The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) strives to work in furtherance of the overall mission and vision of North South University. At SHSS, we want to impart a well-rounded, high-quality education to all our students, enshrining the liberal arts ethos of North South University. It has been a cliché that a student lives in an ever-changing world in which they need to think laterally and solve new challenges. To ensure that our students are able to attain these goals, SHSS teaches a diverse range of units as part of all the undergraduate courses of North South University, focusing on the individual, the society, and the globe, such as understanding the human person, society, institutions, law, policy, ethics, and governance. Our research-active faculty members strive to imbue a culture of cutting-edge, research-informed teaching. Our academic departments actively engage in organizing various academic dialogues and programmes with a diverse range of stakeholders. On behalf of my colleagues, I welcome you to our vibrant SHSS.
Prof. Dr. Md. Rizwanul Islam
Professor of Law, & Dean, School of Humanities & Social Sciences
Ph.D., Macquarie University, Australia
LL.M. (IP & IT Law), National University of Singapore
LL.B. (Honours), University of Dhaka
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) consists of four academic Departments:
the Department of English and Modern Languages, the Department of Law, the Department of
History and Philosophy, and the Department of Political Science and Sociology. At SHSS, we
are committed to high-quality teaching, research, and service to the community. We maintain a
close rapport with various stakeholders from home and abroad, both within and outside the
academia. We regularly organise seminars and webinars involving academics, industry leaders,
and policymakers. Our highly skilled graduates are serving society in various roles. Our
committed administrative staff are always ready to help our students.
Rizwan currently serves as the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Before joining the Department of Law of North South University, Rizwan was a full-time Associate Professor at the School of Law of BRAC University. Before that, he was a full-time Assistant Professor at the School of Law of BRAC University, a Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Northern University Bangladesh and a casual Lecturer at the Department of Business Law, Macquarie University. He was a recipient of the Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship. Rizwan received the Macquarie University Faculty of Arts Higher Degree Research Award for Best Candidate Publications twice. He has many books, monograph, journal articles, and book chapters published in reputed outlets such as Brill, Cambridge University Press, Hart, and Oxford University Press etc. Rizwan also regularly writes columns on a wide range of national and international legal and non-legal issues for widely-circulated national and international newspapers such as the Diplomat, Straits Times, Bangkok Post, Business Times, New Straits Times, Economic Times and Daily Star. Rizwan acted as a Consultant and Fellow in projects funded by the International Labour Organization, World Bank, and United Nations Development Programme. He was awarded the President’s Gold Medal for his paper titled ‘Judges as Legislators: Benevolent Exercise of Powers by the Higher Judiciary in Bangladesh with not so Benevolent Consequences)’ as the Best Research Article in the subject category of Arts, Humanities, Education, and Law of the year 2016. Rizwan received the Silver Medalist Research Excellence Award 2022 from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, North South University. He also received Research Award 2021 by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, North South University, for outstanding performance in research during 2018-2020. In March 2021, he was elected as a Co-Chair of the Teaching International Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law.
