The School of Social Development at Tianjin University of Technology was established in 2017, formerly known as the School of Humanities. It currently serves as a standing council member unit of the China Association for Social Work Education, vice president unit of the Tianjin Sociological Society, and a Tianjin Municipal Women's Pacesetter Collective. Upholding the motto "Cultivating Virtue and Diligent Practice, Benefiting the Community," the School has been dedicated to teaching, research, and social services in fields such as social work, gerontology, and sociology. After over two decades of development, it has grown into an influential professional school in the Tianjin, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and beyond.

Disciplines and Programs: Leading Development with First-Class Initiatives

      The School's disciplinary structure encompasses three undergraduate programs: Social Work, Sociology, and Gerontology, as well as a first-level Sociology master's program and a Master of Social Work (MSW) professional degree program, forming a multi-level talent cultivation system. The Social Work program was approved as a "National First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Site" in 2021. The Sociology program was approved as a "Tianjin Municipal First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Site" in 2022. The Gerontology program ranks at the top (A++) among national undergraduate programs. As a newly established distinctive program, it has been ranked first in China for Gerontology programs in the China Alumni Association evaluations since 2023.

Platform Development: Empowering Social Service with Research High Ground

    The School houses two research institutes: the Social Development and Evaluation Research Center (a Tianjin Think Tank, CTTI) and the Disability Career Development Research Center. It is a cooperative unit for the Ministry of Civil Affairs' policy research base and serves as the vice-chairman unit of the National Elderly Care Industry Integration of Industry and Education Consortium. The School has co-established the "Tianjin Social Work Talent Training Base" with the Tianjin Municipal Committee Social Work Department, the "Tianjin Elderly Care Talent Co-construction Base" with the Tianjin Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, and the "Tianjin Red Cross Culture Education Base" with the Tianjin Red Cross Society, providing solid support for academic innovation and social service. In 2025, the School established the "Social Policy and Social Work Research Base" jointly with the China Society for Social Governance Research and Tianjin University of Technology.

Faculty and Research: Driving Innovative Breakthroughs with a High-Level Team

     The School currently has 41 faculty and staff members, along with 2 visiting professors. Among the full-time teaching faculty, 96.8% hold doctoral (postdoctoral) degrees. The team includes 13 postgraduate tutors, 5 professors, and 11 associate professors. One faculty member has been recognized as a Tianjin Municipal Publicity and Culture "Five Batches" Talent, six have been selected for the Tianjin "131" Innovative Talents Program, one serves as the Vice President of the Tianjin Sociological Society, one as the Deputy Director of the Tianjin Senior Professional Title Evaluation Committee, one as a Standing Council Member of the China Association for Social Work Education, and two as Council Members of the Chinese Sociological Association. This constitutes a faculty team with international perspective and local practical experience.

     Research capabilities continue to rise. In recent years, faculty have consistently published high-level papers, with over a hundred articles appearing in SSCI, CSSCI, and other journals. They have undertaken dozens of national and provincial/ministerial-level projects, including those from the National Social Science Fund, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Tianjin Philosophy and Social Science planning offices. The School has received 6 provincial/ministerial-level research awards and 3 think tank achievement awards. It has organized or co-organized sub-forums for annual conferences of the Chinese Sociological Association and the China Association for Social Work Education, hosted forums such as the High-Quality Development of Social Work in China, and regularly invites renowned domestic and international experts and scholars for academic exchanges.

Talent Cultivation: Fostering Practice-Oriented Talents through Integration of Industry and Education

     The School has constructed an educational system integrating "Industry, Government, Academia, and Research," extensively collaborating with Party and government agencies, mass organizations (trade unions, youth leagues, women's federations), social organizations, and enterprises. This deeply integrates theoretical learning with practical application, yielding significant results in talent cultivation. In recent years, students have won dozens of awards in national and provincial/ministerial-level competitions. Annually, a number of students are admitted to prestigious domestic universities such as Renmin University of China, Beijing Normal University, and Nankai University, as well as renowned institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries for further studies.

     The School steadily advances teaching reforms and has successively obtained provincial/ministerial-level New Liberal Arts construction projects, teaching competition awards, Tianjin first-class courses, and New Liberal Arts textbook construction projects. Several teaching and research papers are published each year.

International Exchange and Social Impact: Expanding Boundaries with an Open Attitude

     The School conducts joint training and faculty/student exchange programs with renowned universities in Finland and the United States. It regularly invites domestic and overseas experts to offer courses and deliver academic lectures, and selects faculty and students for visiting scholar programs in Finland and the US, promoting the internationalization of the School's academic horizons.

     In the realm of social service, the School actively participates in social governance, social work services, and elderly care services in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and beyond. Key initiatives include: In 2008, faculty and students from the Social Work program participated in school social work services at Guangyuan Primary School following the Wenchuan earthquake. In 2015, the School established medical social work stations and school social work stations in collaboration with Tianjin General Hospital and Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area No.1 Middle School, engaging in medical and school social work services. From 2017 to 2020, it participated in the Social Work Education Pairing Assistance Program with outstanding results. In 2020, it joined the China Association for Social Work Education's "Action Research Project on Social Work Services in Fighting the Pandemic," implementing services to support medical staff and community workers in quarantine zones. In 2024, it co-established a school social work station and an "Educational Consortium" with Tianjin Experimental Binhai School, and built an Elderly Social Work Practice Base with the Tianjin Fifth Senior Apartments. The School also runs distinctive projects like the "Young Sociologist Training Camp" and the "Silver-Age Students Return to Classroom" program, fully embodying the spirit of its motto, "Benefiting the Community." Related experiences have been reported by multiple media outlets including Guangming Daily, Tianjin Education News, and China National Radio.

     Guided by first-class disciplines, supported by diverse platforms, and following the path of integrating industry and education, the School of Social Development at Tianjin University of Technology continuously cultivates high-quality talents for the field of social sciences, contributing the "Tianli Wisdom" to national social governance and people's livelihood services.