MSW Specializations

The Department offers three specialisations:

1) Medical and Psychiatric Social Work: Medical and Psychiatric Social Work is a specialised type of social work based in hospital and other related health settings. It involves supporting clients with medical needs, providing therapeutic interventions, coordinating care management of people who are severely ill and require hospitalisation along with and other kinds of intensive help. Psychiatric social workers are employed in a variety of settings ranging from the inpatient wards to outpatient psychiatric clinics. Social workers are trained to engage adeptly with individuals who suffer from complex and hard-to-manage conditions, experience deep emotional distress and who pose a risk to themselves or to others. SCC MSW students, during their training period in the past, have been placed for field work in reputed organizations like St. Johns Medical College, Bangalore, Richmond Fellowship Society, Samudra Foundation, Samarthanam Trust, Spastic Society of India, Association of People with Disability, Diya Foundation and Spandana.

2) Human Resource Management: Social work has traditionally been associated with mental health crisis management and community outreach interventions. Corporate companies are now increasingly recognising the expertise of social workers in handling a host of people-focused issues including but not limited to workplace diversity, creation of an inclusive work environment devoid of sexual harassment and other privacy breaches. Social workers support companies in hiring and on-boarding team development, corporate social responsibility initiatives’ and community focused neighbourhood gentrification. Social workers in such settings contribute towards building resilient businesses that foster stronger relationships and enhanced collaborations amongst its employees and satisfactory customer services. SCC MSW students learn in-depth about Industrial Relations and Employee Welfare issues. They are trained to work as Labour Welfare Officers and engage with related concerns at their field work settings. The students have been placed in reputed settings like Kenna Metal, Medreich Limited, Universal Flexibles and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation.

3) Community Development: The new economic policies ushered in by the liberalisation policies and reforms of 1991 have impacted India in multiple ways. The social, political and economic fabric of the country has witnessed widespread changes, which in turn has had wide range of impact on communities in India. The urban, rural and tribal communities of our country are unique yet diverse in their nature owing to their specific cultures, way of life, and differ on their social and political outlook owing to their ethnicities. As social workers, understanding the nuances, commonalities as well as differences between these varied set of communities becomes necessary to tackle their specific concerns. Social work

students learn ways to navigate challenges and arrive at possibilities for bringing about sustainable interventions in community development. In course of their training, they study strategies to effectively engage and advocate with communities, Government Institutions, Human Rights Bodies and other development sector organizations for robust community interventions. The course orients students with relevant skills, namely, programme management, proposal writing, monitoring and evaluation which shall hold them in good stead in their professional ventures. Such skills are sought after in development projects initiated by Government schemes, International Aid organizations and Corporate Social Responsibility interventions. Possessing a holistic perspective of community organization dynamics, students are able to situate their learnings in the broader context of the ever changing socio-political climate. SCC MSW students receive working experience within community oriented settings and in the past they have been placed for field work in reputed community based organizations. These include Janagaraaha, Brothers Integrated Rural Development Society, Makkala Jagriti, Sumanahalli, Indian Social Institute, Nirvana Foundation and Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka.