Liberal arts students studying Hebrew now have the opportunity to add the language as a minor after the School of Arts and Sciences unanimously supported a proposal that would institutionalize a program of Hebrew-based study.
The change resulted as a response to an increase in student demand. The new minor passed the faculty's Committee on Curricula unanimously.
Joel Rosenberg, co-director of the Judaic studies program and an associate professor of German, Russian and Asian languages, called the creation of the minor a "good idea."
"The college of engineering had an active program of foreign language minors," he said, "so the next logical thing was to create something for the Arts and Sciences students."
Students will be able to register for the minor, which combines Hebrew language courses and preexisting Judaic studies courses, as early as this semester, according to Professor of Biology Francie Chew, who chairs the Curricula Committee.
While Tufts already provides a Judaic Studies minor for its Arts and Sciences students, many faculty members deemed it inadequate for matching the student body's level of interest in the Hebrew language.
"It makes sense for someone who has that level of facility with Hebrew not to be limited to just a Judaic studies minor," Chew said.
Sophomore Robin Socol, a teaching assistant for an elementary Hebrew class, said that before the minor, students were not necessarily recognized for just focusing on the Hebrew language.
"If students want to get credit for their studies in Hebrew, they [would] have to focus on Judaic studies or Middle Eastern studies," Socol said. With the minor, she added, interested students would have a new path to experiencing the language and culture.
"I definitely think that in terms of demand for it, students are interested in pursuing Hebrew," she said.
All students hoping to fulfill the minor's requirements must take Hebrew 21, 22, 121 and 122. In addition, they must take two courses from a list of Judaic studies, religion, history and English courses. The minor's curriculum encompasses humanities, arts and social sciences, attempting to provide students with a well-rounded understanding of the language and culture.
Rosenberg expects relatively strong interest among the undergraduate population. "I suspect it will be pretty good," he said. "We have a lot of students that do study abroad; some go to Israel and do language study there and they want to come back and continue language study."
The addition of a Hebrew minor comes at a time when language professors are generally seeing increasing demand among students for varied language programs.
According to Rosenberg, at Tufts, the possibilities for a foreign language minor are expanding.
"In theory," he said, "it's possible even to do one with a language we don't offer."
Michael Del Moro contributed reporting to this article.
