Sandeep Agrawal

Associate Dean (Course-Based Master’s and Professional Programs; Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)

Dr. Sandeep Agrawal is a Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. He was an Associate Chair in the department and Inaugural director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning between 2013 and 2023. During his tenure as director, he led the development of MSc Planning and PhD specialization in urban planning, and established the School in 2018. Prior to moving to the University of Alberta, he was Associate Director and Founding Graduate Program Director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson).

Dr. Agrawal has a diverse array of research interests that encompasses sustainable urban and rural planning, energy transition, Indigenous issues, and human rights. Among several national and international grants he has received, the most recent one is $98.6M CFREF grant, in which he is the project lead from the University of Alberta. As an accomplished author with over a hundred articles and professional reports and three books, Dr. Agrawal has contributed to planning practice and affected city bylaws and planning policies and legislation, with a lens on human rights and equity. The most recent book is entitled Rights and the City: Problems, Progress and Practice. His new book Municipal Boundary Battles will be published soon.

Dr. Agrawal is a recipient of the Canadian Institute of Planners’ national academic award for his significant contribution to planning education and research in the country.

Responsibilities as Associate Dean

  • I support GPS's work on EDI
  • I work with course-based and professional graduate programs to create and improve academic support services
  • I provide advice, guidance, and support to graduate students, supervisors, and graduate student program administrators
  • I represent GPS on various committees, working groups, search, selection and review committees across campus

My advice to our graduate students:

  • Enrich, engage and enjoy!
  • When you graduate, take some time to list new learnings and apply them in your daily life.
  • If you have moved to campus from elsewhere, it is normal to feel homesick initially. Look at your time here as an exciting opportunity and stay in touch with your close ones via phone and email.

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Professor, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

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