About us

"Ofakim" is the honors program of the University of Haifa. Each year, up to 15 students with exceptional performance are admitted to the program and are entitled to a full scholarship. The program enables students to engage with top lecturers and attend the best courses offered at the university. Students in the program have the freedom to design a personalized curriculum, enjoy personal guidance, and enjoy its particularly high academic standard, which promotes the development of their research skills.

At Ofakim, students are exposed to various academic disciplines, cultivate exceptional writing and analytical skills, broaden their horizons, and deepen their critical thinking, creativity, and curiosity.

The program prepares its graduates to integrate into academia, engage in diverse research fields, and become leaders in both opinion and organizational roles.

Why Choose Ofakim?

 Are you intellectually curious? Do you feel that regular dual major studies limit you? Are you interested in exploring a wide range of fields and cutting-edge research while growing intellectually and creatively? Ofakim may be a perfect fit!

The program provides the opportunity to study with the best scholars across the university’s different disciplines. Each student is assigned a dedicated tutor for the advanced sub-program within the degree, and receives personal support from the department faculty. The program grants its students priority admission to courses across every university department, priority access to new dormitories, participation in international student exchange, and membership in the program’s exclusive alumni club upon graduation.

The uniqueness of the Ofakim honors program at the University of Haifa lies in the successful blend between a structured study plan with freedom of choice while encouraging multidisciplinary academic pursuits. For their final project, students are required to combine multiple disciplines and research a specific topic. Many of these projects were published in scientific journals in Israel and worldwide. The program excels in preparing students for advanced degrees, with many even proceeding directly to a doctoral path upon completing their first degree (a few of our graduates are now tenure-track faculty members and the University of Haifa and other universities across Israel!)

Admission to the program automatically entitles students to a full scholarship, covering tuition fees for the three years of study (in years two and three the scholarship is contingent upon academic performance). This scholarship allows students to focus more on academics rather than working, and it does not conflict with receiving other scholarships.

Graduates who continue their master’s studies at the University of Haifa are entitled to a scholarship covering 75% of the tuition fee, provided they register within a year of graduation.

Ofakim and the University of Haifa

 The University of Haifa is a leader in fostering a diverse, multicultural campus, representing the many facets of Israeli society. It also ranks as the leading university in Israel in terms of quantity and quality of academic publications in social sciences and humanities (political science, psychology, philosophy, history). The Faculty of Law, School of Education, School of Public Health, Marine Sciences, and the Institute of Archeology are among the largest and most active in Israel.

The university attracts leading lecturers in social sciences, education, humanities, law, and life sciences, who teach and conduct their research there. Graduate students come from around the world to study at Haifa, and Ofakim students benefit from this multicultural academic environment, freely studying across departments with the top lecturers and enjoying the range of courses offered on campus.

In addition, the "core" (liba) courses, which explore different topics each year, are taught at the highest academic level and offer a different and special academic environment. The intellectual stimulation in the program is boundless; its versatility and richness are a highlight – there is no other framework that allows learning and reaching a wide range of fields, topics and ways of thinking.

The University of Haifa, which encourages original and open thinking, a multicultural and tolerant approach, and high-level academic participation, is the perfect place for the existence of such a special multidisciplinary program that provides a warm home for the curious and creative students to study in the program.

Ofakim and the Labor Market

 Over 70% of Ofakim graduates pursue master’s degrees, and many also go on to academic careers in Israel and internationally. Graduates lecture at Haifa University, Tel Hai College, and institutions abroad.

The ability to think, analyze and criticize ideas and behavior at the highest level for our graduates is an advantage that cannot be shown in numbers. At the same time, success is proven! Among our graduates are many people in the public and private sectors, from the Director General of the Ministry of Transport, the Deputy Chief of Staff, from the Director General of high-tech and human resources companies to psychologists, lawyers, media reporters and writers.

The program maintains contact with its graduates through the "Alumni Club" and initiates events and platforms where they can establish contact with each other. The alumni conference was held to mark the 35th anniversary of the program and showcased the many achievements of its graduates. The program aims to accompany the graduates from the moment of graduation and throughout their career. Ofakim graduates are a motivated group, a group of intelligent individuals who excel in their actions, who have the ability to learn and adapt, who are an asset to any organization, where they take initiative and are a significant part of the team as well as leaders in the organization.