Within American higher education, the Center for Jewish Civilization (CJC) is innovative for its focus on religion and history, but also on the wider cultural, geo-political, philosophical, and literary accomplishments of the Jewish people. Courses represent a broad range of disciplines including government, history, theology, language, literature, cinema, and musicology.

The CJC is a program for students of all religious backgrounds, and is appropriate for those with either a strong background in Judaism or none at all. A minor in Jewish civilization allows undergraduates to obtain an interdisciplinary perspective on Judaism and the Jewish people with a special emphasis on Jewish civilization and its interrelationship with other cultures.