I assume you are reading this article either because you have been allotted GNLU or you heard about this very distinct stream named ‘BSW’. In this blog, I’ll try to answer every question that comes in a student’s mind after hearing about this course.
Brief info about me-
Hi, I’m Harshil Vijayvargiya, 5th year student at GNLU. After I received many queries (5 to be precise) on my YouTube channel, I thought of penning down this article. Just to let you know, I’ve also taken BSW stream so you can trust the things I state ahead.
Having said that, let’s get started!
What is this stream all about?
The objective of this stream is inculcating social values among the law students. This is why the course is more drifted towards people who wish to go into social sectors, NGOs, United Nations and other place.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t take corporate placements or law firms would look down upon you when they see you holding BSW degree. It’s just that BSW students would get an edge over other streams.
Do BSW students get corporate placements?
I know you are thinking ‘why should I take a risk of choosing BSW if I’ll be prima facie seen as a socially inclined lawyer by law firms’, ‘Would corporate even consider giving me placement if I approach with this degree?’
The answer is ‘Law firms & companies don’t care what your stream is’. Marks, Internships & to some extent research papers are only what matters to them.
And now to throw in some data, let me tell you almost every student who opted for corporate placements in BSW batch of 2017-2022 got job either in law firm or in MNCs. Even I got job at Vedanta Resources, an MNC in my 5th year. In fact out of 16 student who got PPO in our batch, 2 were from BSW stream (read this article to know what a PPO means).
What kind of subjects are taught?
If you are interested in social work, psychology & research, you are going to have a good time. Some of the subjects taught are-
Research Methodology
Gandhian Approach to Welfare & Development
Social Legislations in India
Social Entrepreneurship
Criminal Justice & Social Work
Are there any pros of choosing BSW?
Yes, here are some-
Easy to score marks
As the subjects are general in nature, you don’t have to learn or require deep understanding of topics unlike let’s say Economics, or Accountancy (subjects taught to BA & BBA streams respectively).
This makes it easier to score good marks. In fact, the only reason why I had decent grades is because of BSW subjects.
You would be able to focus on core subjects
I believe we are in law school to study ‘core subjects’ such as Code of Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Securities Law and others.
But if someone has BA or BBA stream, they would necessary have to take out more time to study stream subjects, leading to less time for law subjects. This is not the case with BSW students, as the subjects aren’t that demanding.
Field Trips
This is the best part of BSW.
While other students have to give exams for 80 marks (another 20 marks for assignments, totaling 100 marks for each subject), BSW students have to give exams for only 60 marks, and the rest of 40 marks are for Field trips & other assignments.
This means you would be taken to some organization such as Akshay Patra Foundation & asked to prepare report that would be worth 20-30 marks. In our first year we were taken to Amul Factory in Anand, and also in a small village to show how ‘Women Self Help Groups’ work.
Figure 1: Temple in Akshay Patra Foundation
Then in second year we went to Sadguru Foundation in Dahod District where we stayed for 2 days. (No field trips in 3rd year because of COVID-19).
Figure 2: Outside Sadguru Foundation, surrounded by nature
Any cons of taking BSW? Is there any catch?
To be honest, there’s no ‘catch’ as such. Though here are some downsides/not-so-good points about BSW-
Subjects may get uninteresting.
Some students may not like the subjects being taught, or simply find them ‘too theoretical’. This is why you may lose interest and attend classes just for the sake. So I suggest reading about being sure that you actually like the subject.
The stigma attached
BSW is sort of seen as inferior to BA & other streams. In the early years, there was a perception that those who don’t want to study take BSW. Though this isn’t true anymore and to be honest no one has the time nowadays to think about these stuff, so you can remain chill.
The psychological principles at play
If I remember correctly, there’s no other university that offers this course. So whenever we hear such statement, our mind goes into ‘suspicion mode’ and begins asking ‘what’s the catch’, even if there’s no catch at all!
This is why it’s natural that such thoughts might come into your mind also. And that’s totally natural.
Just to let you know, the degree is totally valid and several alumni with BSW degree are doing pretty well in their lives. Some are working as Civil servants (Saisha Orke, AIR 242, UPSC 2020), others are partners at law firms and so on. So no need to worry!
Conclusion
I hope this article solved some of your queries. Now if you want me to write article on any other topic, do comment down below!
Thanks for reading till the end. Have a great day!
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