Hebrew Union College Welcomes First Rabbinical Students in its New Virtual Pathway

New York, NY - Today, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC) announces the inaugural class of students entering the rabbinical school through its new virtual pathway. The program expands access to the rabbinate for qualified second-career students who cannot attend HUC's campus-based rabbinical program in Los Angeles or New York.

"In 1875, Hebrew Union College was founded as the first modern rabbinical seminary in America. 150 years later, we are proud to announce the launch of a modern pathway, as our newest students come together on our historic campus in Cincinnati, in the city where we first began," said Hebrew Union College President Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D. "The virtual pathway is built on academic rigor and the principles of Hebrew Union College. Expanding access for students, regardless of where they live, increases our capacity to meet the pressing need for dynamic, scholarly, and effective rabbis who will enliven Judaism's future."

The ten members of the inaugural class begin their studies this week with an in-person intensive on HUC's Cincinnati campus. Demonstrating the pathway's potential to serve all of North America, the class includes students ranging in age from their 30s to their 60s who live in communities, from California to Houston, and Chicago to Boston, along with a student in Jerusalem. Several of the new students are alumni who will be returning to Hebrew Union College after building accomplished careers as cantors and Jewish educators in Reform synagogues and other Jewish organizations. They are joined by a law professor, a professional writer/liturgist, and two current seminary students.

"The virtual pathway is designed to meet the needs of Jewish professionals looking to expand their service to the Jewish community, as well as people in other careers who want to pivot to become rabbis but cannot attend our campus-based program," explained Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, Ph.D., Hebrew Union College's Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Provost. "The virtual pathway is a transformative step in rabbinical education that will allow qualified second career students who feel called to sacred service to remain in their home communities while studying with our stellar faculty and taking advantage of our extensive alumni network for fieldwork and mentorship."

By meeting students where they are, the virtual pathway has enabled the rabbinical school to attract and welcome a broader range of candidates to study at the flagship Reform seminary - while expanding the network of connected communities where the students live. Drawing on best practices for online graduate education, the program combines synchronous and asynchronous online classes with in-person intensives, starting this year in Cincinnati and at the Taube Family Campus in Jerusalem in the summer of 2026. The virtual pathway also includes clergy formation mentoring, supervised fieldwork, tefillah leadership training, spiritual direction, and other hallmarks of seminary education at Hebrew Union College.

The virtual pathway was conceived alongside Hebrew Union College's redesigned rabbinical school curriculum, advancing the institution's approach to educating dynamic, visionary rabbis with the knowledge, skills, and practices to build thriving Jewish life in and beyond the Reform movement.

"We have taken the new curriculum that we originally conceived with campus-based students in mind, and adapted it for students in the virtual pathway - while maintaining the same rigorous standards and learning outcomes," said Rabbi Dvora Weisberg, Ph.D., Director of the Rabbinical School and the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Rabbinics, who served as Chair of the Rabbinical Curriculum Task Force. "Whether students are studying on a campus or from home, they will learn from and form relationships with field-leading scholars and practitioners invested in students' academic, spiritual, and professional growth."

The virtual pathway and the new rabbinical school curriculum are the culmination of a process that involved research and collaboration among faculty, experts in higher education, and alumni. In designing the virtual pathway, Hebrew Union College partnered with Rabbi Karen Reiss Medwed, Ph.D., who brought extensive experience in online graduate programs and higher education administration from Northeastern University, and who now serves as HUC's Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Initiatives. The design of the virtual pathway also drew on the experiences of its Executive Masters in Education program, which is starting its thirteenth cohort, and the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management, both of which have increased their reach by combining online components with in-person learning.