The major of social work has been established since 1997. Department of social work and social policy was founded in 2003. We set up the master program in population in 2001 and master program in social security in 2003. We were qualified to confer professional master of social work (MSW) since 2009. We also have master and doctoral programs in social work and social policy. Recently, we have cultivated high-level professionals for government, social service organizations, colleges and universities, and media. As a brand new department, we learned from advanced experiences of other departments at home and abroad, and integrated resources from sociological disciplines. Currently we have become one of the best social work departments in China.

Currently the department has 12 faculties, including 3 professors, 3 associate professors, and 6 assistant professors. The department chair is Professor Guan Xinping. Our faculty is active and strong in academic research. Recently, our faculty has conducted 2 Key Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education, 1 Major Project of National Social Science Foundation of China, and dozens of programs of Natural Science Foundation of China, General and Youth Projects of National Social Science Foundation of China, and provincial research projects. Besides, we have undertaken research projects of United Nations, World Banks, State Council, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and multiple local governments. The faculty has published several academic works, high quality textbooks and research papers, some of which were granted social science awards from Ministry of Education and Tianjin and the honorary title of “Outstanding Award of Chinese Demography”. Most of our professors have visited and taught in prestigious universities, research organizations, and social service organizations in countries such as United States, Great Britain, Australia, Sweden, Japan and South Korea and regions such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As a department that focuses on social service and consulting, many professors work part-time outside the university. Titles include committee member of Expert Consulting Committee of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, committee member of Expert Consulting Committee of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, executive member of the National Women's Federation, expert of children’s problem of Social Welfare and Social Affairs Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, member of Committee of Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency in China, member of Expert Committee of “Caring for Migrant and Left-Behind Children ” of National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council, policy consulting expert of Tianjin, etc. We often attend policy argumentation and are think tank of National Poverty Alleviation and Development Office, Ministry of Civil Affairs, National Population and Family Planning Committee, Tianjin Government, and UNICEF.

Social work is a practice-oriented discipline. In our major education, besides emphasis on understanding of concepts and theory in social work, more importantly, we stress that students should apply their professional knowledge and skills in social services. As a result, the undergraduate students usually have four organized internships of 800 hours and enhance their skills of communication and social services through internships in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In terms of academic communication, we have long-term cooperation and communication with department of social work in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. We have founded United Research Center of Social Policy. Faculty and students of the two departments usually visit and cooperate with each other. Meanwhile, we also closely collaborates with sociology department of Duke University, Social Work College of University of California at Berkeley, University of South California, Boston College, University of South Carolina, and Rutgers University, Department of Social Policy and Social Work at University of Birmingham, and social work departments at the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, National Taiwan University and National Taipei University. All of these provide great platforms for faculty and students to pursue further academic development.