Degree Requirements

GUIDELINES FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF UNDERGRADUATE SEMINARS AND FOR DIPLOMA EXAMINATIONS, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR RECEIVING A DEGREE AT THE TAUBE DEPARTMENT OF JEWISH STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WROCŁAW FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2017/2018 adopted by the Department Council on October 20, 2017.


Please note that our BA program is only offered in Polish.


These guidelines are based on Statutes and Regulations of the University of Wrocław, resolutions of the Faculty of Philology, ordinances of the Rector of the University and communiques of the Dean of the Faculty of Philology, which determine the organization of undergraduate seminars, requirements for undergraduate thesis papers, and methods of conducting diploma examinations for a bachelors degree.

  1. The undergraduate seminar

    1. The undergraduate seminars are split into two groups: the Hebrew group and the Yiddish group.
    2. The thematic scope of the undergraduate seminars is determined by seminar leaders and will be announced to students no later than by 30 June of the previous academic year.
    3. The undergraduate seminar is held during the 5th and 6th semesters of the undergraduate program and the same leader runs them during both semesters.
    4. Enrollment for undergraduate seminars takes place through the USOS system (University System for Study Services). The seminar leader has the right to define the prerequisites for enrollment. If the seminar leader fails to do so, enrollment is on the first-come basis until all the available places are filled. Students may switch groups only with the seminar leader’s permission, if there are available places, and only during the first two weeks of the fifth semester.
    5. Undergraduate thesis topics must be approved by the Department Council during its last meeting of the winter semester. They may be changed at a later date, but only with the permission of the seminar leader.
    6. Students spending their fifth semester outside the University as part of the Erasmus + program will fulfill their undergraduate seminar requirement as curricular difference with the knowledge and consent of their seminar leader. It is advisable to consult the thesis topic with the seminar leader before leaving on a scholarship program.
    7. Students may submit a special request to the Dean’s office for permission to write the undergraduate thesis under the supervision of an academic staff member who is not a seminar leader if that academic staff member agrees to do so.

  2. Requirements for Undergraduate Thesis Papers

    1. The undergraduate thesis paper is an independent work, whose substantive requirements are specified in point 2 of Resolution No. 213/2015 of the Faculty of Philology of the University.
    2. Thesis papers may be written in Polish, Hebrew or Yiddish depending on the subject, the format of the seminar, and the seminar leader’s guidelines, and must meet the following criteria:
      • language and stylistic norms
      • standard editorial and formal requirements for academic works (including a detailed table of contents, footnotes, bibliography, etc.)
      • rules for citation of references and quotes in academic texts
    3. The thesis should be about 55-70 thousand characters (with spaces) and include:
      • a title page in Polish (first page, unnumbered)
      • a title page in English (second page, unnumbered)
      • a thesis abstract in Polish (up to 4,000 characters with spaces) and a list of key words (up to 1,000 characters with spaces) (page/s unnumbered)
      • a thesis abstract in English (up to 4,000 characters with spaces) and a list of key words in English (up to 1,000 characters with spaces) (page/s without numbering)
      • a thesis abstract in Hebrew or Yiddish (up to 4,000 characters with spaces) and with keywords in English (up to 1,000 characters with spaces) (page/s without numbering)
      • table of contents (numbered including the previous unnumbered pages, e.g., page 5)
      • the main body of the thesis
      • bibliography
      • a list of illustrations (if required depending on the topic)
      • index (optional – after consultation with the seminar leader)
      • annexes (optional, not included in the limits on number of characters)
    4. The printed version of the work should include the author’s copyright statement. This statement should be placed at the end of the work and bound together with the thesis. A template for this statement can be found at: http://www.wfil.uni.wroc.pl/wzory-podan (document No. 20).
    5. The undergraduate thesis must be submitted through the Diplomas Archive system 5 weeks before the scheduled defense of the thesis. All issues related to the archiving of undergraduate theses are defined in the Communique No. 1/2015 of the Dean of the Faculty of Philology on the principles of submitting and archiving diploma theses using the diploma archive system (APD).
    6. Other issues related to the requirements of undergraduate theses are subject to individual agreements reached between seminar leaders and students.

  3. Credit for the undergraduate seminar

    4. Students attending a seminar will receive credit for the winter semester on the basis of a thesis outline submitted to and approved by the seminar leader as well as on the basis of a bibliography prepared by the students. Credit for the summer semester seminar will be received upon presentation of a draft of the undergraduate thesis approved by the seminar leader.

  4. Bachelor’s degree examination

    1. The examination for bachelor’s degree is designed to test the knowledge and skills of an undergraduate student. The exam does not cover the material of all courses from the entire period of study, and is not intended to assess stated educational learning goals.
    2. Bachelor’s degree examinations takes place on a date set no later than 15 June of a given academic year or, if justified, on a date agreed upon with the seminar leader, the chair of the examination board, and the reviewer.
    3. Students are allowed to take the bachelor’s degree examination after their theses have been registered in the APD system in accordance with the timetable determined by the Faculty of Philology. Students may register their theses in the APD system after their work has been accepted by their seminar leader.
    4. The bachelor’s examination for undergraduate students covers the following material:
      1. Topic. Hebrew – Literature, Language, and Culture
        2.
        1. Knowledge of the modern Hebrew language (morphology, lexis, phonetics, syntax)
        2. History of the development of the Hebrew language
        3. Rebirth of the Hebrew language – people, issues, context
        4. Hebrew in the Diaspora and Eretz Israel
        5. Major issues in the theory and practice of Hebrew translation
        6. Periodization of Hebrew literature
        7. Genesis of the Torah – from rabbinical literature to the hypothesis of Wellhausen sources
        8. Canon of the Hebrew Bible
        9. Aggadata midrash and halakhic midrash
        10. Talmuds – similarities and differences
        11. Social and political problems in modern Hebrew/Israeli literature
        12. Languages of Israeli literature and the issue of language in this literature
        13. Identity dilemmas in modern Hebrew / Israeli literature
        14. Main trends, characters and works of modern Hebrew / Israeli literature
      2. Topic. Yiddish – Language, History, and Culture
        3.
        1. History of the Yiddish language – periodization and short description of the developmental periods
        2. Yiddish fusibility and its use in shaping speech
        3. Main relics of the Yiddish language
        4. „Yiddishland” Geography (main centers of Yiddish culture development throughout history)
        5. Periodization of Yiddish literature
        6. Genres and main representatives of early Yiddish literature
        7. Role of women as recipients and creators of Yiddish literature
        8. Classic writers of Yiddish literature
        9. Between town and village – the problem of space in Yiddish literature
        10. Yiddish literary groups
        11. Secularity and religiousness of Yiddish literature and culture
        12. Yiddish culture as a source and subject of ethnographic research
        13. Yiddishism as a cultural and political phenomenon
        14. Main problems in translation from Yiddish to Polish
        15. Contemporary determinants of the development of Yiddish culture
      3. Topic. History of the Jews
        4.
        1. Source literature for the beginnings of the history of Israel
        2. Main issues in the history of the Jews during the Second Temple period
        3. Jews in Muslim countries
        4. Jews in Christian Europe
        5. Jewish community in the Middle Ages and the early modern period
        6. Economic and social role of the Jews in early modern Poland
        7. Hasidism – history, doctrine, social structure
        8. Effects of partitioning for the Jews in Eastern Europe
        9. Haskalah and modernization: emancipation, integration, acculturation, assimilation
        10. Modern Jewish politics – basic directions
        11. Twentieth century in Central and Eastern Europe
        12. Holocaust – history and consequences
        13. History of Jewish settlement and Israel from the first aliyah to the present day
        14. Jews in Poland from 1945 until today
      4. Topic. Judaism
        5.
        1. Three main branches of Judaism: orthodox, reformed, liberal
        2. Customs related to Jewish holidays throughout the year
        3. Shabbat and its significance for religious Jews
        4. Religious rituals connected with Jewish life – from birth to death
        5. Ritual objects – origin, structure, function
        6. Torah – written and oral
        7. Siddur, makhzor, nusach tefillah
        8. Daily prayer cycle
        9. Synagogue, its furnishings and functions
        10. Woman in various denominations of Judaism
        11. Ritual purity and impurity in Judaism
        12. Kosher laws from the Bible to modern halakha
        13. Classics of Jewish philosophy
        14. Currents in Jewish mysticism
    5. The student selects one of the above topics at least one month before the date of the examination.
    6. The names of examination commission members will be announced to students no later than five weeks before the planned exam. The commission consists of the promoter, reviewer and the commission chairperson, and in certain cases also an examiner. The commission is chaired by an academic lecturer who is an independent researcher (habilitated doctor or professor).
    7. The examination is oral and consists of three questions. The first question relates to the undergraduate thesis. The other two relate to material from the selected topic.

  5. Requirements for graduation

    6. The requirements for graduating from the undergraduate program in the Jewish studies at the Faculty of Philology and for receiving bachelor’s degree are as follows:

    • obtaining credits for all required courses in the program
    • obtaining a positive grade for the written undergraduate thesis
    • obtaining a positive evaluation for the final oral bachelor’s degree examination

  6. Disputes

    7. Any disputes between the promoter and the examination board on the one hand and the student on the other are resolved on the basis of the Academic Regulations of the University of Wrocław.