Department of Social Work, University of Lucknow

The Department of Social Work, University of Lucknow is one of the pioneer Institutes of Social Work in India It is also one of the largest departments under the Faculty of Arts in the University of Lucknow. The Department traces its beginning from i ucknow. The Department traces its beginning from in 1948 with the establishment of the J.K Institute of of Sociology and Human Relations with Prof Radhakamal Mukerjee its Founding Director. As Director of the Institute, Prof. Mukerjee started the Diploma in Social Service in 1949. This was superseded by a two-year Master's Programme in 1952. In 1954, the degree of Master of Social Technique (MST) was awarded. In 1955, the nomenclature of MST was changed to Master of Social Work (MSW). In 1956, a composite Department of Sociology and Social Work was constituted by taking out Sociology from the erstwhile Department of Economics, and Social Work from the J.K. Institute of Sociology and Human Relations. The composite Department was again bifurcated in 1972 to create an independent Department of Social Work. The Department offers a full sequence of Social Work Programmes from Bachelor to D.Litt. level. It has the distinction of being the first Department in the country to start Ph.D. (1960), and D.Litt. (1984) degree programmes in Social Work, and also has the distinction of having produced the first Ph.D, and the first D.Litt. The Department has also credit to start U.G programme first in India. The Department introduce d the BA Hons Course in 1969.The Diploma in Naturopathic Science and Yoga was started in 1993 and subsequently in 1994 a certification in Yoga. In 1994 and 1996 the Master of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice Administration and PG Diploma in Naturopathic Science and Yoga were introduced in the Department. Year 2003 was marked with the introduction of Master in Population Education and Rural Development course which was later rename as Master of Population Studies. Masters in Community Medicine and Public Health and MA in Human Consciousness and Yogic Sciences and M.Phil. started in 2007 in the Department. In addition to Prof. Radhakamal Mukerjee, the Department had the credit of having on its teaching staff some of the early pioneers of social work education in India. These teachers of towering height excelled in academic attainments and made a distinct contribution to the development of professional social work education in the country. They have left behind a legendary legacy, which the department is pursuing with determination and distinction. The Department has produced a large number of professionals, many of whom are occupying senior positions in the Government's social welfare sector, in public and private sector, in industry, in social work academics and in other allied professions fields Since its inception, the Department has been actively engaged in teaching, research and fieldwork. The Department is highly renowned for its creative field action initiatives and teaching and instructional programme. From time to time, the department has successfully organised many seminars, conferences, workshops, training programmes, etc which have been attended and participated by a number of experts, academicians, professionals and practitioners not only from the social work field but also from the allied fields. During and in the aftermath phases of the Corona pandemic the hybrid work-culture in the Department was adopted and a number of webinars have been successfully conducted both in online and offline mode. The classroom teaching has also gone on online mode; though presently both online and offline mode are in practice. One can connect with the department through the social media where regular updates about the department can be obtained. Publication of the Journal: The Department has been bringing out a half yearly Journal titled-Contemporary Social Work, earlier named as Lucknow University Journal of Social Work. The Journal is known for its good quality of articles on a wide variety of subjects relating to social sciences. The Journal is being subscribed by the major libraries in India. The Department houses on the automated library enriched with the text books and reference books around 18,000 books available both in Hindi and English language.