Jerusalem University College


Jerusalem University College, founded in 1957 and formerly known as the American Institute of Holy Land Studies, is an independent undergraduate and graduate academic institution in Israel used by a consortium of more than 70 North American theological seminaries and Christian colleges and universities, as well as schools from Africa, Asia, and Australia. Students from non-consortium schools, including Christian and secular Universities, who meet the entrance requirements also attend.

Programmes

JUC has an independent two-year graduate program of courses leading to the degrees of Master of Arts in Biblical History and Geography, Hebrew and Cognate Languages, Middle Eastern Cultures and Religions, and the Hebraic Roots of Christianity. For consortium students, it offers a graduate or undergraduate semester or year abroad, as well as shorter two and three week courses.

Curriculum

The school's curriculum is taught by instructors across the political and religious spectrum but falls broadly "within the framework of the conservative evangelical Christian thought as represented by the members schools of the consortium," —these schools include a wide range of Protestant traditions. JUC is accredited by the Asian Theological Association and is an international affiliate of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

History

The campus has been located on Mount Zion, outside the Old City of Jerusalem near the Jaffa Gate, since 1967, and overlooks the Hinnom Valley. The campus grounds were formally the Bishop Gobat School, which moved in 1853 in the building erected on unused reserve land of the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery. It was one of the first structures to be built outside the Old City of Jerusalem, the others being Kerem Avraham, the Schneller Orphanage, Mishkenot Sha'ananim and the Russian Compound,
Jerusalem University College’s North American office is located in Xenia, Ohio.

Accreditation

Two of Jerusalem University College's masters programs were accredited by the Asia Theological Association in 2003 and 2008-2013. According to the JUC website, in the United States, JUC is recognized as a 501 organization, registered in Illinois and originally chartered in Minnesota in 1957. Jerusalem University College is not accredited by any American accreditation agency.