Regent University Online B.S. in Cybersecurity

Regent's bachelor's is a solid pick if you want a defense-focused degree with a computing accreditation, hands-on practice in a cyber range, and eight-week classes. It costs more per credit than several online peers, so ask about the full-time rate before you decide.

Regent University is a private nonprofit school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Its Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity is offered on campus and fully online, takes 120 credits, and runs in eight-week online terms. Most of what sets it apart sits in three places: the accreditation, the lab, and the course list.

The degree is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, which reviews computing programs specifically instead of the university as a whole. Regent also states that the National Security Agency (NSA) named it a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) for this degree.

Regent also offers a Master of Science in Cybersecurity, a 30-credit graduate degree with four concentrations. This page covers the bachelor's, which is the one to read if you don't yet hold a bachelor's degree.

You earn a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from a program accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET. Regent also states the NSA CAE-CD designation for this degree, which is a government recognition of the program's cyber defense curriculum.

If you want a certification such as Security+, plan it separately and ask which courses overlap with the exam topics.

Federal data counts 4 degrees awarded in this field at Regent in the most recent year, so cohorts are small. Ask how many students sit in a typical course.

Where this degree can lead: Cybersecurity Degree Jobs.

Who It Fits

• You want a degree that signals technical credibility. ABET accreditation of the program itself is a different thing from the university being accredited, and some employers and government roles look for it.
• You learn better by doing. Regent says online students get the same hands-on training in its multimillion-dollar cyber range as on-campus students.
• You want a defense and operations focus: the featured courses lean toward Linux administration, network defense and disaster recovery rather than policy or management.
• You prefer short terms. Eight-week classes let you take one or two courses at a time and finish each one before life gets in the way.

Who Should Skip It

• You're watching the total price closely. At $470 per credit part time, the 120 credits come to $56,400, and online students also pay a $750 University Services Fee each semester.
• You want a firm finish date or transfer cap before you apply. Ask Regent for a written transcript evaluation and a degree plan first.
• You want a management or policy track inside the bachelor's. The bachelor's has no listed concentrations. Regent's master's is where the policy and management concentrations live.

Regent lists five featured courses, and they tell you what the degree emphasizes. Linux System Administration comes first in the list, which matters because most security tools and servers you'll be asked to defend run on Linux. Introduction to Information Systems Security covers the vocabulary and basic controls.

Network & Telecommunication Concepts and Network Defense & Security work as a pair: the first teaches how traffic moves, and the second teaches how to stop it from being abused. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery is the unglamorous one that many employers care about, since it covers what a team does after something goes wrong.

The program page also points to a cyber range, a practice environment where you work on realistic attacks and defenses instead of reading about them. Ask what the final semesters look like, including any capstone or internship, since the bachelor's has no concentrations to choose from.

Courses the School Names

• Linux System Administration
• Introduction to Information Systems Security
• Network & Telecommunication Concepts
• Network Defense & Security
• Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery

Standout Features

• Hands-on training in a multimillion-dollar cyber range open to both on-campus and online students
• Named a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) by the NSA for the B.S. in Cybersecurity

Regent charges $470 per credit hour for online students taking 3 to 11 credit hours a semester, and $415 per credit hour for 12 or more. The $56,400 total reflects the part-time rate across 120 credits. If you can carry a full-time load, the rate drops, which makes this one of the cases where taking more classes at once genuinely saves money.

Online students pay a University Services Fee of $750 per semester on top of tuition. Over several years that adds up, so ask for a total that includes it.

If you plan to continue to the Regent master's later, note that graduate tuition is $695 per credit hour across 30 credits.

120 credits at $470 a credit comes to $56,400 in tuition, before fees.

Classes run in eight-week sessions, so you focus on a small number of courses at a time. Federal data shows 74% of Regent's undergraduates study exclusively online, which means online students are the norm and not a side group.

The cyber range is described as open to both on-campus and online students. That is the detail to press on in a conversation with admissions: ask how online students schedule range time, whether sessions are live or on demand, and how many hours a typical course uses.

Federal data shows an eight-year completion rate of 36% for students who transferred in. That is a reminder to plan your workload and your support, so ask about advising, tutoring and what happens if you need to pause for a term.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• The $750 University Services Fee each semester adds to the $56,400 tuition total at the part-time rate.
• Ask for the transfer credit cap and a typical time to finish before you commit; both shape your total.
• No concentrations, internship or capstone are listed for the bachelor's, so the final year is harder to picture.
• Federal data shows a transfer-student completion rate of 36% over eight years.

• Can I get a written transfer evaluation, and how many of my credits would count toward the 120?
• How do online students use the cyber range, and is access live, scheduled or on demand?
• What does the final year look like, and is there a capstone project or internship?
• If I take 12 credits or more a semester, does the $415 rate apply to my whole bill?
• What is the total cost for my full plan including the $750 University Services Fee each semester?
• Which courses overlap with CompTIA Security+ or similar exams, if I want to certify while I study?

• Best Cybersecurity Engineering Degrees Rank 6 of 8, bachelor's
• Best Accelerated Online Programs Rank 10 of 10, bachelor's
• Best ABET Accredited Programs Rank 5 of 6, bachelor's
• Best Online Programs in Virginia Rank 2 of 5, bachelor's

• M.S. in Cybersecurity

  M.S., Master's

  Fully Online $695 per credit Score 33.8

Also at Regent University, but not counted here because they are not fully online: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (bachelor's, on campus).

• University of Charleston

  Cybersecurity (Online Bachelor's Degree Completion)

  West Virginia $395 per credit Score 53.5

• Liberty University

  Bachelor of Science in Information Systems (IS), Information Assurance (IA)

  Virginia $410 per credit Score 53.2

• Park University

  Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity

  Missouri Score 53.2

• Liberty University

  Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Cybersecurity

  Virginia $410 per credit Score 53.0