Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies


The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, informally known as the "Ziegler School" or simply "Ziegler", is the graduate program of study leading to Ordination as Conservative Rabbis at the American Jewish University. Founded in 1996 as a full-fledged program of Rabbinic ordination on the West Coast - the first independent rabbinical school on the West Coast - it ordained its first class in 1999. It is located in Los Angeles and has ordained about 100 rabbis, about half of them women. The School attracts an international student body, with students from Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, Uganda, and the United Kingdom, as well as from every region of the United States. Upon ordination, Ziegler rabbis serve in every sector of the United States and Israel. Ziegler rabbis are automatically admitted to the international Rabbinical Assembly.
The Ziegler School program requires their students to participate in a year abroad in Israel.

Notable faculty