Muhammad Aatir Khan
Education
- Ph.D. in Public Policy, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR (2019–2022) — Fulbright Foreign Student Program scholar
- M.S. in Social Science, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Karachi (2017–2019)
- B.S. in Social Sciences and Liberal Arts, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi (2013–2017)
Research Interests
- Public education; climate change; urban planning; public school administration and policy in Sindh.
Biography
Dr. Muhammad Aatir Khan has been Assistant Professor of Social Development and Policy at Habib University since January 2023, teaching Public Policy I & II, Education Planning, Qualitative Research Methods, and service-learning courses on climate change awareness, and restructuring the Public Policy course sequence in consultation with faculty and students. He currently serves as Director of Habib’s Graduate School Curation Program (January 2025–present), sits on the Academic Centers Advisory Board, the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Board, and the GSCP Board of Studies, chaired NECHE Standard 5 (Students) from February 2024 to April 2025, and was Interim Head of the Office of Student Life (January–April 2024).
Dr. Khan completed his Ph.D. in Public Policy at Oregon State University as a Fulbright Scholar (2019–2022), researching the impact of legislative acts and education policy in Sindh, and while there chaired the Associated Students of Oregon State University’s Student Fee Committee, overseeing an annual budget of over USD 30 million. Before his doctorate, he worked as Assistant Manager (Research and Policy Development) at the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (2018–2019) and as Research and Development Coordinator at Sindh’s School Education and Literacy Department (2017–2018).
He has secured multiple research grants at Habib, including a Faculty Research Grant (Jan 2024–Nov 2025, PKR 1M) exploring school administration and student engagement in Sindh, and an IIE Centennial Fellowship New Leader Award (Nov 2023–June 2025, USD 15,000) for raising climate change awareness through civic clubs in public schools. His work has been presented at the 5th, 6th, and 7th International Applied Development Economics Conferences (Lahore) and the 17th Annual Fulbright Alumni Conference (Islamabad, 2024).
Selected Publications
- “The Nexus of Academia, Community, and Society: The Case of Habib University in Karachi, Pakistan,” in edited volume, Rutgers University Press (forthcoming, 2025).
- Khan, M.A., and Thompson, P. “Impacts of Fiscal Stress Labels on Student Achievement and Achievement Gaps.” Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley, December 2025.
Selected Grants
- Faculty Research Grant, Habib University: “Exploring School Administration and Student Engagement at Public Schools in Sindh” (Jan 2024–Nov 2025, PKR 1,000,000)
- New Leader Award, IIE Centennial Fellowship: “Raising Climate Change Awareness through Civic Clubs at Public Schools in Karachi” (Nov 2023–June 2025, USD 15,000)
- Summer Tehqiq Research Program grants, 2023, 2024, 2025 (multiple projects)
- Fulbright Foreign Student Program, USEFP: full PhD scholarship (2019–2022)
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