The goal is to provide students within the department a broad foundation in the history of Jewish thought, as well as more profound knowledge in one or two areas of concentration, based upon the choice of the students and the guidance of the faculty of the department.  The program aims to to prepare students for academic research and high-school instruction.  The method of study combines philosophical analysis, philological research and historical evaluation.

The program offers advanced studies in a range of areas, such as Jewish thought during the Second Temple period, Jewish-Hellenistic thought, Rabbinic thought, Jewish medieval and Renaissance philosophy, Kabbalah and mysticism throughout the ages, Modern Jewish thought, philosophy of Halakhah, Zionist thought, philosophy of science, hermeneutics, mythology, and more.  The program of study combines philological-textual study, philosophical and comparative analysis, and historical evaluation.