Touro College in Israel

For the thousands of American students who spend a gap year or two abroad in Israel, Touro College in Israel (TCI) offers the opportunity for undergrads to pursue higher education while studying in yeshivas or seminaries and connecting with the land of Israel. As an extension of the Lander Colleges in Israel, TCI allows students in a highly mobile community to work toward their degrees while they advance their Jewish learning. Educational programming at TCI is also open to those who are living temporarily in Israel and plan to return to the U.S. to complete their degrees.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

TCI offers courses in accounting, business, computer science, English, history, psychology, science, mathematics and speech-language pathology. The school also offers first-year courses in nursing and occupational therapy, which include introductory and advanced courses in biology, chemistry and physics. Classes—taught to men and women separately, and at different times—are in English and offered to non-Israeli citizens as part of their degree programs.

Small class sizes foster a congenial atmosphere conducive to personal growth and building relationships with professors and mentors. The campus includes state-of-theart audio-visual equipment; an online library; and science and computer labs. Graduates have attained leadership positions in schools, colleges and renowned organizations throughout the world; succeeded in highly productive and profitable careers; and in master’s and doctoral level professional programs.

LEO AND RACHEL SUSSMAN DEAN’S SCHOLARSHIP TCI is committed to fortifying educational pathways between Israel and the global Jewish community. As an added incentive, the prestigious Leo and Rachel Sussman Dean’s Scholarship is awarded to TCI students who attain distinction based on past academic accomplishments, potential for future advancement in their education and their contributions to the Jewish people.

TCI: A UNIQUE PLACE AND UNIQUE EXPERIENCE Working in partnership with the Lander Colleges, and other Touro branches, TCI’s staff offers students personalized guidance and support in achieving their career goals. By affording students the opportunity to take Touro courses in Israel, TCI has become a highlight of their experience at Touro.

NEW JERUSALEM TRACK A partnership between TCI and the Lander Colleges, this new program enables students to earn bachelor’s degrees while living in Israel. By combining in-person classes and labs at Touro College in Israel and online courses through Touro’s Lander Colleges in New York, the Jerusalem Track option offers students majoring in biology, psychology, business and computer science the opportunity to maximize time in Israel and begin their professional journeys.

Avraham Shaw

Finance Analyst, SMBC

Avraham Shaw was a man on a mission. Shortly after graduating high school, he took the entrance exam for Touro College in Israel. “I wanted to get a head start on college and career,” says Shaw, now a married father of two. He failed the entrance exam. Writing essays wasn’t his strength, and it showed. “I was brutally disappointed. But I also knew they were right to reject me until I was prepared.”

Some tutoring and dozens of practice essays later, Shaw passed the entrance exam easily. He majored in finance with an overall GPA of 3.7. He continued his education at Touro Flatbush, graduating in 2020. “I wanted to prove to them and to myself that I could handle a rigorous education,” he says. “They stayed on me, making sure I was keeping up, making sure I excelled. And I did.”

Now 25, Shaw is a leveraged finance analyst in New York City for the Japanese banking giant SMBC. “I’m super excited about my job,” Shaw says. “I love analyzing companies.” So far, he has taken and passed two of three Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams, considered the most prestigious professional designation in finance. “I attribute my success with these difficult tests to what I learned in my finance classes at Touro Israel,” he says.

His professors, with their own careers in the corporate world, were unparalleled for their expertise in business fundamentals and savvy career advice, says Shaw: “I would not be where I am today, if not for Touro Israel. In fact, I’d still be in college!”