Founded in 1908,[1] the school specializes in research, education, and policy development in relation to both social and economic issues.

[4][5][6] The school began in 1908 when a “Course of Training in Child Helping” was developed under the direction of the Children’s Bureau of Philadelphia.

Carl Kelsey was a consulting director in the 1908-09 academic year, and his colleague, James P. Lichtenberger, had full control in 1909-10.

Taft was an educational theorist and practitioner in psychiatric social work who was then Director of the Mental Hygiene Clinic at the Seybert Institution.

In 2005, the school changed its name to the School of Social Policy and Practice to reflect the inclusion of graduate programs in policy, leadership, and philanthropy, as well as expanded joint degree programs in public health, bioethics, government administration, and criminology.