About - The Faculty of Humanities
The humanities encompass the core disciplines of art, archaeology, linguistics, history, literature, and philosophy. They serve as the foundation for scholarly writing, research, and critical analysis, fostering analytical rigor and intellectual curiosity. As an open window to human culture, the humanities provide an indispensable framework for understanding the complexities of global and regional heritage.
Established in 1972 alongside the founding of the University of Haifa, the Faculty of Humanities originally comprised ten academic departments. Today, the faculty has grown into a major hub of humanistic research, encompassing 30 academic departments and specialized programs, alongside three multidisciplinary schools.
The faculty administers the university-wide “Derech HaRuach” (The Way of the Humanities) initiative, which requires students across all faculties to complete foundational humanities courses. This initiative broadens intellectual horizons, cultivating interdisciplinary awareness outside students’ primary fields of specialization.
Scope & Pedagogical Approach
The faculty explores human culture, history, thought, and artistic expression across philosophical inquiries, literature, linguistics, music, theater, and the visual arts. Alongside universal humanistic principles, the faculty places strong emphasis on Jewish studies, Jewish history, Land of Israel studies, archaeology, and Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, reflecting the institution’s unique local and regional context.
The faculty integrates theoretical frameworks with advanced academic methodologies and innovative instructional technologies, including e-learning platforms, digital language laboratories, multimedia facilities, research workshops, field surveys, and interdisciplinary symposia.
Schools within the Faculty
1. School of History
Rooted in the understanding that historical inquiry connects general, Jewish, Middle Eastern, and regional histories, the School of History fosters cross-disciplinary research and advanced methodological training. It comprises five departments:
- Department of General History
- Department of Jewish History and Biblical Studies
- Department of Israel Studies
- Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
- Department of Art History
2. School of the Arts, Culture, and Interpretation
Bringing together creative practice, cultural theory, and textual analysis, this school comprises eight academic departments:
- Department of Music
- Department of Theater and Performance Studies
- Department of Cultural Studies
- Department of Anthropology
- Department of Fine Arts
- Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature
- Department of Women’s and Gender Studies
- Department of Art History
3. School of Archaeology and Maritime Civilizations (SAMC)
Operating at the forefront of modern archaeology, SAMC integrates natural and exact sciences into historical research while addressing the conservation of material cultural heritage. The school encompasses four specialized departments:
- Department of Archaeology
- Department of Maritime Civilizations
- Department of Archaeological Sciences
- Department of Conservation of Material Cultural Heritage
Departments, Specialized Programs, & International Tracks
Languages and Literatures
- Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature
- Department of Hebrew Language
- Department of English Language and Literature
- Department of Arabic Language and Literature
Additional Departments and Interdisciplinary Programs
- Department of Asian Studies
- Department of Philosophy
- Department of Multidisciplinary Studies (including the Eshkol Academic Cluster)
- Ofakim Honors Program (the university-wide honors B.A. program)
Specialized Graduate and Research Programs
- Jewish Peoplehood
- The Ruderman Program for American Jewish Studies
- Israeli Culture: Literature, Thought, and History
- Holocaust Studies
- Film and Cinematic Culture
- German and European Studies
International Academic Programs (Taught in English)
The faculty offers specialized international Master’s degree programs open to both international and Israeli students, including:
- Maritime Civilizations
- Israel Studies
- Holocaust Studies
- Prehistoric and Field Archaeology
