NU Editorial Contributors
National University Editorial Contributors include writers, editors, and academic professionals who are experts in creating high-quality educational content that is timely, accurate, informative, and easy to understand. All contributors who develop content for National University follow strict guidelines to ensure they provide credible and authoritative information that is independent, free from advertiser influence, and aligns with the high standards our readers and students expect from National University.
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Articles by NU Editorial Contributors
November 22, 2023How to Get a Computer Engineering Degree Online
Earning a computer engineering degree online is achievable through ABET-accredited bachelor's programs offered by distance-learning universities, typically requiring 120 to 128 credits, taking four years to complete, and covering hardware design, software engineering, embedded systems, and advanced mathematics. ABET accreditation is the essential quality signal: it is required for professional engineer (PE) licensure eligibility and is the standard that major engineering employers use to evaluate degree credentials, making it the most important factor to verify before enrolling in any online engineering program.
- November 21, 2023
Online Learning: College on Your Schedule
Online learning makes education accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a goal, offering academic degrees, career certifications, and professional skill development on a schedule that fits around existing work and life commitments rather than requiring students to reorganize their lives around a fixed class schedule.
November 15, 2023Supporting Veteran Students: Keys to Success
According to Student Veterans of America (SVA), military Veterans account for somewhere between 3% and 4% of U.S. college students. Almost half (47%) come from Army backgrounds, with smaller percentages coming from the Air Force (21%), Navy (18%), or Marine Corps (12%). Considering the significant number of Veterans and servicemembers who are pursuing post-secondary degrees, ...
November 8, 2023How Long Does It Take to Become a Nurse? [Updated 2026]
The time required to become a nurse depends on the credential you pursue, from 12 to 18 months for a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to two years for an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) to three to four years for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Each pathway concludes with a licensing examination: LPNs sit for the NCLEX-PN, while RNs at both the ADN and BSN levels sit for the NCLEX-RN before practicing independently.
October 27, 2023What Can You Do With a Master’s in Criminal Justice
When considering the pursuit of a Master’s in Criminal Justice, one embarks on a journey to deepen their understanding of the laws that govern society and the complex systems that enforce them. This advanced degree serves as a beacon in the competitive job market, illuminating a path for ambitious individuals aiming to elevate their careers ...
October 23, 2023What Can You Do With a Public Health Degree?
A public health degree focuses on improving community and population health rather than individual patient care, with graduates designing disease prevention programs, analyzing health policy, combating health inequities, and working across government agencies, nonprofits, healthcare networks, and research institutions.
October 18, 2023What is a Homeland Security Degree: A Detailed Guide
A homeland security degree is an interdisciplinary academic program that prepares students to protect people, infrastructure, and institutions from threats including terrorism, cyberattacks, natural disasters, and public health emergencies, drawing on criminal justice, emergency management, intelligence analysis, and public policy. Programs are available at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, and master's levels, with bachelor's and graduate programs building toward management and policy roles in government and the private sector.
September 25, 2023Bachelor of Science vs. Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
A BA and BS in Psychology share the same core curriculum and both qualify graduates for entry-level roles and graduate school admission, the primary difference is in elective coursework and academic emphasis. A BA in Psychology requires additional coursework in humanities, social sciences, and often a foreign language, developing communication and critical thinking skills suited to careers in counseling, social work, human resources, law, and education. A BS in Psychology replaces those electives with additional coursework in mathematics, statistics, neuroscience, and research methods, building quantitative and scientific skills suited to research, clinical, and data-intensive careers.
September 20, 2023Equity in Education: Understanding Equity in the Classroom
Equity in education means that schools and education systems provide equal learning opportunities to all students, with the goal that differences in outcomes are unrelated to students' backgrounds or to economic and social circumstances over which they have no control, not that all students achieve identical outcomes, but that background stops being predictive of achievement. This distinguishes equity from equality: equality distributes the same resources to everyone; equity allocates resources based on individual need so that every student has a genuine opportunity to succeed.
September 12, 2023Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month
As a military-friendly, working, military, and nontraditional student serving institution that has been around for more than 50 years, National University is proud to celebrate the many ways the Hispanic community has enriched our culture at large, and our school in particular. This year, we’re spending National Hispanic Heritage Month reflecting on how we support ...
September 9, 2023Everything You Need to Know About Counseling Psychology
Counseling psychology is a general practice and health service provider specialty that focuses on how patients function in their personal lives and relationships, helping individuals, couples, families, and groups address mental health concerns, relationship issues, career challenges, and life transitions through strengths-based, holistic approaches. Unlike clinical psychology, which tends to concentrate on psychopathology and severe mental illness, counseling psychology emphasizes healthy functioning, personal growth, and the social and vocational dimensions of wellbeing.
September 6, 2023Cybersecurity vs Computer Science: Which One to Choose
Computer science is the broad study of algorithms, software development, data structures, and computational theory, equipping graduates to build and create technology across virtually every industry. Cybersecurity is a specialized discipline focused on protecting networks, systems, and data from unauthorized access, attacks, and breaches, equipping graduates to defend technology once it exists. Cybersecurity draws heavily on computer science foundations, but adds specialized knowledge in network security, cryptography, ethical hacking, incident response, and risk management that a general CS degree does not typically cover in depth.
August 25, 2023How to Get into Data Science
Data science is an interdisciplinary field combining mathematics, statistics, computer science, and domain expertise to extract actionable insights from data, powering predictive machine learning models, personalized recommendations, and strategic business decisions across every industry.
August 22, 2023What Can You Do with a Supply Chain Management Degree?
A supply chain management degree prepares graduates to oversee the entire lifecycle of a product, from sourcing raw materials through manufacturing, logistics, and final delivery, qualifying them for high-demand careers in logistics and transportation, procurement and purchasing, operations and production, and strategy and analysis.
August 17, 2023Behaviorism in Education: What Is Behavioral Learning Theory?
Behaviorism in education is a learning theory that explains learning as a change in observable behavior shaped by environmental stimuli, reinforcement, and punishment, focusing on measurable actions rather than internal mental states. Developed in the early 20th century, its key figures are B.F. Skinner, whose operant conditioning framework showed how consequences shape voluntary behavior, Ivan Pavlov, whose classical conditioning work explained learned associations, and John B. Watson, who established the foundational principle that only observable behavior, not mental processes, should be studied.
August 14, 2023Constructivism in Education: What Is Constructivism? Updated 2026
Constructivism is a learning theory that holds that individuals actively construct their own knowledge through environmental and social interactions, rather than passively receiving information, with prior knowledge serving as the foundation on which new understanding is built. The theory has two primary strands: cognitive constructivism, pioneered by Jean Piaget, which focuses on how learners adapt their cognitive structures through assimilation and accommodation in response to new experiences; and social constructivism, developed by Lev Vygotsky, which emphasizes the critical role of social interaction and cultural context in knowledge construction, most notably through the Zone of Proximal Development.
August 10, 2023Computer Science Skills: Definitions and Examples
The most in-demand computer science skills in 2026 combine a technical foundation with rapidly evolving competencies in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity. According to CIO's analysis of Indeed job posting data, AI skills appeared in just over 9% of tech job postings in 2025, up from 5% in 2024, making AI fluency the fastest-growing skill requirement in the field, while Python appeared in nearly 18% of all job listings, driven by its utility across data science, machine learning, web development, and cybersecurity.
August 3, 2023How to Prepare for College
Preparing for college requires balancing academic readiness, logistical coordination, and practical life skills, with the transition being most successful for students who address all three areas before classes begin rather than discovering gaps after arrival.