Today, there are thousands of young people working in various sectors who are keen to contribute to social change in a meaningful way. There is a growing need in the social sector for professionals with academic preparation and capabilities for social action. The Postgraduate programmes at Azim Premji University provide an excellent option for candidates to transition from corporate to the social sector.

Master of Arts (MA) in Education

MA in Education programme prepares students for the complex demands and imperatives of working in the education sector. They can look forward to roles in organisations working in the implementation of educational interventions, design and development of school teaching-learning materials, teacher education, research in education, etc.

Master of Arts (MA) in Development

MA in Development programme offers students a broad understanding of India’s development challenges and capabilities to address these challenges. They can look forward to a variety of roles in different domains like livelihood, public health, urban issues, sustainability, energy and natural resource management.

Master of Public Health (MPH)

The Master of Public Health (MPH) programme is aimed at early career professionals and designed to build a cohort of public health practitioners who are grounded in the values of equity, rights, and social justice. Career opportunities include roles as public health specialists in programme management (design, monitoring and evaluation, implementation), community engagement (mobilisation, advocacy, health vulnerability assessment, communications), intervention specialists and research analysts.

Financial Assistance

• Guaranteed 50% waiver on tuition fee for candidates with more than 3 years of work experience after graduation

• Additional need-based scholarships offered based on other financial criteria

Your work experience is important 

The University values the work experience students bring, for many reasons.

Students with work experience bring a diverse range of views and ideas, based on their personal and work-life experience, that add to the richness of the classroom experience. Such sharing is an important part of learning at the University.

Many elective courses offered are sectoral or theme based and students with work experience contribute to these through their skills and knowledge from their past work.

There are multiple roles in social development sector that demands prior work experience and such students with postgraduate degree from Azim Premji University can look forward to challenging opportunities.

Career path in the social sector

The social sector today offers a variety of exciting career opportunities for students with a desire to contribute to the development of the country. The sector includes:

• non-governmental organisations (NGOs), social enterprises, community-based organisations, civil society groups, funding agencies

• private sector (consultancies, CSR departments, development banks)

• Academic bodies, think-tanks/research groups

• Public or government sector

• Bilateral and multilateral agencies (for example, UNO)

Social sector needs

• Project management/​Administration functionaries: For effective project implementation and direction, direct community engagement, technical advice, coordination with donor agency/​local government, budgeting and project reports

• Technical resources: Domain specialists and experts who can contribute in school education, curriculum design, assessment, teacher education, early childhood education, water/​sanitation/​hygiene (WASH), public health, livelihoods, legal reform, housing and infrastructure development, urban governance, climate change, policy analysis, etc.

• Researchers: At think-tanks, as consultants, and in Universities. In addition, social entrepreneurs capable of innovative thinking are needed to ideate, create and implement path-breaking solutions to social problems.

Facilitating admissions for students with work experience

• We provide additional weightage in the interview process for applicants with work experience.

• The University provides extensive scholarships in the form of fee waiver, both for tuition fees and accommodation and food charges. The scholarships are based on the family’s income and not on the current earning of the student.

• Applicants with more than 3 years of work experience after graduation receive a guaranteed 50% tuition-fee waiver.

• Educational loans are also facilitated by the University. The loans cover all expenses – tuition, accommodation and food charges. Students may take a full loan or part loan to pay for the expenses not covered by the scholarships.

• Using a combination of scholarships and loans, it is possible for students to fully pay for their course expenses.

• In addition, a limited number of project-based assistantships are available on campus, where students work 10 – 12 hours per week and are paid monthly. This is particularly useful for students to support their day-to-day expenses.

Campus Placement

The University has an excellent placement record so far. All these career opportunities are well compensated and probably much more challenging and personally satisfying than opportunities in other sectors. Click here to know all about our Placement Cell.

Listen to Anil Loyston Misquith and Sruthi Kutty who made their transition to the social sector. Both of them graduated in 2019.

• Over 3,000 students, in ten batches, have graduated and almost all of them are currently engaged with the social sector, placed through the campus placement process. More than 110 organisations visit the campus for placements.

• The average salary for campus placements is in the range of INR 30,000 – 35,000 per month. Students with prior experience get higher compensation.

• Many students also decide to pursue fellowships/​do higher studies in their area of interest.

The University also has an active Social Enterprise Cell that encourages students to be entrepreneurs. Click here to know how the Cell can help you network with individuals, incubators and like-minded groups towards creating your own social ventures.