University of the Punjab.

The Department of Sociology at Punjab University was set up in 1954 with the help of Dr. John B. Edlefsen of Washington State University, Pullman, who came to the Punjab University under the Inter College Exchange Program. Regular MA classes were started in the Department of Sociology in September 1955 with 35 students, 26 males and nine females. From then onwards, the Department of Sociology has progressed well and is presently running ten different academic programs, while the number of students has risen from 35 in 1955 to100 in 2001 and to more than 2000 students in 2016. The department was up-graded to Institute of Social and Cultural Studies in December 5, 2006. The Institute is comprise of (i) Department of Sociology, (ii) Department of Gender Studies, (iii) Department of Population Sciences, (iv) Department of Criminology & Security Studies, (v) Department of Development Studies, (vi) Department of Public Health.
Our mission at the Institute of Social & Cultural Studies (ISCS) is to help our students and community by simply staying true to the ontological and epistemological traditions of our discipline. In an open and interactive environment, we encourage our students and faculty to pursue the shared resolve to understand ourselves as human beings, our interdependence on each other and the trends of cooperation and conflict that influence our mutual existence. As educators and social scientists, we endeavor to imbue our students with a sense of ‘self' that is innately connected to the ‘collective'. It is our hope and belief that our pedagogical style will promote peace and compassion through learning. We intend to create indigenous sociological knowledge and apply professional research skills to influence social policies for desirable social change in our own cultural domain. This has the aim of improving our social and cultural environment and raising the quality of life in Pakistan.
The main objective of education and research is to promote social justice and harmony in human societies, especially in the complex emerging global social system. The aim is to entrust our students with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in building equitable and humane social institutions in Pakistan. We intend to create indigenous sociological knowledge and apply professional research skills to influence social policies for desirable social change in our own cultural domain. This has the aim of improving our social and cultural environment and raising the quality of life in Pakistan.
The Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS) is a student-centered and research-oriented institution. It offers a range of high-quality educational programs at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. The ISCS is dedicated to the discovery, sharing and application of knowledge to aid in the due progress of our society, and the nation. The core value of the ISCS remains the pursuit of useful knowledge for improving human life.
The promotion of free inquiry is a motto of the ISCS. Collaboration and cooperation among institutions and disciplines are emphasized. Our goal is imaginative edification and the improvement of the whole society and person. Students are expected to pursue knowledge that is good for the diverse needs of social organizations and human societies. The critical concern of the ISCS is to educate students so that they can create a good life for themselves and others.

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Students shall be academically prepared for careers both in academia and administrative.

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Faculty and students shall be encouraged and supported for national and international academic collaboration for academic scholarship.

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Students and Alumni shall be successful in applying analytical and research skills in their organizational endeavors or in other advanced studies.

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