Tata Institute of Social Sciences

This article is about Tata Institute of Social Sciences. For the Russian assault rifle named Tiss, see OC-12 assault rifle.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

टाटा सामाजिक विज्ञान संस्थान
File:Tata Institute of Social Sciences logo.jpg
Motto	भविष्य की पुनर्कल्पना
Motto in English	Re-Imagining Futures
Type	Public
Established	1936
Founder	J. R. D. Tata
Director	S. Parsuraman
Location	Mumbai , Maharashtra , India 19.044257°N 72.912494°E / 19.044257; 72.912494
Campus	Urban, 21 acres (0.085 km2) (Main Campus and Naoroji Campus)
Acronym	TISS
Affiliations	UGC, NAAC
Website	www.tiss.edu www.campus.tiss.edu

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is a social sciences institute with its main campus based in Mumbai, India. TISS also operates out of campuses in Hyderabad, Guwahati and Tuljapur (in Osmanabad district, Maharashtra).

The master's degree programme in Human Resource Management and Labour Relations (HRM & LR) offered at the TISS Mumbai campus remains one of the most sought after and prestigious programs in the field of HR in India.

History

TISS was established in 1936, as the Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work, the first school of social work in India. It was renamed to its current name in 1944. It was recognised as a Deemed University in 1964 by the University Grants Commission of India.

TISS started out as a small institute offering a post-graduate diploma in Social Work, but has since expanded continuously in terms of educational programmes and infrastructure (see list of programs). The first director of the institute was Dr. Clifford Manshardt, who aimed to establish a post-graduate social work school of national stature that would engage in a continuous study of Indian social issues and create meaningful interventions.

Over the years, the Institute has, among other thrusts, made a significant contribution to policy, planning, action strategies and human resource development. It has done so in several areas, ranging from sustainable rural and urban development to education, health, communal harmony, human rights and industrial relations.

TISS has earned recognition as an institution of repute from different Ministries of the Government of India and various State Governments, as well as international agencies such as the United Nations, and the non-government sector, both national and international.

List of Schools and Campuses

There are four campuses of TISS running currently, located at Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad and Guwahati.

TISS Mumbai

TISS Mumbai hosts 12 Schools as indicated below:

School of Management and Labour Studies conducts the following courses -

• M.A. in Human Resource Management & Labour Relations (formerly Personnel Management and Industrial Relations)
• M.A. in Social Entrepreneurship
• M.A. in Globalisation and Labour

School of Social Work conducts the following courses -

• M. A. Social Work with Children & Families
• M. A. Social Work in Criminology & Justice
• M. A. Social Work in Community Organisation & Development Practice
• M. A. Social Work in Dalit & Tribal Studies and Action
• M. A. Social Work in Disability Studies & Action
• M. A. Social Work in Livelihoods and Social Entrepreneurship
• M. A. Social Work in Mental Health, M. A. Social Work in Public Health
• M. A. Social Work in Women-Centred Practice

School of Development Studies conducts the following courses -

• M.A. Development Studies
• M.A. Women's Studies

School of Health Systems Studies conducts the following courses -

• Master of Health Administration (MHA)
• Master of Hospital Administration (MHA)
• Master of Public Health (MPH) in Social Epidemiology
• Master of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy

School of Habitat Studies conducts the following courses -

• M.A. / M.Sc. in Climate Change and Sustainability Studies
• M.A. / M.Sc. in Urban Policy and Governance
• M.A. / M.Sc. in Regulatory Governance
• M.A. / M.Sc. in Water Policy and Governance

School of Media and Cultural Studies conducts the following courses -

• M.A. in Media and Cultural Studies
• Post-graduate Diploma in Community Media

School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance conducts the following course -

• L.L.M. in Access to Justice

School of Education conducts the following course -

• M.A. in Education (Elementary)

School for Vocational Education which will implement vocational training programmes in different trades through partnerships with various industries and organisations. It will offer B.Voc. courses in different verticals along with short-term certificate, diploma and skill enhancement courses.

Jamsetji Tata Centre for Disaster Management

School of Human Ecology

School of Research Methodology

In addition to the 9 schools, there are 6 Independent Centres, and 3 Resource Centres as indicated below:

Independent Centres

• Centre for Education Innovation and Action Research
• Centre for Excellence on Adolescents and Youth
• Centre for Lifelong Learning
• Centre for Studies in Sociology of Education
• Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies
• Centre for Library and Information Management & SDTM Library

Resource Centres

• Computer Centre
• Publications Unit
• Sir Dorabji Tata Memorial Library

TISS Tuljapur

TISS Tuljapur in the Osmanabad district of Maharashtra was set up with support from the Government of Maharashtra in 1986. The campus houses the School of Rural Development with several centres. It is a 100-acre campus located in the outskirts of Tuljapur. The campus has commenced offering the Five Year Integrated Masters programme since 2012. It has a full-fledged computer centre, library, gymnasium, girls and boys hostels, guest-house, faculty and staff quarters.

The initial focus of the Institute on rural development projects and field action has widened to include academic activities with grass root level involvement both by faculty and students in the last 7 years.

TISS Tuljapur offers:

1. Integrated B.A & M.A in Social Sciences and B.A in social work.
2. M.A Social Work in Rural Development
3. M.A./M.Sc in Development Policy, Planning & Practices
4. M.A./M.Sc in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
5. M.A./M.Sc in Sustainable Livelihoods, Natural Resources Management And Governance

TISS Hyderabad

TISS Hyderabad came into being with the approval of Academic Council and Governing Board of TISS. The Registrations under Societies Registrations Act and Public Trust Act of the TISS Mumbai are valid for TISS Hyderabad as well. TISS Mumbai provides oversight to matters of admission, instruction, evaluation of TISS Hyderabad and confers TISS degrees. Currently, it operates from two campuses: one in AMR-APARD in Rajendranagar, and the other in Roda Mistry School of Social Work in Gachibowli.

Collaborations and Activities

• TISS entered in an MoU with the APARD in 2009 for 3-month certificate course in Rural Development and Decentralised Planning (RD&DP).
• TISS entered in an MoU with Osmania university in 2010 to strengthen social sciences education and strengthen collaborative research.
• TISS entered in an MoU with Azim Premji Foundation since 2011 to facilitate the promotion of initiatives of education and research in all areas of institutional activities.

Academic Programmes TISS Hyderabad offers a number of teaching programmes at master level.

1. Masters in Rural Development and Governance
2. Masters in Education
3. Masters in Public Policy and Governance
4. Masters in Women's Studies
5. Masters in Development Studies
6. Integrated programme of B.A in Social Sciences and M.A of choice

TISS Hyderabad also offers Integrated MPhil & PhD in Women's Studies and Education, and direct PhD in Social Sciences.

It is proposed that TISS Hyderabad campus will run the following programmes in the future:

1. Masters in Climate Change and Natural Resources Management
2. Masters in Human Resources Management
3. Masters in Social Policy and Development

Schools at TISS Hyderabad

TISS Hyderabad accomplished Faculty who are part of the various Schools.

1. Azim Premji School of Education
2. School of Livelihoods
3. School of Policy and Governance
4. School of Social Entrepreneurship
5. School of Management And Labour Studies
6. School of Public Health

TISS Hyderabad permanent campus
At the invitation of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, TISS accepted to set up a campus in Hyderabad. TISS is in the process of setting up a 100 acres campus in Kothur Mandal, Mahabubnagar district. The campus is slated to be ready by early 2015.

TISS Guwahati

TISS Guwahati has been set up at the behest of the government of Assam and the Ministry of Department of North East Region, Government of India. TISS Guwahati has been contributing to the development sector in the North East through a well-conceived Diploma Programme in Community Organisation and Development Practice since June 2009. Currently, TISS Guwahati is operating out of an interim campus in the heart of the city in Guwahati.

TISS Guwahati has commenced offering the Five Year Integrated Masters programme since 2012 along with two years master's degree programme in Social Work and Ecology, Environment and Sustainable Development. Several new academic programmes are being offered beyond the existing programmes from the academic year 2014–15.

The campus space is equipped with a cyber library, conference hall, and classrooms with provisions for video conferencing. Student hostels separately for men and women are available. These are managed and maintained by TISS. A full-fledged campus is being established on 15 acres of land located within the Assam Engineering College campus.

Admissions

For admissions to various programmes for the academic year 2015–16, one may view the admission site https://admissions.tiss.edu/. Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) conducts a national entrance test known as TISSNET exam for the admission of Masters programmes offered in TISS campuses at Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad, Guwahati, IMHST Chennai, MHAT Calicut and G-SET Ranchi.

Library & research centers

TISS Library established along with the institute way back in 1936, is one of the leading social science libraries in the country. The library was named as "Sir Dorabji Tata Memorial Library" on 3 May 2002 in the memory of late Sir Dorabjii Tata. Sir Dorabji Tata Memorial Library at TISS has been consistently making efforts to develop a strong collection of learning resources and to provide a human moderated access to knowledge. In its quest for excelence, library has achieved many milestones. Indian Library Association, New Delhi, conferred it with “ILA - Dr. L. M. Padhya Best University Library Award” for the year 2008, for the best practices being followed in the university library administration and for its excellent services. At individual levels also, library team members have been conferred with awards, fellowships, etc.

Ever since the commencement of academic restructuring in 2004, library has enhanced its collection extensively. More than 25,000 new books have been added to the collection as library did an extensive collection development exercise considering the new programmes being introduced by the institute. Currently, it holds about 123,000 books in principle domains of social sciences. Journals subscription base (including e-Journals), which was 2835 in 2007 has gone up to 10,298 journals in 2015.

To support institutes mission, Library has always strived hard to achieve equity and inclusion in higher education. “Cyber Library” has been established to undertake the social responsibility of providing access to computers and Internet facility to the students coming from economically weaker sections. To make learning resources available to visually challened students, library started a centre with assistive technologies “M K Tata Centre for the Visually Challenged”.

Library has made major developments in terms of integrating ICT in library and information services. Several digitization activities, digital literacy and awareness programmes are being carried out continuously. Institutional repository has been set up. Along with UGC infonet, library also spends considerable amounts to subscribe online databases/e-journals, needed for the institute academic programmes.

In order to share and exchange expertise, library has established several national and international collaborations. Major institutions with which library has collaboration are London School Of Economics Library, UK, Mahasarakham University, Thailand, International Federation of Library Association (IFLA, The Hague, Netherlands)

Major Ongoing Field Action Projects (2012)

• M-Ward transformation programme
• Koshish
• Prayaas
• Towards Advocacy Networking and Developmental Action (TANDA)
• RCI-VAW: The Resource Centre for Interventions on Violence against Women
• Tarasha: A community-based project for rehabilitation of women recovering from mental illness
• iCALL: Initiating Concern for All
• Urban India Research Facility'
• Resource Cell for Juvenile Justice (RCJJ)

Governance

The institute has a governing board which acts as the supreme authority in governing the Institute. The governing board has members nominated by the Central Government, State Government, the University of Mumbai and the University Grants Commission along with representatives from the institute's faculty. S. Ramadorai, vice chairman, TCS and Advisor to the Prime Minister of India, is chairperson of TISS. The chairperson of the governing board has functions similar to that of the chancellor of a conventional university. The academic council decides matters of academic nature and comprises faculty drawn from the institute's 4 campuses and as well as 6 external experts.

Director

Director of TISS, Prof. S. Parasuraman at the Institute

The director of the institute acts as both the academic and administrative head. This position is similar to that of the vice-chancellor of any university. The current director of the institute is Prof. S. Parasuraman, who has extensive experience in the development sector. He has authored three books and more than 50 research articles on various aspects of the development sector.

Deputy directors

TISS Hyderabad is headed by Deputy Director (equivalent to post of pro-vice-chancellor) Prof. Lakshmi Lingam. She has a master's degree in Sociology from Andhra University and a PhD from IIT Bombay. TISS Guwahati is headed by Prof. Virginius Xaxa. He has a master's degree from Pune University and PhD from IIT Kanpur, and is a member of the National Advisory Council. TISS Tuljapur is headed by Deputy Director Prof. Abdul Shaban. Prof. Abdul Shaban has master's degree in Geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai. Mumbai has Prof. Neela Dabir as the deputy director (administration). Prof. Dabir has a master's degree in Social Work from Mumbai University and a PhD from S.N.D.T University, Mumbai.

Notable past faculty

• Dr. J. M Kumarappa, Succeeded Dr. Clifford Manshardt as director of the School of Social Work. A scholar with an M.S and Ph.D. from Harvard and Columbia University, he was later an elected member of the Rajya Sabha.
• Prof. A. R Wadia, An educationist-philanthropist, he was the director for nine years. Later, a recipient of the Padma Bhusan, he served as a Rajya Sabha member for twelve years
• Prof. M. S Gore, The director for 20 years, he was responsible for the development of social science research and consolidation of TISS as a deemed University.
• Dr. Behram H. Mehta, A popular and unconventional teacher, he taught Community Organisation and Public Welfare Administration. He took the students to Kurukshetra for post-Partition relief work.
• Dr. Gauri Rani Banerji, The first head of the Department of Medical and Psychiatric Social Work, with an M.A from Chicago and D. Phil from Allahabad.
• Prof. N. F Kaikobad, A teacher of Community Organisation, he was the first Head of the Department of Urban and Rural Welfare.
• Prof. J. J Panakkal, The first Head of the Department of Criminology and Correctional Administration, he studied criminology in US and was one of the first Indian criminologists.

Notable alumni

• Medha Patkar, social activist
• Anu Aga, former chairman, Thermax
• Purnima Mane, president and CEO, Pathfinder International
• Subhash Mendhapurkar, social activist, Himachal Pradesh
• Gursimran Khamba, Stand-up comedian and writer, he is the co-founder of All India Bakchod.

External links

• TISS official site
• An audio-visual archive documenting the history of TISS