Education
- Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2024 — Dissertation: Judicial Ideology and Legal Outcomes in Pakistan
- M.A. in Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2019
- B.Sc. (Hons) in Economics and Political Science, LUMS, 2015
Biography
Dr. Muhammad Faraz has been Assistant Professor of Social Development and Policy at Habib University since July 2025, teaching Design Your Habib Experience, Introduction to Political Science, and Quantitative Research Methods, and also contributes to Habib’s Office of Teaching and Learning (July 2025–present) and has served as a discussant at the Imagining Futures Conference.
He is a political scientist specializing in comparative political theory, public law, and judicial politics in South Asia, having completed his Ph.D. at UMass Amherst researching judicial ideology and the role of elite jurists in shaping modern Islamic law in Pakistan, drawing on analysis of 110 legal cases and 33 in-depth interviews. He served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at UMass Amherst for six years (2016–2022) and worked as AI Expert Contributor (Political Science) at Snorkel AI (2025–present) and Team Lead for the Global Admissions Committee of the Millennium Fellowship (2025–present).
Selected Presentations
- “Decentralization of Despotism,” Association for Political Theory, UMass Amherst (2021)
- “Organized Knowledge and Judicial Behavior,” Western Political Science Association (2020)
- “Activist Courts and Social Movements in Pakistan,” Canadian Political Science Association (2019)
Fellowships, Grants and Awards
- Research Enhancement and Leadership (REAL) Fellowship Award ($4,000)
- Dissertation Writing Grant ($4,000)
- Field Research Grant ($4,000)
- W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship Research Grant ($3,000)
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