Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

(Since 2008)

About FOHSS:

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FOHSS) plays a critical role both at the University and in broader society at large,. Given the world at more than 8 billion people, it fosters and nurtures future citizens with a well-rounded education, contributing effectively across various sectors.

The FOHSS helps with a better understanding of Society and Culture. It also explores the complexities of human societies, cultures, behaviours, beliefs, and values - providing insights into the historical, social, and cultural contexts that shape our world today. This helps students develop cultural sensitivity and global awareness by studying diverse cultures, languages, histories, and global issues, thus preparing students to engage with a multicultural and interconnected world.

The faculty remains focused on fostering interdisciplinary perspectives by integrating knowledge from various sub-disciplines - Anthropology, Culture Studies, Economics, Education, History, International Relations, Political Science, Statistics, and Sociology, to name a few. It also goes beyond the sub-domain in the FOHSS to the other eight faculties, which have more than 100 sub-domains at our university, including law, artificial intelligence, data sciences, geoinformatics, and many more.

It emphasizes critical thinking and analysis. As a result, the students learn to evaluate information, construct arguments, and communicate ideas persuasively. The faculty also engages with ethical questions, moral dilemmas, and issues of justice and fairness. They encourage students to reflect on these issues, fostering ethical awareness and responsible citizenship.

FOHSS contributes to research and scholarship that advances knowledge in their respective fields. Their research often addresses pressing societal issues and contributes to policy debates.

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences encompasses

• Four School
• Three Research Centres
• 21 sub-domains / disciplines
• Three Masters Programmes
• Three Undergraduate Programmes
• PhD programme
• 1600+ Students
• 65+ Faculty
• 3000+ Alumni
• Research Projects + INR 30 million
• 40+ students conferred with PhDs
• 100+ students pursuing PhD since inception
• 70+ Research Guides

The FOHSS is known to offer a variety of well-curated, innovative, and rigorous programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the Constituent Institutes and Research Centres:

• Symbiosis School of Economics (SSE), Pune
• Symbiosis School of Liberal Arts (SSLA), Pune
• Symbiosis School of International Studies (SSIS), Pune
• Symbiosis Statistics Institute (SSI), Pune



Besides, the FOHSS has three Research Centers:

i) Symbiosis Centre for Urban Studies (SCUS)
Established in March 2022, SCUS drives research through an interdisciplinary framework to create sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urbanization. The research is focused on issues related to urban development, which includes: urban economic development, planning, governance, finance, development experiences, land economics, demography, infrastructure, migration, poverty, livelihood, policy, and many more areas cutting across a multidisciplinary approach. SCUS is housed at the Symbiosis School of Economics, which offers the country's first programme - M.Sc. Economics with a specialisation in Urban Development.

ii) Symbiosis Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability (SCCCS)
Established in March 2022, SCCCS envisions contributing to the creation of knowledge and research, supporting our national efforts of climate action, and assisting in the shift to sustainable pathways. It will include the climate change impact related to mitigation, adaptation, and resilience at the local, regional, and national levels.

iii) Symbiosis Centre for Ambedkar Studies (SCAS)
Commenced its activities in November 2022. SCAS aims to contribute to the knowledge and research on Dr. Ambedkar’s thoughts on Education. The centre has been awarded the Dr Ambedkar Chair by the Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) - Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. The centre has been permitted to take two research fellows for the PhD programme. The doctoral students will get the research fellowship as prescribed by the DAF.

All the above centres host a number of PhD scholars pursuing doctoral studies.

iv) Symbiosis Rotary Peace Centre
February 2025 brought with it a momentous announcement of India's first-ever Rotary Peace Center to be established at Symbiosis International University (SIU). The University has been chosen as the 9th Rotary Peace Center globally and the first in India, marking a significant milestone in our commitment to fostering positive peace and global understanding. The first cohort begins in 2027.

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The PhD Programme under FoHSS offers the following sub-streams:

1. i) Economics - Research has been pursued in the areas of Agriculture Economics, International Trade, International Economic Cooperation, Monetary and Fiscal Economics, Financial Economics, Money and Banking, Infrastructure, Health Economics, Human Development, Rural Development, Urban Development, Urban Finance, Urban Mobility, Land Economics, Environment Economics, Financial Inclusion, Education and Economics of Education, to name a few.

2. ii) International Relations - Research areas include Nuclear Non-Proliferation, International Migration, International Trade, Economic Cooperation, Global Development Agenda and Governance, and many more.

3. iii) Statistics - Bio-statistics - Detriment Index based Ranking Technique and Demonstration of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tool for Early Signal Detection in Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs), Applied Statistics - Functional Data Analysis Technique for the Assessment of Temporal Measurements in Climate Change and others.

4. iv) Education - Research areas include Dr Ambedkar's Thoughts on Higher Education, Education Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation, Higher Education Policy, Urban Education, Curriculum, and Inclusive Educational Pedagogy.

5. v) Interdisciplinary - The FOHSS fosters and encourages research in varied domains, which includes Anthropology, Culture Studies, Economics, Education, History, International Relations, Political Science, and many more sub-domains across the other eight faculties at the University.

A number of PhD guides from the constituent institutes and research centers having vast knowledge and expertise, are available to mentor and guide the research scholars, to commence their research journey on a subject matter or an area they are passionate about. The well-designed PhD coursework helps the student commence their passage to discover new insights and perspectives in the chosen areas. A team of quantitative and qualitative experts, along with an array of important data sets and software such as SPSS, SAS, STATA, R, EViews, GRETL, and Python, are available at the university to assist the students in their onward research journey.

About the Dean: Dr Jyoti Chandiramani

Dr Jyoti Chandiramani has been the Director of Symbiosis School of Economics and Dean Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences – at Symbiosis International Deemed University (SIU) since 2010. Prof Jyoti is also the Head of the Symbiosis Centre for Urban Studies (SCUS). She is an acclaimed educator, academician, researcher, and social scientist. Her areas of expertise include urban infrastructure, urban mobility, urban poverty, urban economic development, international development cooperation, and India’s Development Agenda towards the SDGs

She has played a significant role in establishing one of India’s leading schools of Economics, committed to providing students with an educational journey – of academic excellence and lifelong learning. She is also responsible for nurturing and creating the Symbiosis Centre for Urban Studies. Her research areas include topics associated with Urban Economic Development (urban poverty, urban infrastructure, urban mobility, urban policy, etc.), Besides, she keenly studies and follows contemporary trends in International Development Cooperation – from the MDGs to the SDGs. She is presently working on Pune-centric cases, which include census towns in the Pune district, calculating Pune city GDP, and growth strategies for districts of Maharashtra. She has been guiding a number of PhD scholars and has also undertaken various research projects and consultancy in collaboration with NABARD, NIUA, ITDP, Cybage India, Sulochana Thapar Foundation, and reputed think tanks in India.