What the year costs, Masa grants and scholarships

What seminaries charge

There is no central price list, and most seminaries don't put tuition on their websites. These are the figures we found published, all for the 2026-27 year unless noted:

Midreshet Lindenbaum: NIS 128,000, on the school's site. Includes medical insurance, three meals a day while classes are in session, shabbatot together and all trips except the optional Poland trip.
Midreshet HaRova: NIS 130,500, on the school's site.
Nachlas Bais Yaakov: $32,500, on the school's site. Does not include airfare or insurance.
Midreshet Eshel: $34,500, the list price on Masa's page before any grant.
Machon Maayan: $37,000, the list price on Masa's page before any grant.
Midreshet Torah v'Avodah: $41,500, the list price on Masa's page before any grant.
Darchei Binah: $27,500 for 2025-26, from the application form on the school's site. That's a past year, so ask for the current figure.

Prices for 2027-28 hadn't been posted when we checked. Use these as a rough guide to the range, and ask each school for its current price.

Ask what the price includes

Meals: three a day, or only on class days? What about Shabbat and vacations?
Health insurance, trips, the Poland trip if there is one, and books.
Flights, phone, spending money and travel on free weekends are almost never included.
Deposits: some schools ask for a large non-refundable deposit when you accept. Midreshet Torah v'Avodah lists a $5,000 non-refundable registration fee, and MMY a NIS 10,000 registration deposit.

Masa grants

Masa Israel Journey gives grants to students on long programs in Israel, and most seminaries on our list are Masa programs. Masa says its funding comes from the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency.

Who qualifies

Masa's rules, as posted for 2025-26 (the latest on its site when we checked):

You're Jewish.
You haven't already done an organized program in Israel of more than four months since finishing high school.
You haven't spent four or more months in a row in Israel during the two years before the program, after turning 18.
You're not an Israeli citizen, unless you left Israel before age 14 and have lived abroad for at least four years in a row.

How much

Masa doesn't publish a table of grant amounts for year programs. It says the amount depends on your age, your country and how long the program is, and that programs shorter than 10 months get a proportionally smaller grant. The amount for a specific seminary shows up in Masa's online funding calculator, which says its figure is an estimate and can change. There are also need-based scholarships on top of the basic grant, which need financial documents.

How to apply

You apply online on Masa's site once you know which seminary you're attending. You'll need your passport number and the program's name, plus financial information if you're asking for a need-based scholarship. Masa says the grant request can be sent in up until the program's start date, and need-based documents up to ten days after it. Your seminary's office can tell you exactly how it handles the Masa step.

Other scholarships

These are funds we found with their own official pages. Each has its own rules, so read the page before counting on it.

Your seminary: several schools say they give need-based aid, including Midreshet Lindenbaum, Midreshet HaRova, Amudim and Midreshet Torah v'Avodah. Ask after you're accepted.
Your local Jewish federation: Masa keeps a list of federation scholarships in the US and Canada and suggests contacting yours directly.
UK: UJIA Gap Year Scholars covers up to 50% of program costs for UK residents on Masa-approved gap-year programs. It has its own application dates each year.
Atlanta: the Israel Gap Year Fellowship from the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta gives up to $10,000 to local high school seniors going on a Masa-affiliated program of more than eight months.
New Jersey: the Alisa Flatow Memorial Scholarship is listed by Masa as up to $5,000 for women from Greater MetroWest attending Jewish studies programs in Israel.
Canada: NCSY Canada lists several gap-year awards, including NCSY awards and Mizrachi Canada scholarships.

Paying through a US college program can open up federal aid and 529 savings. That's covered in college credit for seminary. We're not financial advisors, so check your own situation with the college's financial aid office.

Sources

Read on 2 and 3 October 2026. Open them to check a figure or see whether it has changed.