York University has suspended admissions to its Jewish Studies major in fall 2025, citing financial constraints and low enrolment figures.
While courses will continue to be offered, new majors will no longer be accepted by the program.
The decision comes as part of a broader policy at York, which requires programs with fewer than 50 students who have declared it as a major to be suspended. Jewish Studies currently has only five students enrolled.
This is now confirmed-
— Andrea Dekeseredy (@AndieYEG) February 20, 2025
York University, under guidance from the same company University of Alberta hired after our own provincial government cuts, is suspending admission to 18 programs.
The women and gender studies program at York is arguably one of the best in the world. pic.twitter.com/WuUL6LXl1i
Course enrolment remains strong, however, with many students—with many non-Jews among them—continuing to take them as electives.
Yanni Dagonas, a spokesperson for York, clarified in a statement that no programs have been closed.
“York is pausing new admissions to certain undergraduate programs with low enrolment while ensuring that students continue to have access to relevant courses,” he wrote. He added that the move is part of the university’s Forward Action Plan, aimed at achieving financial sustainability amid provincial and federal policy shifts affecting higher education. Jewish Studies is one of 18 undergraduate programs with low enrolment at the university that will not admit new majors.
Like many Ontario post-secondary institutions, York is facing financial pressures due to a combination of factors, including a decline in international student enrolment and the ongoing provincial tuition freeze, Dagonas explained. The freeze, which began with a 10 percent tuition cut in 2019 and remains in effect until at least 2027, has significantly reduced the university’s revenue.
In addition, the federal government’s cap on international student visas and a slower than expected post-pandemic recovery have led to a drop in applications. York has reported a $132-million operating budget deficit for 2024-25 and has implemented a three-year budget plan to stabilize its finances.
“York will continue to offer an advanced certificate in Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a graduate diploma in Jewish studies,” Dagonas said.
Prof. Kalman Weiser, director of York’s Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies, pointed to a disconnect between the university’s budget model and the actual demand for courses.
“Jewish Studies classes are at 90 to 100 percent enrolment,” he said. “But York’s budget model counts majors, not enrolments.”
Weiser noted that in 2012, the program had between 15 and 20 declared majors, but that number has steadily declined to just one or two new students per year. He attributed this drop to a decrease in Jewish student enrolment at York, as well as broader shifts in educational priorities.
“Most students in Jewish Studies courses are not Jewish. York’s Jewish population has declined in the last decade.”
Despite the suspension of new majors, Weiser stressed that Jewish Studies at York remains financially supported through endowments. The program currently has three endowed chairs, with efforts underway to establish a fourth.
However, he warned that long-term sustainability is not guaranteed, particularly when faculty members retire. “When someone retires from a university, if their position isn’t endowed, they may not be replaced,” he said.
More broadly, Weiser noted that Jewish Studies programs across Canada are under increasing pressure. “The reality is, if government support isn’t there, we have to rely on private funding to sustain Jewish Studies in Canadian universities,” he said.
Michael Mandel, a fourth-year Jewish Studies major at York, said he was disappointed by the decision to suspend admissions, even though current students will not be affected.
“It’s upsetting for people that it’s just not offered,” he said. “Jewish Studies gives non-Jewish students the opportunity to learn more about Jewish history. Some students at York have never met a Jewish person before, and these courses help broaden their understanding.”
The Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies is Canada’s first interdisciplinary research centre in #JewishStudies.@yorkhist profs @david_koffman & Kalman Weiser share how it's making a positive impact on the York community & GTA | #PeopleOfYU #JewishHeritageMonth pic.twitter.com/tjiJ8pSJ5N
— Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (@YorkULAPS) May 26, 2022
Mandel, who is also president of Students Supporting Israel at York, expressed concern about the university’s support for Jewish students in light of recent incidents of antisemitism on campus. While the Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies is primarily an academic institution, he said it has played an important role in assisting Jewish students.
“They’ve done their best to help students deal with antisemitism on campus,” he said.
Koschitzky Centre, the first interdisciplinary research centre of its kind in Canada, will also continue its work. Additionally, York’s Jewish Teacher Education (JTE) program, which prepares students to teach in Jewish day schools and supplementary schools, remains unaffected.
Prof. Laura Wiseman, who holds the Koschitzky Family Chair in Jewish Teacher Education said in an email to The Canadian Jewish News that JTE undergrads will continue to take Jewish Studies courses at York as part of their program that combines Jewish Studies and Hebrew as well as a bachelor’s degree in education. Students will also continue to be encouraged to spend up to a year studying in Israel.
Jewish studies classes attract students from a variety of disciplines, Wiseman said. Currently she is teaching a course called Holocaust Literature of Children and Youth and about 30 students are enrolled with majors ranging from CCY (Children, Childhood and Youth), to nursing and business.
“Fortunately, steadfast support from the Jewish community and the commitments of extremely generous donors gird the strength of the endowed Golda and Israel Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies as well as many of its endowed positions, mine included,” Wiseman wrote.
Weiser acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the program’s future but maintained that Jewish Studies at York is still in a stronger position than some other small programs.
“Are there going to be ramifications I can’t foresee in five years? Maybe,” he said. “But we are actually in a much better position than others.”
He also placed York’s decision within a larger trend affecting universities across the country.
“York is not unique in these cuts,” he said. “Humanities are being eviscerated across Canada.”
York’s administration has indicated that the suspension provides an opportunity to reimagine the Jewish Studies program in a way that will attract more students. The university has suggested that faculty could use this time to develop a curriculum that is more sustainable in the long term.
In the meantime, Jewish Studies courses will remain available to all students, and faculty continue to seek ways to bolster financial security for the program.
For now, the fate of Jewish Studies as a major at York remains uncertain.
“If Jewish Studies is going to exist in Canadian universities,” Weiser said, “the only way to ensure this is by community support.”
With files from Lila Sarick.
