About Us

Social Work as a course of study is not new in India but it has taken a new shape particularly in North East India. In the earlier years, students from the North-Eastern region who wanted to pursue a career in Social Work had to go to other parts of the country for acquiring a Social Work profession. Social work is a profession and a Social science committed to social justice, the quality of life and to the development and full potential of each individual, group and community in society.

The Postgraduate Department of Social Work of St.Edmund’s College Shillong was established in 2011 and it is the first college in North East India offering Master in Social Work. The Department is at its growing stage and is affiliated to the North Eastern. It aims at providing quality Social Work Education. The Department offers two years Masters Programme in Social Work. Social Work Education has two very important components vis-à-vis Theory (Class Room Lectures) and Practice (Social Work Practicum). Social Work Practicum is considered as the Soul of Social Work Education. Students develop the theoretical understanding received in the classroom and practice it in the field at the individual, group and community level. The Postgraduate Department of Social Work of St. Edmund’s College is committed to provide quality education, to capacitate the students so that they make an impact in the lives of the people especially the underprivileged and disempowered communities in the state of Meghalaya and the north eastern region. Therefore, the pedagogy is structured in such a manner that the issues and concerns of the region are addressed and students are engaged actively in the field to become sensitized in creating a socially just and equal society through their contribution. The department is managed by a team of seven qualified, dynamic and dedicated faculty members.

The Department came into being when the congregation of Christian Brothers felt the need to prepare a generation of young people who will address issues of the region and the nation as a whole from a totally professional perspective by diagnosing, examining and providing solutions to issues that plague our society.

Objectives of the Department:

1. To develop holistic view of social work and social welfare in the community with special emphasis on the agency's role in human services.

2. To understand the agency as an organization; its structure, functions, activities and sources of funding.

3. To understand and make a commitment to the basic humanistic values and principles of social work practice in a secular democratic society.

4. To develop an understanding of the application of the methods of social work practice in the field.

5. To develop practice skills appropriate to each phase of the problem solving process and apply them in direct service.

6. To develop an understanding of the problems and opportunities in working with diverse populations.

7. To develop self-awareness necessary to assess one's own values, ethics, attitudes, feelings, strengths, limitations and performance.

8. To develop the readiness to seek and accept help from the field work supervisor and others, and from professional and scientific literature for self-improvement.