TISS was established in 1936, as the Sir Dorabji T...

TISS was established in 1936, as the Sir 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 [10] 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 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.[citation needed]

Academic collaborations Edit
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences has a history of collaboration with institutions in India. The institute also has academic and research collaborations with other institutes and universities including University of Chicago,[11] London School of Economics,[12] Massachusetts Institute of Technology,[13] Sciences Po,[14] and 12 universities under the Erasmus Mundus program.[15] <University of Pennsylvania> <University of Edinburgh> <University of Columbia>

London School of Economics and Political Science research collaboration, was launched at LSE in June 2007.[16] The programme is undertaken in two streams, namely, Social Sciences and Health.[17] The research themes developed in Social Sciences have been in various Centres and Departments at LSE together with TISS such as Business Model Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid, Civil Society and Global Governance, Colonialism and Welfare: Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy, Democracy and Development, Governance and the Governed, Population and Development, Social Protection, Economic Growth and Social Change, and Urban Planning & Development.