In July 2021, the Collaborative for Applied Studies in Jewish Education (CASJE) released a report on the Jewish educator pipeline. CASJE found that about a third of Jewish teachers possess a graduate degree and 1% hold doctorates — in contrast with the past generation of Jewish teachers, almost half of whom had master’s degrees and 10% of whom completed doctoral training. 

To learn more, in 2023 Gratz College surveyed 150 employees of Jewish agencies in Philadelphia. The results? Even fewer Jewish nonprofit professionals prepared for their careers by enrolling in graduate programs, in Jewish subject areas or otherwise. (An important exception was Holocaust and antisemitism education, spearheaded — and deservedly well-funded — at education centers such as Gratz College and the Spertus Institute).

Does this mean Jewish professionals are ill-equipped or undertrained? Not necessarily. CASJE and other researchers have pointed to the rise of in-service professional development programs. These “smaller-dosage” fellowship programs — meeting intermittently, for example, or for a weeklong retreat — are more cost-effective than bulkier degree programs with significant tuition fees. 

They also aim to support mid-career professionals, who are less likely to drop from the pipeline. Alumni of these sorts of programs feel their work is ennobled by short-term professional development opportunities. They complete fellowship programs with a sense of rejuvenation, an eagerness to participate in lifelong learning and a feeling that they belong to a close-knit community of practice. The fact that they receive paid time off to participate (and are unlikely to receive a salary raise after participating in either a fellowship or a degree program) renders this shorter time commitment more appealing. 

A decade ago, major foundations invested in Jewish colleges, as well as larger universities such as NYU, to support graduate programs in Jewish professional studies. The goal was to leverage high-level research, increase the capacities of Jewish professionals and lower the barriers of entry by reducing tuition costs. The results were mixed, as were the graduation rates. Today, Jewish philanthropy is placing its biggest bets on nimble organizations outside of the higher education orbit. These professional development agencies promise to reach broad cross sections of the Jewish nonprofit workforce, even if their interaction with professionals is limited to short, intensive convenings. Some of these agencies, observing downward enrollment trends at non-Orthodox rabbinical seminaries, are piloting rabbinical programs for mid-career professionals that utilize the rhythm of their fellowship-style programs.

Perhaps the most telling indicator of this trend was the Wexner Foundation’s decision, following an independent assessment of the Jewish professional landscape, to sunset its prestigious fellowship for graduate students preparing for careers in Jewish life. In its place, the Wexner Foundation, in partnership with the William Davidson Foundation, has developed a new initiative for emerging Jewish professional leaders to complement the success of the foundation’s Field Fellowship for mid-career professionals.

What of the Jewish colleges and degree programs that were the erstwhile training grounds for future Jewish educators and professionals? They must prove to the marketplace that high-density, research-rich master’s and doctoral-level programs are worth those once-coveted credentials. 

To make these offerings affordable, we’ll surely need to persuade Jewish philanthropists that graduate-level professional development is a substantive and compelling solution to rebuild the Jewish nonprofit pipeline. To do this, Jewish higher ed must learn from the nimbleness of their competition, the in-service fellowship programs. There is a need to leverage hybrid modalities and stackable micro-credentialing to combat student attrition and accommodate working students, but we also need to examine how our degree programs make meaning for our students; that along with our credentials come the gift of rejuvenation, a pledge to participate in lifelong learning and a sense of belonging that all Jewish professionals ought to feel while they engage in their sacred work. 

Pairing this commitment with the power of research-based curricula and concrete credentialing will no doubt reposition Jewish colleges as the center of professional development and the future of our Jewish communities. 

Zev Eleff is the president of Gratz College and a professor of American Jewish history.