First, to provide students with educational content that they cannot get anywhere else. We bring outstanding teachers to our students – teachers who can guide them in study of essential questions that impact the American Jewish future and that raise perennial issues about what it means to be a human being and a Jew.
Second, to inspire and sustain in students a much-needed moral confidence. This is accomplished largely by creating a national community of students who take pride in their Jewish and American identities. With this common commitment as a given, our students can engage in spirited debate about texts and issues that serve the ends of making America strong and the Jewish people strong.
Third, to introduce students to mentors who will help them discover new ways to envision their future.
Membership in the Forum entails a commitment to attend two or more learning events over the course each academic term (Fall and Spring). Most events are held over Zoom. Others are held in-person in select cities or on campuses with local Tikvah chapters.
Membership in the Forum is also a commitment to professionalism in the spirit of personal development. This means showing up to events on time and with all necessary readings prepared. It also requires engaging deeply with our subject matter and actively participating in seminars, which means taking notes, asking questions, and engaging in dialogue with your fellow students and the speakers respectfully and thoughtfully.
This year we will run online events as well as in-person events in select cities and clubs on select college campuses.
Current undergraduate students are eligible for the Forum.
Yes, please be in touch with our college programs staff directly if you have not already to let us know you are applying!
There is no deadline. We review applications on a rolling basis. To have the most options for sessions to attend, it is best to apply at the start of a given term.
There are no costs or stipends associated with being a member of the Tikvah-Beren Collegiate Forum.
The Tikvah Fund is a private philanthropic foundation based in New York. Its mission is to promote serious Jewish thought about the enduring questions of human life and the pressing challenges that confront the Jewish people. Tikvah supports many programs, projects, and individuals, including books, publications, and seminars. Tikvah’s work is grounded in these fundamental convictions: that the great ideas, texts, and traditions of Judaism are a special inheritance, with much to teach everyone in search of wisdom about the human condition; and that the fate of the Jewish people greatly depends on the education of intellectual, religious, and political leaders, both within and outside Israel.
Yes, Tikvah is politically Zionist, economically free-market oriented, culturally traditional, and theologically open-minded. That said, we recognize that there is a time for reflection and a time for action. There is a time to ask big, open-ended questions and a time to hold fast to certain principles to confront a crisis or a dilemma. The Tikvah Collegiate Forum will dedicate much of its time to open discourse and respectful seminars on the fundamental questions of human life, family, power, and economics. There will also be time devoted to applying the most compelling ideas to present-day circumstances.
