Master of Arts in Social Work (Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship)
Location: Guwahati
School: School of Social Work - Guwahati Campus
Intake: 25
Description
Rationale
Social work with its simultaneous focus on human dignity and quest for Social Justice has evolved into a generalist profession which combines skill-sets and methods known to and employed by professionals according to the situation at hand. With only few universities in the North East region providing Social Work Training at a Masters level, it becomes all the more pertinent for TISS with its 75 years of experience in Social Work and Social Sciences education and research to step in. The curriculum has been designed keeping the needs of the country as well as the region in mind, while retaining the global ideals of TISS and the social work profession. The proposed curriculum draws from the existing programmes in TISS Mumbai and extends the scope to include some changes and combinations in keeping with the needs and aspirations of the region and the profession in general.
TISS has over the years been engaged with the North East Region through various Government Projects, support to universities and NGOs and also through the network of its alumni from the region. From this association emerged the need to train young workers with a heightened sensitivity to issues concerning the people and environment around them as well as an ability to view and respond to situations as required. The Guwahati Campus of TISS was envisioned with the idea of reaching out to the area. TISS – Guwahati Campus now offers an MA in Social Work in following specializations:
The M.A. in Social Work programmes provide research and practice within a framework that is in tune with the existing and emerging needs and realities of India and the North East region while providing the larger picture of developmental and human professions around the world. The course objectives are to create Social Work professionals who are in a position to respond to the area and also take on the role of development workers elsewhere in the country and abroad. It would help the students develop a comprehensive interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and attitude on a range of issues pertaining to development, communities, social entrepreneurship and the cross sectional aspects of the same. The students after graduating can act as a catalyst to bring about positive change in society using enterprise and an in-depth understanding of communities and their environment within a framework of social work values.
In this specialization we attempt to provide the students with knowledge, skills and attitudes to innovate and initiate work with optimal social impact. It aims at developing competency among the students on critical thinking, knowledge building and a set of practice skills in the area of conceiving, designing and managing social enterprises with a view to create wealth for the most vulnerable categories of society. The objective of the course is to nurture entrepreneurial attribute of young professionals and equip them to build entrepreneurial venture in the emerging social sectors. This process will help to identify and recognize the traditional livelihood and entrepreneurial models and work towards connecting these models in the larger paradigm of socio-economic development process.
The mode of learning will have a blend of theoretical analysis of existing models of social entrepreneurship across the South Asian sub-continent and intensive action research on workable models for livelihood trends and newer possibilities. Students will have the opportunity to be associated with some of the leading social entrepreneurs of the country and also of the SAARC countries with flexible visa regimes. The strategic location of the North East will enable the students with diverse learning opportunities on the process of regional cooperation which affects fair trade practices and has a direct impact of human development. It has been a constant endeavor to establish the inverse correlation between social unrest and job security. This specialization will enable the students to engage in research, self-start projects and consultancy initiatives which will somewhere have an impact on the dismal graph of unemployment and social business. There will be a state specific focus with respect to the North Eastern States where livelihood and entrepreneurial efforts need to be equipped with the knowledge of trade policies, fair trade practices, patent rights, intellectual property rights and geographical indication acts which have been violated due to lack of awareness and vigilance.
The programme thus aims at developing a cadre of professionals competent to visualise economic opportunities, conceive and design plans, raise resources, develop products and services and evaluate and change the system of operation. In addition, the students will develop competency in designing and redesigning appropriate and efficient service delivery systems, and creating and strengthening an effective organizational mechanism in social enterprises.
The programme aims at two-fold approaches for placement. Firstly, the students will be encouraged and facilitated to start their own social enterprises. It is visualised that over the years a substantial number of students will take the entrepreneurial path and set up their own enterprises. Secondly, every effort will be made to place the students looking for final job placement such that they may get recruited through campus placements. The graduating students are likely to be placed in junior and middle level administrative positions in microfinance institutions, social enterprises, co-operatives, and in the area of economic activities of grassroots/operating NGOs, intermediary organisations, funding agencies, international aid agencies, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) division of business houses and family trusts. The nature of work may encompass any and all the following areas: economic need assessment, business planning, business plan formulation, project appraisal, project monitoring, project evaluation, fund raising, setting up of beneficiary organisations, preparing entrepreneurship development programmes, promoting and supporting entrepreneurs, etc.
Distribution of Credit Hours:
|
Courses |
Credits |
|
Foundation Courses |
8 |
|
Social Work Practice Courses |
16 |
|
Specialization Courses |
16 |
|
Field Work |
24 |
|
Dissertation |
6 |
|
TOTAL |
70 |
Semesterwise Courses:
| Semester I | Course no | Course Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| I |
FC | Module 1: Understanding Society, culture and change | 1 |
| FC | Module 2: Economy, polity and governance | 1 | |
| FC |
Module 3: Social Exclusion and Social Policy | 2 | |
| SW 1 | Self and Society | 2 | |
| SW2 | History and Ideologies of Social Work | 2 | |
| SW 3 | Social Work Practice: Principles and Concepts 1 | 4 | |
| SW 4 | Research in Social Work-1 | 2 | |
| LSE1 | Understanding Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship | 2 | |
| Field Work( Block / Concurrent) | 6 | ||
| II | FC |
Module 4: Development : Concepts, Theories, Dimensions and Strategies | 2 |
| FC | Module 5: India’s Development Experience |
1 | |
| FC | Module 6: Introduction to Issues in the NE | 1 | |
| SW 4 | Research in Social Work - 2 | 2 | |
| SW 5 | Social Work Practice : Principles and Concepts - 2 | 2 | |
| SW 6 |
Project planning and Assessment | 1 | |
| SW 7 | Human Resource Management: Principles and practices | 1 | |
| LSE 2 | Livelihood Security and Policies (CBCS) | 2 | |
|
Field Work |
6 |
||
|
Rural Practicum |
(Non- Credit ) |
||
| III | LSE 3 |
Livelihoods, culture and identity (CBCS) |
2 |
| LSE 4 |
Networking, Alliances, Joint Ventures and Partnerships |
2 |
|
| LSE 5 |
Social Work and Right to Livelihood and Social Entrepreneurship |
2 |
|
|
Field Work |
6 |
||
| IV | LSE 6 |
Social Business Innovation |
2 |
| LSE 7 |
Conflict Transformation and Contemporary Livelihood Issues |
2 |
|
| LSE 8 |
Self-Initiative Project |
2 |
|
|
FieldWork |
6 |
||
|
Dissertation |
6 |
Fee Structure:
| Components | M.A. Social Work in (CODP,LE,CL,PH) | ||||
| Fees | Sem I | Sem II |
Sem III | Sem IV |
|
| FEE | Tuition Fee | 16,000 | 16,000 | 16,000 | 16,000,000 |
| Examination Fee | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | |
| CHARGES |
Field Education / Internship / Experiential Learning Charges | 6,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| IT Charges | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | |
| Library Charges | 1,500 | 1,500 | 1,500 | 1,500 | |
| Other Charges( ID Card, Convocation & Misc.) * | 2,500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| FUNDS | Students' Competency Fund | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lab / Studio Fund | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Development Fund | 10,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 0 | |
| Students' Union Fund * | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | |
| Alumni Fund * | 0 | 500 | 0 | 0 | |
| Health Care Fund* | 2,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 0 | |
| DEPOSITS | Caution Deposits (Refundable at the time of exit from programme on submission of No Dues Certificate) | 10,000 | 0 | ||
| Semester wise Course Fee | 51,500 | 27,500 | 39,000 | 27,000 | |
| Yearly Fees | 79,000 | 66,000 | |||
| Total Course Fee | 1,45,000 | ||||
| Institute reserves the right to revise the Fee Structure of programmes if necessary. | |||||
| Expenses related to Practicum / Study tour / Rural field work / Urban field work/Winter Institute, if any, will have to be met by the students themselves at the time of the activity. | |||||
| No fee concession is available for self-finanaced programmes. | |||||
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