new cool courses make University of Regina even more relevant
The University of Regina has more than 15,000 students in almost 200 programs leading to Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral degrees. The roots of the University of Regina go back to 1911, and today the U of R’s three key priorities are student success, research impact, and commitment to our communities. Indigenization and sustainability are two overarching areas of emphasis. The University of Regina is a leader in experiential learning, and U of R graduates are prepared to succeed in the world. In 1969, the U of R was the first university in Western Canada to offer co-operative placements. Thousands of students have received paid real-world experience while studying towards their degrees.
Now there’s even more at the University of Regina to engage students – and the wider community – in some new and innovative ways.
Among some of the coolest, newest offerings:
Sociology of Hockey takes a look at how hockey – so central to Canadian popular culture –extends far beyond the rinks and streets on which it is played into the social, cultural, economic, and political realms of Canadian society.
Comedy Gold is how to be a standup comic. Students learn the fundamentals of writing, how to craft jokes from their own life. They also learn how to perform stand-up comedy in front of an audience.
We Love Canadian Tire examines the history of Canadian consumer culture. Canada is one of the richest consumer nations, and Canadians purchase more goods per capita than most other countries.
The University of Regina is also offering new courses that examine topics facing our society today, including the lasting impact of the residential school system, missing and murdered Indigenous women, and Indigenous feminisms and masculinities. Residential School Lit studies Indigenous literature that uses narrative, poetry, and drama to expose the effects of the school in an effort to heal from them.
Missing Women: Decolonization, Third Wave Feminisms and Indigenous Peoples examines the contentious issue of why Indigenous women are more likely to go missing. This class examines systems that intersect and perpetuate racism and colonialism, sexism and poverty.
Indigenous Feminisms focuses on Indigenous women and feminist analysis, identity, activism and the interplay of gender, colonialism, racism and sexism on Indigenous women today.
In addition, the University of Regina is making our community a better place to live – through research that has impact. Students are right there in the thick of things, making a difference.
For example, U of R research teams are engaged in research projects as diverse as developing ways for disabled children to be more mobile to making farming more efficient.
A collaborative project involving researchers in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and occupation and physical therapists at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre – the “Zoom Kids Project” – means that children with mobility issues are able to get around in modified ride-on cars.
The U of R team is led by Dr. Raman Paranjape, Professor of Electronic Systems Engineering. He and his team of graduate students have been working to make sure these modifications, with countless adjustments to the cars, ensure they operate safely and easily for the kids.
It means children like two-year-old Bentley Spencer, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, can get behind the wheel of his toy car and experience freedom of movement for the first time – much to the delight of his parents.
Students are also involved in new research into driverless farm equipment – which is becoming so essential to today’s farmers as they battle short growing seasons and rising fuel and equipment costs.
Dr. Mehran Mehrandezh, a Professor of Industrial Systems Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, and his team are making the entire tillage process more precise. He says faster and more precise farming can also reduce the carbon footprint of the farming machinery by consuming less fuel.
The team is developing sensors that can be mounted on farm implements. These sensors observe if the machine is producing the desired results; detect malfunctions due to the breakage of a shank; and spot areas where tillage is undesirable.
The journey through higher education at the University of Regina is rich with cool courses and innovative research that is impacting the world. You can find more details at