One Year and Semester Programs in Israel

 

 

Israeli universities offer special term and yearlong programs for international students, studied entirely in English. Participants will benefit from superb academic programs combined with tours around Israel and many social activities, such as field trips, parties etc. This is a chance to see what life in Israel is really like while starting or continuing your academic studies at the fields that interest you the most.

 

Many choose to come to Israel because they are interested in learning more on Israeli culture, politics and history as well of these subjects with regard to Arabic and Middle Eastern history in order to get the big picture of life in the Middle East. Israel is the perfect place to do so as students get to visit the places they learn of and meet different groups and minorities in Israeli society.

 

 

 

Gap programs are open only to candidates who did not begin their academic studies, in other words, high-school graduates. During the gap year the students will study a year in Israel in a subject of their choice – engineering, Israel studies, business and economics, law etc.

 

Students must take Hebrew classes during that year. At the end of the year students may continue their studies at colleges and universities in their home countries. Credit points earned in Israeli 'gap year' are recognized by hundreds of academic institutions worldwide especially in the US, EU and in Asian countries.

 

If students wish to continue their studies in Israel they will have to transfer to a regular undergraduate track, meaning a track in Hebrew. However, English undergraduate tracks are also available but only in a limited number of subjects.

 

 

There are many semester and year-long tracks in Israel for those who have already started their college years. Aside from student exchange options, there are special programs for visiting students, in which you can elect courses with an advisor at your home university. By doing so, you ensure that the awarded credit points in Israeli institution will be recognized by your home university.

 

While exchange students do not have to pay tuition fees to the host university as the latter is paid via their home college, in the following programs, students will have to pay Israeli universities directly.

 

There are many programs in a massive array of fields from Israeli and Jewish studies to film or dance, from Middle Eastern studies and Islamic culture to medicine and science.

 

 

There are a number of programs that incorporate academic studies with a practicum in a certain area. The programs are open mainly for third or fourth year students that already have strong backgrounds in their area of expertise. You can find programs that focus on medicine that are open to pre-med students or programs in engineering and sustainable development for science and engineering students.

 

Tracks in film, dance and music, arts and design are also available. They offer academic classes alongside first-hand experience. Students may take part in music or dance ensembles, work on a documentary film or take part in art projects and exhibitions.

 

Another kind of programs that gain much attention is the business and innovation tracks. They are open for business and economics students, and include academic courses, guest lectures by professionals and CEOs in the Israel and internships opportunities in Israeli companies.

 

 

 

For Gap programs students must submit their high school diplomas and SAT (or other standardized tests) scores. For humanities, your GPA must be above 3.0 (80) with SAT scores of 1100 or above. Social Sciences programs require a GPA of 3.3 with SAT scores of 1280 or above. Science and engineering tracks require a GPA of 3.6 and SAT scores of 1340 or above.

 

In programs that are open to third and fourth year students, their current GPA will be submitted. Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 are rarely considered. In several cases, especially in arts, students have to include in their applications past projects and works.

 

Applicants who are not native English speakers will be required to pass an English proficiency test such as TOEFL.

 

 

The tuition fees of most yearlong programs (2 semesters) are $11,500 to $13,000, while some could cost up to $15,000. Housing expenses for these programs are between $4000 and $5,300. One term programs cost approx. $8,000 with additional housing expenses of approx. $2,000. Students will also have to pay for Hebrew classes, $1,100 - $2,200. Other expenses such as flights, transportation in Israel and food are not included.

 

 

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem – is a popular choice as it offers a wide array of programs in many fields, mainly in social sciences and humanities. The university cooperates with other Jerusalem academies in unique fieldss – arts and design with Bezalel Academy, music and dance with Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, and film with Sam Spiegel Film and Television School.

 

Tel Aviv University – offers much sort after semestrial tracks for pre-med and for business and economics students. TAU is yet another popular choice among students as it offers great academic programs as well as due to its location, only a short drive from the city's beaches and many bars.

 

Bar Ilan University (Ramat Gan) - offers courses in Jewish studies: Talmud, Halakha (Jewish laws), Bible, Aggadah (Jewish tales) and more. In addition, Bar Ilan offers tracks in other fields as well, such as psychology and sociology, communications and linguistics. Students of Bar Ilan will also enjoy special trips and activities for Sabbath and some of the holidays.

 

Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Be'er-Sheva) – offers special one-term tracks in global health, ecology and sustainable development. Students of ecology and sustainable development will partially study at the university's Desert Research Center at Sde Boker. BGU also offers several gap programs, most of them in humanities.

 

Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (Haifa) – offers gap programs in engineering. It also offers semestrial programs in English for undergraduate and grad students in mechanical engineering, physics (grad level only), biomedical engineering, biotechnology and food engineering, and more.

 

University of Haifa – offers courses in various fields such as law, communications, psychology, business and more. It is one of the only universities in Israel to offer courses in English in peace and conflict management and in holocaust studies.

 

The College of Management Academic Studies (Rishon Le'Zion) - offers tracks in law, business, computer science, psychology and other areas. The college offers many evening classes and internship programs as the college is very career oriented, and in many cases students work while studying.