Summer in Tel Aviv

Program Summary

At the crossroads of the ancient and modern, Tel Aviv is a dynamic and cosmopolitan city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. The center of Israel’s financial and technology sectors, Tel Aviv boasts many museums and beautiful beaches, a wide variety of culinary hotspots and a vibrant nightlife. The College’s new summer program is a six-week experience that capitalizes on the city’s history and resources to immerse students in Israeli culture. Through intense academic exploration and co-curricular excursions, participants will investigate Israel’s unique history and explore the intersections of religion, politics and ethnicity in a modern secular society from a comparative perspective. This program leverages Tel Aviv’s multicultural present to provide a global perspective on the Middle East and Jewish-Arab society. Open to all undergraduates, Summer in Tel Aviv may be of special interest to those studying religion, politics, history, international relations, Middle Eastern and Islamic studies or Hebrew and Judaic studies.

Application Deadlines

Please join our mailing list to hear more about when the application will open, and to keep up-to-date with the latest information regarding deadlines.

Program Director

Avraham Shilon
Visiting Assistant Professor, Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies 

Tuition, Fees, Housing and International Insurance are required, and these rates are set by NYU.

PLEASE NOTE: Students are responsible for purchase of transportation to/from program location. All students participating in the program are required to live in NYU-provided housing.

Students are encouraged to budget for summer abroad programs based on individual needs. Additional resources for planning are available on the Additional Costs page.

Students must take two courses for a total of 8 points.

Students will explore modern Israel and its ethnic, religious and political divisions through a comparative lens. A second course, offered only during the summer and taught by a local instructor, will explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and history. Co-curricular events and excursions will complement the academic program.

Both classes are held at the centrally located NYU Tel Aviv academic center, which features a student lounge, a lecture hall, and computer terminals for student use.

All students must stay in NYU provided housing.  The residence hall is located in close proximity to HaYarakon Park. Students will have access to a kitchen and may choose to prepare meals in the residence hall, or dine out in the many restaurants and cafes throughout the city.

To learn more about housing facilities, please review the Office of Global Programs NYU Tel Aviv page. Please note that some of the information listed on this page is not summer specific. 

To enhance students' academic experience, Summer in Tel Aviv offers a unique program of cultural activities. 2022 activities may include an overnight trip to Jerusalem, a day-trip to the beautiful port city of Haifa, a visit to explore agriculture and a kibbutz in Negrev, and many other cultural opportunities. Full schedule forthcoming.

Professor Avraham Shilon

Avi Shilon, a historian whose main field of expertise is Israel politics and society, is the author of Menachem Begin: A Life (Yale University Press, 2012) and Ben-Gurion: His Later Years in the Political Wilderness (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016). His new book, The Decline of the Left Wing in Israel: Yossi Beilin and the Politics of the Peace Process has been published lately. Shilon is currently a visiting scholar at the Taub Center for Israel Studies, NYU, and also contributes op-ed pieces to Haaretz.