Social work training at the University of Pretoria was initiated in February 1929 at the then Transvaal University College (TUK) when the Suid Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie decided to finance a child guidance clinic and at the same time appointed a lecturer in social work. Social work training became more formalised with the establishment of the Department of Sociology and Social Work in 1934. The Department of Social Work was instituted in January 1975 and provided social work training as an independent department until the end of 2004.

Criminology as a subject was introduced at the University of Pretoria in 1949. The institution of the Department of Criminology in 1960 was a significant milestone for the development of the discipline. We provided training in Criminology as an independent department until the end of 2004.