Aardvark Israel Semester Program

Aardvark Israel is proud to offer a 5-month Semester Program to students ages 17-22.  Now offering to a wider range of students the same great program previously only available to gap year participants, Aardvark Israel is making it possible for older students to take advantage of the exciting and dynamic Aardvark Israel program, while at the same time creating a social environment appropriate for older students.  The semester option gives students that cannot spend a whole year away from their home campus the opportunity to experience Israel through immersion into Israeli society, service to the community through volunteer work and internships, and learning about Israel and Judaism through both formal academic and informal educational encounters. Participants have the choice of being based in the cultural heart of Israel – Tel Aviv – or the spiritual heart of the Jewish People - Jerusalem.  In Tel Aviv, students live in the trendy Florentine neighborhood surrounded by young Israelis, while in Jerusalem students live in the Katamonim neighborhood in an apartment building which is home to Israeli young adults spending a year volunteering prior to entering the army, friendly Israeli families, and Aardvark participants.

On top of all the great aspects of Aardvark’s Core Program, Semester participants will spend two weeks volunteering on an Israeli army base through Sar-El, an organization dedicated to helping the Israeli Defense Forces through volunteer work.  By completing tasks such as packing medical kits or working in the base kitchen, volunteers enable the army to reduce costs and the need to call up additional reservists.  Wearing an army uniform while on base, volunteering participants will see up close how the Israeli army operates and impacts society.

In addition to the Core Program and Sar-El, Semester participants may also sign up for special interest programs in the fields of medicine and psychology, digital media, hiking, law and government, the Israeli military, and entrepreneurship.  The Semester Program also offers world travel options to China, Kenya, Italy, and Poland.

Each semester program offers up to a full semester of college credit through a partnership with the American Jewish University in California.

The Aardvark Israel Semester Program is also a MASA affiliated program.  Masa is a project of the Jewish Agency and the Government of Israel which offers financial subsidies to students on qualifying programs.