What you’ll learn in this article…
- Regent is No. 34 overall and No. 14 in Film & Video.
- Regent jumped 44 spots overall in its second year on BEA charts.
- Only the top 20% of BEA Festival entries qualify for award consideration.
Regent University’s School of Communication & the Arts landed at No. 34 overall in the 2026 Broadcast Education Association School Rankings, a 44-spot jump from the previous year. The school also rose five places to No. 14 in Film & Video.
Those gains reflect BEA’s focus on student creative output, not institutional reputation. For working professionals weighing a communication degree, the ranking signals momentum in outcomes that matter on a reel and in a hiring portfolio.
What the BEA School Rankings Actually Measure
At a time when program rankings can feel opaque amid shifting media trends, the Broadcast Education Association's approach is refreshingly direct. The BEA School Rankings are built on student outcomes, not institutional reputation.1 They do not evaluate libraries, faculty publications, or acceptance rates. They measure what students actually produce in mass communication competitions.
The Core Measure: Student Creative Work
Each year, BEA runs the Festival of Media Arts. Schools earn points based on the quality and consistency of student, alumni, and faculty creative work submitted and recognized at the festival. The 2026 rankings pull from the last five years of festival results, giving more weight to higher-level awards.1 Award levels include First Place, Second Place, Third Place, Award of Excellence, and Best of Festival. A Best of Festival counts more than an Award of Excellence, which counts more than a third-place finish. BEA does not publish the exact scoring formula, but the principle is clear: stronger, more consistent creative performance over time pushes a program higher. These 2026 rankings are derived directly from results at the 2026 BEA Festival of Media Arts.1
Seven Competitive Categories
The festival spans seven disciplines: - Audio - Documentary - Film and Video - Interactive Multimedia and Emerging Technologies - News - Scriptwriting - Sports
Each school can rank separately within any of these categories, and BEA also creates an Overall Ranking that pools achievement across all seven. Categories without a full five-year result history are excluded from the rankings.
A Blind, Selective Filter
All entries go through a blind-juried review by academic and professional experts. Only the top 20% of entries are considered for an award.1 So a high ranking is not just about volume; it reflects repeated work strong enough to clear a deliberately selective bar.
A Closer Look at Regent’s Film & Video Rise
How far did Regent University actually climb in the 2026 BEA Film & Video category, and what evidence backs the rise?
The answer starts with a No. 14 national placement, tied in the Top Winning Film & Video Programs, and a five-spot improvement over last year. That jump is not an isolated data point. At the 2026 BEA Festival of Media Arts, Regent students earned multiple Film Mini Narrative Awards of Excellence, including one for Will Freestone, Christina Couch, Josiah Rozek, and Jack Bartig, and another for Jillian Scott and Madison Couch. McKenzie Glass also received an Award of Excellence in Micro-Documentary, and Seth Krispin's first-place Sound Engineering and Production win marked the school's first top placement in Audio Production at BEA.
Faculty Strength Backing the Creative Emphasis
The Film & Video momentum has an instructional anchor. Assistant Professor of Film & Media Arts Chris Easterly won a 2026 BEA Textbook Award for his Routledge book Writing, Making, and Distributing Your Short Film: How the Short Film Can Advance Your Craft and Career. That kind of published craft expertise supports the program's focus on student production quality.
Consistency Behind the 44-Spot Overall Jump
The overall No. 34 ranking reflects a 44-spot jump from the previous year, Regent's second year on the BEA charts. That trajectory points less to a single breakout submission and more to a young program building consistency across student, alumni, and faculty work at a festival that drew over 2,350 entries.
Why Media Program Rankings Matter for Your Degree Choice
Media program rankings are not just a trophy case. They function as a shorthand for how reliably a program turns student work into polished, competitive creative output. For working professionals choosing a communication degree, that signal can guide decisions about faculty mentorship, curriculum quality, and post-graduation visibility.
Why Consistency and Trajectory Matter
A single top-50 placement is useful, but movement tells a stronger story. Regent University improved 44 positions in the BEA Top Overall Programs category in 2026, its second year on the chart. That jump suggests the School of Communication & the Arts is not coasting on past wins. It is building repeatable student outcomes year over year, a pattern that matters when you are investing time and tuition and weighing when to get a master's in communication. Employers reviewing creative portfolios may not know every ranking, but a program with rising BEA recognition signals a curriculum aligned with industry expectations.
What the Film & Video Ranking Tells You
The No. 14 BEA Film & Video ranking is especially relevant for students who want hands-on production experience rather than purely theoretical coursework. It reflects the quality and consistency of student, alumni, and faculty creative work judged at the BEA Festival of Media Arts. That kind of external evaluation can translate into a clearer portfolio story when you enter the competitive market for communication masters jobs.
Remember, though: rankings do not guarantee a salary or a job offer. They are best read as evidence of demonstrated creative achievement and a program's growing reputation among media educators.
How Regent Compares to Peer Media Programs
Regent University's No. 34 overall BEA ranking places it in the top tier of media schools nationally, though several established programs remain ahead. Comparing Regent to peer institutions shows how its rapid climb in Film & Video sets it apart regionally, even as powerhouse programs like Oklahoma's Gaylord College hold the top spot.
| School | Overall BEA Rank | Film & Video Rank | Program Format | Distinctive Media Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regent University | No. 34 | No. 14 | On-campus and online media degrees (undergraduate and graduate) in communication, film and media arts, and related fields | Top 40 overall and Top 20 Film & Video based on multi-year student success in BEA Festival of Media Arts |
| University of Oklahoma | No. 1 | No. 1 | On-campus undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism, broadcasting, film, and media | Ranked No. 1 overall and No. 1 in Film & Video in 2026 BEA rankings, top-tier placement across multiple categories |
| SUNY Oswego | No. 35 | Not reported | On-campus undergraduate media and communication programs at a public university | Top public school in New York State in BEA performance-based rankings, 13th in Audio, strong in Scriptwriting and News |
| University of Southern Indiana | No. 25 | Not reported | On-campus undergraduate Radio and Television program at a regional public university | Ranked 5th in Audio and 36th in Sports in 2026 BEA rankings, strong showing in audio production |
| University of Nebraska Omaha | No. 44 | Not specified | On-campus undergraduate and graduate communication programs with audio, television, podcasting, and social media production | Top-ten winning Audio program (No. 10) in BEA 2026 rankings, consistent student success in audio and related media |
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Choosing the Right Regent Media Program Format
Regent University's School of Communication & the Arts has offered media programs in both online and on campus formats since Fall 2022. The right format depends on how you weigh flexibility, cost, networking, and access to production facilities.
- Online delivery gives working professionals flexibility to keep full time jobs while completing media coursework, with lower per credit rates at the undergraduate level.
- Full time online undergraduate tuition falls to $415 per credit hour, making a media degree more affordable than the on campus block rate.
- On campus students gain direct access to production facilities and in person collaboration with faculty and peers, which supports hands on portfolio building.
- Faith integrated media training runs across formats, connecting communication skills to a Christian worldview for students who want that foundation.
- On campus undergraduate students pay a $10,995 block tuition each semester for 12 to 18 credits, which can be a barrier for budget conscious professionals.
- Part time online undergraduates pay $470 per credit hour, so students who cannot carry a full load do not get the lowest rate.
- Online learners may miss in person production time and regional networking opportunities that come from being on the Virginia Beach campus.
- Graduate media pricing varies sharply, from $670 per credit for the M.A. to $1,070 per credit for the M.F.A. in Acting, so costs climb quickly at the graduate level.
