Our Financial Commitment To PRS Students
We are against the accumulation of debt that puts many students at a disadvantage once they finish their smicha program, regardless of its affiliation.
PRS has worked tirelessly to build a program that is as inexpensive as possible while not sacrificing the quality of education.
How PRS Makes Seminary Affordable
There are a few things one notices when they learn about Pluralistic Rabbinical Seminary, and these traits say a lot about who we are and what matters to us.
- We have a very defined educational program. We only work with students who already have a high degree of Jewish educational experience and work history, thereby limiting the number of courses we have to teach, the number of years a student has to be in the program, and thus lowering the overall expense of the program
- We have no buildings or offices of any kind. The cost of purchasing and operating real estate is a financial burden that is placed on students or must be offset by donor development, which means more staff overhead. We decided not to build a building, but to build a community. Our staff and educators are worldwide, giving more availability to our students as well
- We have minimal administrative staff. By embracing a “flat organization” model, we have dramatically lowered the number of administrative staff we need. Additionally, by limiting the number of students we take at a time, we are able to focus more on student needs than business operational needs.
- We fully invest in our educators. We provide higher compensation than any published per hour adjunct pay rate. Our rabbis, cantors and other educators focus on teaching the things they are most personally passionate about, which means a higher quality education for our students, a higher workplace satisfaction for our educators, lower turnover, and therefore lower expense to students.
- We leverage technology. By using the latest technology and online pedagogies, we are able to provide high quality, interactive, personal learning that is surprisingly low cost. We create almost all our own educational materials which are entirely digital.
Tuition & Fees
There are two tracks for tuition in year 2027:
- Students who need a preparatory year in Hebrew will have tuition at $1,200 USD per month for thirty-six (36) months.
- Students assessed into intermediate or advanced Hebrew, who do not need a preparatory year, will have tuition at $1,200 USD per month for twenty-four (24) months.
All payments are made through our interest-free monthly payment plan. Other payments plans are available if needed.
Students pay no more than $600 USD per year in textbooks, but are welcome to pay more for paper copies. Most materials are provided by PRS for free. We anticipate students will pay $100 USD per month in other learning opportunities as part of seminary that they receive credit for, though this is not required.
In the event that a student completes their cohort’s academic work but fails to complete the Innovation & Synagogue Engagement Program or Electives course work, a student may receive (at the Director’s discretion) the opportunity to complete the work outside of smicha. The fee for this is $350 USD per missed credit, not to exceed $8,400 USD. Incompletion of work is very rare and highly discouraged.
Payment can be made via debit card, credit card or PayPal. Checks are only allowed if payment if in full for one year’s tuition or more.