Women's undergraduate college of arts and sciences within Yeshiva University, founded 1954 in Manhattan.
Stern College for Women provides undergraduate programs in sciences, social sciences, humanities, and Jewish studies. The college awards the Bachelor of Arts degree and an Associate of Arts degree in Hebrew language, literature, and culture. A dual undergraduate curriculum includes the Basic Jewish Studies Program, a one- to two-year introduction to Bible, Jewish law, and Hebrew for students without traditional yeshiva backgrounds. The Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies offers courses from elementary to advanced levels in Bible, Hebrew, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy, and Jewish laws and customs. Combined degree programs are available in dentistry, physical therapy, and engineering.
The college is located at Yeshiva University's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The main campus hub is located at 245 Lexington Avenue, known as 'the Stern Building,' which includes a Beit Midrash (study hall), cafeteria, library, and science laboratories. The building at 253 Lexington Avenue at the corner of East 35th Street was originally constructed in 1911 for the Packard Commercial School and was taken over by Yeshiva University in 1954 for the inaugural class.
Stern College for Women opened in September 1954 with an incoming class of 32 students, named in honor of Emanuel and Caroline Stern, parents of major contributor Max Stern. The college was founded as part of Yeshiva University's post-WWII expansion within the Orthodox Jewish community. Enrollment quickly grew to 500 students as the school offered diverse programs. In 1977, shortly after Rabbi Norman Lamm became president of YU, the administration developed a more intensive, text-based Jewish studies program, with Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik delivering the inaugural lecture on October 11, 1977. The Sy Syms School of Business was established in 1987, and the Graduate Program in Advanced Talmudic Studies was established in 2001.
As of 2019, Stern College for Women enrolled 977 students, with an additional 187 in the Syms School of Business. The college serves students from approximately two dozen U.S. states and a similar number of nations. Notable alumni include academics, authors, educators, and public figures such as Hindy Najman (Oriel and Laing Professor at Oxford University), Anna Kaplan (New York State Senator), and multiple published authors and scholars in Jewish studies and related fields.