MPhil PhD Admissions

MPhil in Inclusive Development and Social Justice

Location: Mumbai

Centre: Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies

Intake: 10

Eligibility

Candidates are requested to check the eligibility criteria before filling the application form. Candidates found ineligible will be rejected at any stage in the admission process and no grievances will be entertained in this regard.
Applicants will be shortlisted for the Research Aptitude Test (RAT) on basis of them meeting the following considerations with regard to educational qualifications, work experience and research proposal:

Educational Qualifications: The minimum academic qualification for admission to the M.Phil. & Ph.D programmes is a Second Class Master’s or equivalent degree in the relevant subject awarded by a recognised university in India or abroad, with at least an average of 55 per cent of aggregate marks, or a grade point average of 3.5 under the seven-point scale of the University Grants Commission (UGC). In the case of SC/ST/OBC(non-creamy layer)/differently-abled candidates, the minimum eligibility is an average of 45 per cent of aggregate marks, or a grade point average of 2.50.

Candidates who are likely to complete all the requirements of their final year Master’s Degree examinations by July 1, are also eligible to apply for M.Phil, provided they have successfully completed their first year Masters degree. In such cases, admission will be provisional. If a provisionally admitted student successfully completes the admission formalities such as clearing the Research Aptitude Test, but fails to score the minimum required mark/grade at the end of the final year examination of his/her Master’s degree, the offer of provisional admission will be automatically cancelled.

Work Experience: A minimum of five years of post graduation work experience is required for Ph.D. programmes. In case of the M.Phil. Programme, there is no requirement of work experience. However, candidates with one to two years of work experience, will be preferred.
Research Proposal:

Submission of a research proposal is a compulsory requirement for admission to the M.Phil and Ph.D. Programme. A research proposal consisting of approximately 1,000 words should accompany the proposal and indicate the Specification of the broad field of study, Statement of the research problem and scope and objectives of the study, rationale for and the significance of the study, methodology to be followed, references, and the candidate’s research/work experience in that area, if any.
Candidates who have an M.Phil or equivalent degree awarded by a recognized university in India or abroad are also eligible for a PhD
 

Description

Genesis of the Centre:

Prior to 1996, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (TISS) had an exclusive Centre known as “Unit for Research and Consultancy in Social Policy and Social Welfare Administration” (USPSWA). Its primary objective was to undertake research on issues pertaining to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This Centre offered an optional course “Development and Welfare Services for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes” to the second year M.A. Social Work students. However, to give exclusive importance to research on issues of such communities, the USPSWA was replaced by a new “Centre for Dalit and Tribal Studies” (CDATS) as part of TISS' major restructuring initiatives in 2006. The Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies (CSSEIP), one of the ambitious schemes of the University Grants Commission (UGC) under its X Plan, came into existence at TISS in March 2007 (letter No. F. 3-8/2007(SCT), dated February 23, 2007). Since the vision and mission of CDATS were more or less similar to that of the CSSEIP, the two Centres were merged into one, and the Centre is now known as CSSEIP. The merger has strengthened the Centre as it resulted in: a) increase in the faculty strength, and b) diversity in faculty members' disciplinary orientation.

Perspective and Objectives of CSSEIP

The need for establishing CSSEIP in various Universities and Colleges in India including TISS and also the perspective and objectives of these Centres have been well articulated in a UGC document on Higher Education in India: Strategies and Schemes during Eleventh Plan Period (2007-2012) for Universities and Colleges in the following words: “Social exclusion not only generates tension, violence and disruption but also perpetuates inequality and deprivation in Society. In India, certain communities such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and religious minorities experience systemic exclusion in the matter of taking advantages of development. Social Exclusion is a complex and multidimensional concept having social, cultural, political and economic ramifications. The consequences of macro economic policies such as poverty, unemployment and involuntary migration exclude the victims from economic, cultural and political activities”.

The UGC has also expressed in the same document the need for examining issues of social exclusion through research as follows: “The study of such hegemonic structures is all the more important in the Indian context where institutional inequality and discrimination have been a pervasive feature of our society. The institutions of higher learning need to address this issue. The primary space where exclusion can be studied, understood and first transcended are our universities which can and must act as a beacon for society. The UGC has therefore decided to support research on the issues of social exclusion which has the theoretical as well as policy importance”.

The Centre Objectives:

According to the UGC, the Centre is mandated to pursue the following objectives:

• Conceptualize discrimination, exclusi on and inclusion based on caste/ethnicity and religion.
• Develop understanding of the nature and dynamics of discrimination and exclusion.
• Contextualize and problematizing discrimination, exclusion and inclusion.
• Develop an understanding of discrimination at an empirical level.
• Formulate policies for protecting the rights of these groups and eradicating the problem of exclusion and discrimination.

Expected Academic activities of the Centre:

The type of intellectual activities that the CSEIP is expected to engage in include:

• Teaching courses at the M.A. and M.Phil levels, leading eventually to full-fledged M.Phil/Ph.D. and even M.A. programmes in Social Exclusion and Social Justice Studies;
• Undertaking M.Phil and Ph.D. supervision;
• Collecting information on Social Exclusion and building up a data base;
• Carrying out detailed analysis based on the socio-economic data generated by government agencies;
• Organizing regular conferences, seminars and symposium on the theme of Social Exclusion;
• Publishing regularly the research findings of the Faculty and students;
• Organizing public lectures on the subject by eminent scholars;
• Reaching out to scholars, especially young scholars, in other universities and colleges through an active programme of inviting Visiting Faculty;
• Establishing links with Civil Society Organizations engaged in combating Social Exclusion; 10. Short-term Orientation courses for political leaders, Parliamentarians, government officials, trade unionists and media personalities.

Centre's faculty strength:

Currently, the Centre has three Professors and two Associate Professors and one Assistant Professor, representing diverse social science background. The Centre also has three support staffs to help carry out various academic activities of the Centre.

In the year 2014, the CSSEIP introduced an “Integrated M.Phil-Ph.D. Programme in Inclusive Development and Social Justice”. The programme is aimed at enabling the selected scholars to explore and understand, through taught courses, research and other possible modes:

• how certain social and Constitutional categories of people face discrimination, marginalization, social exclusion and even brutal violence for being members of certain castes, tribes and religious minorities, and the implications of such exclusions and marginalization to the concept of social justice, citizenship and nationhood or fraternity; and
• how their being member of certain castes or religious communities or tribes limit or even prevent their scope of accessing the benefits of development. And the programme is also aimed at exposing the scholars on wide-ranging ideologies and perspectives, and literature drawn from various social sciences and humanities disciplines.

A total of ten students were admitted to the Centre's first ever M.Phil-Ph.D. programme for 2014-16 batch as per the mandate of the Academic Council. Among the 10 students admitted to its second batch of 2015-17 owing to some unavoidable circumstance. More detail regarding its M.Phil/Ph.D. programme could be accessed from programme brochure.

Teaching Engagement:

The faculty members of CSSEIP are involved in teaching of courses offered not only by the Centre but also by other Centres/Schools both at M.A. and M.Phil/Ph.D. levels since 2006. In  its initial year (2006) the Centre offered four courses of two credit each under a broad theme or Concentration called “Diversity, Exclusion and Development of the Marginalized” for the M.A. (Development Studies) programme in 2006 by CDATS, The four courses were:

• Understanding the Marginalized.
• Diversity, Exclusion and State’s Development Interventions.
• Globalization and Development of the Marginalized.
• Dealing with Development Impact: Responses and Strategies.

However, the teaching of these courses had to be dropped since the very idea of teaching course under the Concentration Model was dropped by TISS soon. In its place the Centre introduced a 4 credit course called “Social Exclusion and social Justice: Theories and Processes”. Owing to the relevance and popularity of this course even among the M.A. students of other Centres, this course was made as an optional course  open to all M.Phil. scholars.

The CSSEIP faculty members' engagement in teaching of courses of other Centres continues till date.

Faculty Teaching in the Centre's M.Phil. programme:

Currently, all faculty members of the Centre are involved in teaching of various courses introduced by the Centre faculty members as part of its own M.Phil/Ph.D. programme. These include two compulsory courses of two credit each taught in the first semester, viz.,  (i) Perspectives on Social Justice and Inclusive Development, (ii) Paradigm of Social Exclusion. The compulsory courses taught in the first semester include two other courses, viz., (iii) Quantitative Research: Theory and Practice, and (ii) Qualitative Research: Theory and Practice (These two courses are offered by the School of Research Methodology).  The four courses taught in the second semester include one compulsory course of 4 credit, titled  “Development of Deprived Castes, Tribes and Religious Minorities” and three optional courses of 2 credit each offered by the Centre.  The three  optional courses are: (i) Nation-state and Inclusive Governance, (ii) Caste Movements, and (iii) Tribal Movements.  

Centre's academic contributions since 2007:

Till date (since its inception in 2007), the Centre has published as many as 13 books, 67 articles in peer reviewed journals, and 34 chapters in edited books. As many as 14 research projects have been completed  and 34 seminars/workshops have been organised.

Distribution of Credit Hours:

Programme Structure:

The Integrated M.Phil-Ph.D. programme in Inclusive Development and Social Justice carries a total of 48 credits, distributed over three components: 1) Compulsory courses, 2) Optional courses and 3) Dissertation as given below:

Semesterwise Courses:

First Semester Courses:

Second Semester Courses: 

Fee Structure:

Fee Structure for M.Phil and Ph.D Programme

(Prices in INR and subject to revision)

The full fees and deposits should be paid within the stipulated time after the announcement of the admission results. In addition, Rs. 50/- towards bank processing charges should be paid in any branch of the State Bank of India. If students fail to pay the fee on time, their candidature can be cancelled. Once the students details have been entered into the Online platform, a scanned copy of the fee receipt must be submitted via the online platform. Non-adherence to the above will be considered as equivalent to non-payment of fees.

*subject to revision