Generate a tailored SOP for Dr. Magdalena Ugarte. Improve your application with a focused, well-structured draft.
Magdalena Ugarte is an Assistant Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University. With over fifteen years of experience as a scholar-practitioner, her research focuses on the intersection of planning, policy, and law in relation to the marginalization of communities, particularly Indigenous peoples and immigrants. Ugarte has a background as a professional designer in Chile and has obtained a Master of Arts in Political Science from Memorial University of Newfoundland, as well as a PhD in Community and Regional Planning from the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining TMU, she worked with governments in Chile and Canada, conducting public consultations and evaluating social policies. Ugarte's community-engaged research emphasizes the struggles for self-determination by the Mapuche nation and seeks to create spaces for critical reflection among her students regarding their roles in professional practice. She is committed to a joint research agenda with her Mapuche partners in Chile and to engaging with planning practices that acknowledge the harms done to marginalized groups. Her teaching interests include planning theory, social and community planning, and institutional dimensions in planning, with a strong focus on equity and social justice in policy-making.
Department of Chemical Engineering