Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program

This course uses history to shed light on the issues and challenges facing the contemporary American Jewish community. It asks how the community assumed its current shape, and uses a series of historical case studies to examine past crises and the lessons that might be learned from them. The goal of the course is to help students craft a "usable past" — one that employs the hindsight of history to understand the present and help plan the future. Four credits.

Human resource management (HRM) aligns people with the mission of an organization. This course considers general principles of HRM and their application to Jewish and other non-profit organizations. It focuses on concepts and strategies that increase organization effectiveness (e.g., dealing with lay leaders, religious-secular differences) to enhance the value of people in organizations served. This course is usually offered every year.

This course integrates contemporary management theories, case studies, experiential exercises and traditional Jewish teachings to provide frameworks and skills that help students to understand, predict and influence individual and group behavior in Jewish nonprofit organizations. Topics covered include motivation, trust, ethics, group dynamics, decision-making, power, conflict, influence, negotiation, lay-professional relations, leadership, organizational culture and organizational change. Four credits.

This course provides a conceptual framework and develops a community organizing approach to implementing fundraising campaigns for Jewish communal enterprises. Four credits.

This course provides an introduction to statistical thinking and analytical methods. The focus is on understanding statistical reasoning and interpreting analyses. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics applied to understanding survey research, evaluation and policy studies relevant to Jewish organizational leadership. Four credits.

This course provides participants with an understanding of the basic concepts of evaluation research and their application to Jewish communal policy. It emphasizes methodological issues and their application to social interventions and program delivery using exemplars from the Jewish communal sphere. Four credits.

Students work 150-250 hours under the mentorship of a leader in a Jewish nonprofit organization. Placements are carefully designed to advance professional leadership skills and match students' interests and career goals. Each student is advised by a faculty member and by Hornstein's director of fieldwork. Two credits.

This course is an intensive examination of contemporary issues in Israeli society and its relationship with Diaspora communities. It is held on campus during fall semesters and in Israel during winter break. Four credits.

This seminar provides entering students with an introduction to key issues in American Jewish communal life. The course provides students with the basic background, major themes and shared readings that serve as a foundation for Jewish professional life. Four credits.

The final course in the Hornstein curriculum includes faculty "last lectures," critical assessments of current issues and student presentations. Two credits.

During the final Hornstein semester, each Hornstein student completes a culminating project which integrates the knowledge and skills gained in both of the degree programs. Students work with advisors from both degree programs. Two credits.

MA/MBA

HRNS/HS 232a Team Consulting Project Workshop - Larry Bailis, Carole Carlson, Ellen Smith
This workshop is made up of a series of sessions designed to provide students with the team building and consulting skills necessary to meet the team consulting project's client needs and provide them with tools that will be useful throughout their careers. Several sessions will enable teams to share their experiences with other teams and problem solve as a group. Course taken in conjunction with HS 299 Team Consulting Final Project.

MA/MPP

Dual MA/MPP students must meet the MPP second-year capstone requirement and will generally focus their papers on Jewish community-related policy. Students will demonstrate the ability to define and diagnose public policy situations, collect relevant information, perform logical analysis, develop alternatives and make compelling recommendations; and to organize and communicate information clearly to a variety of audiences through formats including verbal presentations, policy briefs and statistical charts, graphs and tables.

MA/MA or MA/EdM

Students may choose among three capstone options:

1. Write an MA thesis

2. Complete a significant final project

3. Take an oral examination (NEJS students)

How did American summer camps evolve? How did American Jews appropriate this form for their communal needs? How did leadership develop and what are the pressing issues of today? These questions will be examined from historical, educational and managerial perspectives.

This course is an exploration of what we mean by "informal education" and how serious Jewish educators have brought "informal education" and "experiential learning" to settings as diverse as summer camps, Israel trips, arts programs and community service initiatives.

Virtually all of the work of the modern Jewish community is done through nonprofit organizations. This course is designed to acquaint Hornstein students who are not enrolled in the Heller MBA program with the most widely-used concepts, tools and practices utilized by managers in the Jewish nonprofit sector. Topics covered include mission development, governance, strategic planning, human resources, financial resources, marketing and communications, and performance management.

Utilizing classical texts to illuminate the history and values of tzedakah, this course explores different presentation techniques employed in the contemporary Jewish communal setting. Students learn how to bring enduring Jewish values to bear upon the different tasks involved in the process of fundraising and development in Jewish organizational life.

Explores the strategic approach to funding the nonprofit agency with an emphasis on major gifts management. Students learn the process of planning, developing and soliciting leadership support through readings, lectures, guest speakers, case studies, simulations and role plays.

An introduction to Jewish text study in English on themes from Biblical, rabbinic, medieval and modern sources. Students will gain appreciation for how these texts grapple with key question still alive for world Jewry.

For Hornstein students who wish to pursue an additional elective field experience beyond the requirement of HRNS 297b. Students work a minimum of 125 hours in a Jewish nonprofit organization, and are required to conduct a literature review and submit a related paper that is connected to their fieldwork project. Fieldwork projects are carefully designed to provide students with practical experience as well as guidance and mentoring from experienced Jewish professionals. Each student is advised by the director of field experience programs. Two credits.

Relevant graduate-level courses in other Brandeis University departments may count as elective courses with permission of the student's advisor and the Hornstein director.

Want to delve into a topic not offered by one of our electives? If so, you might consider organizing an elective "Readings Course" with a Hornstein professor or other interested faculty member.

Two- or four-credit readings courses can be taken during the fall, spring or summer semesters for one to five students. Students may take up to two readings courses during their time at Hornstein. Just remember to plan well in advance of the semester in which you'd like to take the course.

For more information, contact Ami Blaszkowsky or Claire Purgus in the Hornstein office.