Academics
Norfolk State is a public university that offers 31 bachelor’s degree programs to nearly 5,000 undergraduates in Virginia. All first-year students are required to attend the Spartan Seminar Series, which helps ease the transition to college learning through courses that delve into academic discipline-based concepts, critical thinking, and social science research methodologies. Other available resources include tutoring and supplemental instruction via the Student Success Center, a Writing Center, and the use of microcredential digital badges, which identify achievements in certain competencies and professional skills through activities and achievements. First-year students have the option to join a Learning Community, where they will live with other similarly academically-oriented students, take classes together, and take part in out-of-classroom experiences related to their major. Research is conducted through the school’s numerous foundations and centers for excellence (including centers for Cybersecurity, Materials Research, and the Consortium for Strategic and Global Studies), and students are encouraged to participate from the first year onward.
Career
There are more than 175 clubs and organizations to take part in, ranging from hip hop dance to a commuter student association, as well as nine fraternities and sororities. Intramural sports are open to all who wish to play, and the Norfolk State Spartans are NCAA Division I, with a particularly impressive record in basketball. On-field and on-court spirit provided by the Spartan Legion Band, which was the inaugural host of the HBCU Band Battlefest, which annually spotlights ten HBCU marching bands. The Joseph Jenkins Roberts Center is one of Norfolk State’s centers of excellence and is dedicated to the study of the African Diaspora; it puts on academic and local history conferences related to historic anniversaries of events central to the African American community.
Culture
Career development can be achieved through meta-majors (also known as career clusters), which are collections of academic programs that have related courses and career goals; seven of these are available to first-year students. Norfolk State is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, meaning students can apply for scholarships/ funding and programs such as leadership institutes and internships. Payscale.com says Norfolk State alumni make an average base salary of $63,000 a year. Notable alumni include comedian J.B. Smoove, politician Algie Howell, and musician Future Man.
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