Tikvah Scholars are current 10th, 11th and 12th graders attending Jewish day schools, public schools, independent schools, community schools, charter schools, and are homeschooled.
We welcome applicants from all parts of the Jewish community, no matter their educational backgrounds. Classes on Jewish Thought and Civilization will be structured according to prior knowledge and familiarity with Jewish sources.
Princeton, NJ, hosted in cooperation with the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.
Unlike in previous years, there will only be one session of the Tikvah Scholars Program this summer. However, if you are interested in further Tikvah programming this summer, we encourage you to apply to our Tikvah Scholars Institutes, intensive programs focused on specific subjects.
Tuition this summer is $3,095. Tuition helps cover the cost of seminars, books, and food. All other onsite program expenses, including housing, are fully subsidized by Tikvah.
Full and partial need-based tuition scholarships are available. Students will have the opportunity to apply for need-based scholarships upon acceptance to the program. No student will be turned away because of need.
Students will be housed a short walk from a space that will have a traditional mehitza minyan (prayers with separate seating for men and women), a daily egalitarian minyan, and an alternative arrangement in the form of a serious text study. Prayers and text study will meet three times daily. Delicious kosher meals will be provided throughout the program and the Shabbat at the Tikvah Scholars Program is often one of the highlights of the summer for participants.
The program will be conducted in accord with halakhic standards of behavior.
No. While many of our participants attend Jewish day schools or yeshivot, the program’s course flexibility means that an intensive Jewish studies background is not necessary to participate. We will be able to assist you in crafting your experience in a way that is appropriate to your background.
About 50 percent of our students attend Jewish day schools, and 50 percent attend public schools, independent private schools, community schools, charter schools, and are homeschooled.
No. We have as an expectation that all students uphold the laws of Shabbat, kashrut, and modest behavior in all public spaces over the course of the program.
Families are responsible for covering the cost of transportation to Newark International Airport (EWR) or Princeton, NJ. Tikvah will provide a complimentary bus between Princeton and the airport. Students are welcome to arrange their own transportation to Princeton if a bus from Newark is not convenient.
Although the central features of every day are the seminars, a variety of extracurricular activities are also scheduled throughout the program. Check out the daily schedule from a previous program for a taste of what this year will be like.
All students will be notified if they are finalists by late February and will receive further information at that time regarding an interview with a member of the selection committee. Final decisions will be delivered in March.
We will accept about 65 Tikvah Scholars this summer. We seek intellectually curious students who want to make a difference in the world. They should be willing to grapple with big questions and be ready for vigorous but respectful debate.
Tikvah Scholars, and students in Tikvah programs more generally, are not merely with us for the duration of the program. Tikvah Scholars alumni will have access to mentoring opportunities, alumni networking, follow-up career opportunities, and educational programming through our Tikvah Alumni Network.
