Education
He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Ancient History, with distinction, from Columbia University in 1975.
He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Ancient History, with distinction, from Columbia University in 1975.
He is also an ordained rabbi, and for many years was the Dean of the Graduate School and Shenkman Professor of Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New New York Before arriving at Harvard in July 2001, he was for ten years the Samuel Ungerleider Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University. Cohen has received several honors for his work, including an honorary doctorate from the Jewish Theological Seminary and various fellowships.
He has been honored by appointment as Croghan Distinguished Visiting Professor of Religion (Williams College), the Louis Jacobs Lecturer (Oxford University), the David M. Lewis Lecturer (Oxford University), Lady Davis Fellowship (Visiting Professor) of Jewish History (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), the Block Lecturer (Indiana University), the Roland Visiting Lecturer (Stanford University) and the Pritchett Lecturer (University of California, Berkeley).
He appeared on a Nova episode as an expert on Jewish history. He also appears in Public Broadcasting Service"s Jesus to Christ Documentary.