seminar, and actively participating in group discussions. The reading assignments will be demanding, but we do take into account the busy schedule of shana ba-aretz programs. For students in the credit-track, there will be an assessment at the end of the year to test your knowledge and understanding of the seminar material.
Since the program began in 2010, TIF has included participants from over twenty-five different yeshivot, midrashot, and other gap-year programs.
Occasionally, your institution might have a trip or an event on a Friday. If that event is optional, we expect you to attend the Tikvah Israel Fellowship seminar. By contrast, if your home institution’s event is mandatory, we will help coordinate with your school to work out a way to attend both the TIF event as well as your school’s program. In some cases, this might include finding alternative transportation options to the Tikvah event (like after Friday morning shiur) or TIF providing transportation to your school’s event (such as a shabbaton). If the conflict is unavoidable, the student will receive an excused absence from the TIF event.
The TIF is a rigorous program. As such, the application to the program is extensive and should be completed thoughtfully. The application can be found here. Only select candidates will receive an invitation to a zoom interview.
Interviews will take place on zoom. Interviews will last around 20 minutes. We just want to get to know you a little bit, so no need to prepare anything in advance.
For the first time, we are offering 3 credits for our seminars! If you are interested in this option, there is a $750 participation cost, as well as an evaluation at the end of the year. If you’re interested in this option, make sure to mark that option on your application.
While our seminars are fully Tikvah-run, we work with an American university which officially confers credit for our seminars. In the past, students have been able to transfer credit to schools including Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Rutgers University, and the University of Maryland. Students should confirm with their universities if the credit will be accepted. If you have specific questions about college credit, we will direct you to the accreditor.
Looking forward to seeing your application! Have more questions? Please reach out to Ariella Gentin at agentin@tikvahfund.org
