The UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies is a world-class research center and intellectual hub for the study of Jewish culture, religion, thought, literature, and much more. Nestled in a dynamic Humanities Division, at the heart of a public university dedicated to the creation, dissemination, and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society, the Leve Center has helped UCLA earn the competitive title of the third best campus for Jewish students in the United States—a ranking it shares with Brandeis University. The Leve Center is among the oldest Jewish Studies centers in the country, and boasts a diverse community of faculty, students, staff, and community friends. Our staff work with aplomb to maintain a rich schedule of public programming.
Our affiliated faculty command expertise in all dimensions of the Jewish experience, from antiquity to the contemporary moment, from Marrakesh to Moscow, and across myriad academic disciplines. These instructors reach over a thousand students each year, whether in the very largest, lower-division undergraduate lecture classes, intensive, intimate seminars, or one-on-one mentorships or tutorials. Alan D. Leve Center affiliated graduate and undergraduate students are conducting pioneering research, and compete for Center fellowships that nurture independent scholarship, participation in the global academy, and unique forms of training in “the field,” whether on an archeological dig in Israel, an archive in Mexico, or the streets of Los Angeles. Public programming is the backbone of our Center. Our events are free and open to the public, and they reflect the dizzying intellectual ambition of our faculty, students, and community partners. If you join us, you will be rewarded with a convivial, engaged environment and continual surprise—one of the essential ingredients of learning.
In 1994 Provost Brian Copenhaver of the UCLA College of Letters and Science established the UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies in the Humanities Division, under the administration and support of Dean Pauline Yu. Through the leadership of its founding director, Professor Arnold J. Band, its subsequent Directors, the Center has developed into an exceptionally productive scholarly resource with an impressive roster of affiliated faculty, a steady stream of distinguished visitors, and a world famous library collection.
