U of R’s psychology program breaks into the top 100 internationally
In December 2025, four University of Regina (U of R) disciplines including psychology, water resources, human biological sciences, and engineering were added amongst the best internationally in the newly released Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS). The psychology program at the UofR attained its most significant international recognition to date, entering the 76-100 cohort.
The GRAS is a yearly ranking that evaluates the performance of post-secondary institutions in specific academic fields, covering approximately 2,000 universities from over 90 countries.
Dr. Gordon Asmundson, registered doctoral psychologist and department head of the university’s department of psychology stated in a media release published by SaskToday that the ranking reflects the result of collective and consistent efforts of U of R’s faculty and students in combination with institutional efforts.
“In my opinion, it is years of collaborative effort and persistent pursuit of knowledge […] that has moved us into this elite global tier.”
A great year for the department of psychology
This is an especially impressive milestone for the U of R’s department of psychology since along with breaking into the top 100 globally in the GRAS rankings, the department has also been ranked first in Canada and second in the world for research quality and impact in the Times Higher Education 2025 World University Rankings.
The Carillon had a conversation with Dr. Asmundson about how a smaller department like the one at the U of R manages to outpace larger competitors in terms of research impact. He said that faculty members of the psychology department at U of R have research programs that consistently address issues that influence theory, clinical practice, and public policy and have real-life impacts.
Dr. Asmundson explained that the highly cited world produced by a small department played a big role on Timer Education Ranking since it is one of the criteria considered in the ranking methodology. “As I’ve often noted, we are small but mighty and hit well above our weight class,” Dr. Asmundson proudly shared with the Carillon.
In my opinion, it is years of collaborative effort and persistent pursuit of knowledge […] that has moved us into this elite global tier.” – Dr. Gordon Asmundson.
Psychology faculty share their thoughts
Dr. Richard MacLennan, a psychology professor at UofR who has research interests in psychometrics and statistics, mentioned that, “We have some very productive faculty members in terms of the number of research publications, so when you take this very large number of total publications and divide by the very small number of faculty members, the result in terms of the average number of publications per faculty member looks even more impressive relative to other psychology departments.”
Dr. Thomas Hadjistavropoulos, a psychology professor who has been teaching at the University of Regina, told the Carillon that he was not surprised to see U of R’s psychology program rank among the top 100 in the world. “For a department of our size, we support a disproportionately high number of world‑leading research programs,” he said.
A few examples include Dr. Asmundson’s internationally recognized work on pandemic-related stress and anxiety disorders, Dr. Hadjistavropoulos’s leading program in internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy, his research regarding pain in dementia, Dr. Carleton’s research on stress among first responders, and Dr. Gordon’s work on reproductive mood disorders and women’s mental health. “These programs represent just a sample of the exceptional work taking place in our department,” said Dr. Hadjistavropoulos.
Dr. Hadjistavropoulos was also recently named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and received the 2025 Canadian Association on Gerontology award, one of the country’s highest honors. When asked about how individual distinctions like these are significant for the department’s overall climb into the global top 100, he said, “Faculty awards and recognitions carry weight in various programs and university rankings. Fellowships in the Royal Society of Canada are considered in the Maclean’s university rankings.”
Vice president of research proud of progress
In U of R’s media release, Dr. Christopher Yost, vice president of research at the U of R, who has had a long-term commitment to supporting U of R’s research enterprise stated, “Seeing our Psychology move into the top 100 worldwide, earth sciences rise a full ranking band, and adding human biological sciences to the global list for the first time are significant achievements.”
Dr. Yost further added that the ranking displays the growth and strength of research at the U of R and the impact that our scholars are having globally.
Dr. Gordon Asmundson wrapped up the conversation with the Carillon by discussing the psychology department’s significant impact on the day-to-day classroom experience and clinical training for U of R students. “The research productivity of our faculty is dependent on the contributions of the students that we train. They are instrumental in many aspects of a given research project, from conceptualization to collections of data to sharing of findings,” he noted.
“These experiences translate into important ‘hands-on’ learning opportunities that students can carry forward into their classrooms, their clinical training, their own research, and their future careers.”
