The University's guiding vision is the confidence that the best of the heritage of contemporary civilization�the liberal arts and sciences�is compatible with the ancient traditions of Jewish law and life. On the undergraduate level, this belief is embodied in the dual curriculum under which students pursue a full program of Jewish studies while taking college programs in the liberal arts and sciences and business and receiving specialized preparation for advanced work in a discipline or profession. On the graduate level, this special mission is embodied in emphasis on the moral dimensions of the search for knowledge and the ethical principles that govern professional practitioners.
Yeshiva University also is committed to the love of learning for its own sake (known in Jewish tradition as Torah Lishmah) and to teaching and research that stress a striving for excellence.
A third goal of the University is to serve the general and Jewish communities of the city, the nation, and the world by preparing well-trained professionals in many fields and providing pioneering resources for community service.
Yeshiva University is a private Jewish university in New York City whose first component was founded in 1886. Yeshiva University's present endowment is over $1.4 billion dollars and is ranked 52nd in the nation among national universities in 2007.. The undergraduate programs operate according to the Modern Orthodox Judaism philosophy of Torah Umadda — meaning "Torah combined with secular studies".
The Etz Chaim Yeshiva, a cheder-style elementary school, was founded on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1886. Prior to its founding, Jewish education in the United States had been limited to supplemental and synagogue affiliated schools. Etz Chaim ("The Tree of Life," a reference to the Torah from the Biblical Book of Proverbs, and a common name for yeshivas and synagogues) was the first yeshiva in America; that is, the first full-time, independent Jewish school focusing on the study of the Talmud. The primary impetus for its establishment was the influx of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe that began in the 1880s; the school was established along the lines of the Eastern European yeshivas, which themselves had begun to be established in the early 19th Century. However, the New York school, unlike its European counterparts, also offered some secular education, including classes in English. These were very limited at first, but eventually (partially due to New York State law) became a full co-curriculum, something almost unprecedented in the history of Jewish education.
The graduates of Etz Chaim had no place in the United States to continue their formal Jewish education after they completed elementary school, and some began studying Talmud with Rabbi Moses Matlin in his Lower East Side apartment. Soon, in 1896, this group formally became an advanced yeshiva, covering high school years and beyond. Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, the chief rabbi of Kovno (later the capital of Lithuania), and widely considered the leading rabbi of Eastern Europe at the time, died in that year, and the yeshiva (along with other, European, institutions) was named in his honor, as Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan ("The Yeshiva of our Rabbi, Isaac Elchanan"). A year after it was founded, the yeshiva was formally chartered by New York State in 1897 as the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, which is known to this day by its acronym, RIETS. The first group of rabbis (a class of three) was ordained in 1903.
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| Percent of Students International: | 3% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 34% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Basketball (Skyline Conference) Track (Skyline Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 25,600 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 500 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 3,677 | 12% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 2,500 | 15% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 13,647 | 43% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 4,293 | 39% | |
Any Aid: |
59% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 78% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 82% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 550, Math: 550 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 660, Math: 680 |
| Application Fee: | $ 50.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Not Required |
| High School GPA: | Recommended |
| High School Rank: | Not Required |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
