Jewish university in Los Angeles offering rabbinic ordination and Jewish education leadership programs.
American Jewish University currently offers graduate degree programs through two main schools. The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies provides ordination as a Conservative rabbi and Master of Arts degrees in Rabbinic Studies, with options to combine with M.A.Ed. or M.B.A. programs. The Masor School for Jewish Education and Leadership offers Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education, Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education, and Doctorate in Education in Early Childhood Education Leadership, along with certificates and continuing education programs. The university also operates the Miller Introduction to Judaism Program for conversion preparation and interfaith engagement.
The university operates multiple facilities across the Los Angeles area. The Brandeis-Bardin Campus in Simi Valley houses Camp Alonim, the Brandeis Camp Institute Program, a conference center, and the House of the Book. The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies relocated to Beverly Hills in 2024 following the sale of the former Familian Campus in Bel Air to Milken Community School. The former Bel Air campus featured the Gindi Auditorium (475-seat theatre), Ostrow Library with over 120,000 volumes and extensive Judaica collections, and art galleries including the Platt Gallery and Borstein Art Gallery.
The University of Judaism was founded in 1947 by Mordecai Kaplan and Rabbi Jacob Pressman to represent the diversity of Judaic expression in the United States. Originally affiliated with the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles, it became independent in the 1970s and officially non-denominational in 1992. The 2007 merger with Brandeis-Bardin Institute created American Jewish University, which now serves as a center for Jewish learning, leadership development, and rabbinic training.
AJU's Whizin Center for Continuing Education offers classes in language studies, Jewish studies, literature, fine arts, dance, fitness, and performance arts for personal enrichment. The university historically hosted an annual Public Lecture Series at Universal Studios' Gibson Amphitheater attended by 5,000–6,000 people, featuring speakers including President Bill Clinton, Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, and Israeli Prime Ministers.