By Matters India Reporter

Kannur, July 13, 2025: Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (Autonomous), managed by the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate congregation in Kerala’s Kochi, has ranked second among 25 best social work institutes in India.

The top rank in the list of “India Today Best Colleges 2025” has gone to Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

The list was published on July 11 to help aspiring social workers to choose the right college for a Master of Social Work course.

As many as 11 among the 25 colleges are under Christian management.

“These colleges typically invest in experienced faculty, well-equipped classrooms, and partnerships with NGOs and government bodies to offer practical exposure. Factors such as hands-on training, faculty background, internship opportunities, and campus support services are important when identifying the top private MSW colleges in India,” said the introduction to the list.

Top five colleges, including Mumbai’s College of Social Work (Autonomous) or Nirmala Niketan, managed by the Daughters of the Heart of Mary (5), have maintained the same ranking of the previous year.

Among the Christian institutions, the Bhopal School of Social Sciences, managed by the Bhopal archdiocese, and Salesians’ Sacred Heart College at Tirupatur, Tamil Nadu, have shown great improvement climbing three spots to rank at 21 and 22 respectively.

While the Department of Social Science under Chennai’s Jesuit-managed Loyola College ranked 9 from 7, Chennai’s Stella Maris College of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary rose from 18 to 16 and Mangalore’s Jesuit-managed St Aloysius College was ranked 18 from the previous 20.

Mangalore’s School of Social Work of Roshni Nilaya (Autonomous), managed by the Society of Daughters of the Heart of Mary, went up just one spot up to rank at 12.

Among those slipping in the rank list was the Department of Social Work, Christ University (deemed), under the Carmelites Fathers in Bengaluru. It stood at 7 from its previous rank of 6.

The third rank went to the Department of Social Work, Delhi School of Social Work, University of Delhi, and the fourth to Chennai’s Madras School of Social Work.

Ranked sixth was the Department of Social Work, Centre for Advanced Study, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and Chennai’s Department of Social Work, Madras Christian College, the eighth.

Jesuit-managed Loyola College of Social Sciences (Autonomous) in Thiruvananthapuram ranked 10 in the list.