Norfolk State University

What Norfolk State University does

Norfolk State University is a public Historically Black College and University (HBCU) operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia and governed by a governor-appointed Board of Visitors. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, NSU offers undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs across multiple colleges and schools, including the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Science Engineering and Technology, the School of Business, the School of Education, the School of Social Work, and the Robert C. Nusbaum Honors College. It enrolls students across five primary segments — first-time freshmen, transfer students, graduate students, international students, and military/veterans — and serves a regional Hampton Roads footprint supplemented by the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center.

The university operates a technology stack anchored by Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience platform for online and hybrid instruction, the Cayuse Research Suite for grants administration, and facility-based research assets including the NSU Cleanroom (electron beam lithography, photolithography, deposition, etching, and characterization equipment), the NSF SCENE Center for space biomedical engineering, and the IA-REDI Cybersecurity Research Center. Student services are delivered through Handshake (careers), TimelyCare (telehealth), and SpartanCard-integrated Grubhub (dining), and the campus radio station WNSB Hot 91.1 FM provides communications infrastructure.

Revenue is generated through four primary streams: tuition and fees, federal and state grants (including Title III HBCU funding and NSF/NIH research grants), philanthropic donations (notably from MacKenzie Scott's HBCU giving exceeding $1.2 billion in total across HBCUs), and sponsored research. The go-to-market is a direct-to-consumer admissions model with multiple entry points. Distribution spans on-campus residential instruction, NSU Online self-serve delivery, and a regional campus channel in Virginia Beach. Notable strategic positions include a formal Joint School of Public Health with Old Dominion University, a DNIMAS Joint BS-MD partnership with Eastern Virginia Medical School, and an ENRICHe Grant collaboration on health-equity research.

Name

Norfolk State University

Legal name

Norfolk State University

Website

https://nsu.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Norfolk State University is a public HBCU in Norfolk, Virginia offering undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs across five colleges to a diverse student body including freshmen, transfers, graduate, international, and military/veteran students, funded by tuition, state appropriations, federal research grants, and philanthropy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Graduate & Professional-Program HBCUs (e.g., law/education/business) (EDAHAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online & Distance-Learning HBCUs (EDAHAMAJ), Teaching-Focused & Liberal Arts HBCUs (EDAHAMAF)

Keywords

• Higher education services
• Undergraduate degree programs
• Graduate degree programs
• Online learning programs
• STEM research centers

Headquarters

HQ city

Norfolk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue generated from undergraduate and graduate student tuition, including in-state and out-of-state rates, along with various student fees for programs and services.
2. Federal and State Grants: Title III funding for under-resourced institutions and other federal educational grants supporting HBCU operations and student aid.
3. Philanthropic Donations: Major donations from philanthropists including MacKenzie Scott, who has donated over $1.2 billion to HBCUs including significant contributions to Norfolk State.
4. Research Grants and Sponsored Programs: Funding from NSF, NIH, and other federal agencies for research activities conducted by faculty and students across various disciplines.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Norfolk State University is a public HBCU that delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs across liberal arts, science and engineering, business, education, and social work, supported by specialized research centers (NSU Cleanroom, NSF SCENE, IA-REDI Cybersecurity). It supplements on-campus instruction with NSU Online programs on Blackboard Learn Ultra and provides student support services including career services, health and counseling, and athletics.

Product overview

Norfolk State University is a Historically Black College (HBCU) offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs across multiple colleges and schools. The university provides educational services through traditional on-campus programs and NSU Online (using Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience). Student services include career services (via Handshake), health and counseling services (via TimelyCare and Spartan Health Center), campus radio (WNSB Hot 91.1 FM), and dining services (via Grubhub integrated with SpartanCard). The institution focuses on liberal arts, science/engineering/technology, social work, business, and education programs rather than a defined product portfolio with named commercial offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Degree Programs Residential undergraduate education spanning liberal arts, sciences, engineering, business, education, and social work, with honors college options and student success support, delivered on the Norfolk campus.
• Graduate Degree Programs Advanced degree programs through the School of Graduate Studies and Research with research opportunities and specialized curricula for students seeking advanced career credentials.
• NSU Online Programs Online and hybrid undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs delivered via Blackboard Learn Ultra for students who need remote access to NSU coursework.
• Joint School of Public Health (MPH with ODU) Cross-institutional Master of Public Health program jointly delivered by NSU and Old Dominion University with collaborative public health initiatives serving the Hampton Roads region.
• Joint BS-MD Program (with Eastern Virginia Medical School) Accelerated combined Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine pathway for NSU students pursuing medical careers, delivered in partnership with Eastern Virginia Medical School.
• DNIMAS (Dozoretz National Institute for Mathematics and Applied Sciences) Specialized scholarship and academic program supporting underrepresented students pursuing STEM disciplines in mathematics and applied sciences.
• Certificate Programs (including CyberPsychology) Standalone certificate programs including the distinctive CyberPsychology certificate, available on campus and through NSU Online for students seeking specialized credentials.

Quantifiable outcome

• ENRICHe Grant program awarded up to $50,000 per project to collaborative health equity research initiatives

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026ENRICHe (Research and Training Incubator for Collaboration in Health Equity) Grant program partnership where ODU leads a collaborative initiative with Norfolk State University to address health disparities in Hampton Roads. Two collaborative research projects received up to $50,000 each in funding. Projects focus on reducing loneliness among homebound older adults served by Meals on Wheels Chesapeake and studying structural/environmental factors shaping health outcomes for adolescents in public housing across Hampton Roads, Washington D.C., New York City, and Baltimore.
• Joint School of Public Health (ODU and NSU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal joint partnership between Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University establishing a Joint School of Public Health, offering Master of Public Health (MPH) program and collaborative public health initiatives. This represents a unique cross-institutional academic collaboration between the two Hampton Roads universities.
• Eastern Virginia Medical SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDNIMAS program partnership providing Joint BS-MD Program between Norfolk State University and Eastern Virginia Medical School, offering accelerated pathway for students pursuing medical careers.
• Meals on Wheels ChesapeakeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in ENRICHe Grant research project focusing on culturally tailored interventions to reduce loneliness among homebound older adults served by the organization in Hampton Roads area.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Florida A&M University: Florida A&M is a public HBCU with comparable scale, STEM programs, and Title III status. Strong peer for evaluating HBCU budget structures and state appropriations dynamics.
• Bowie State University: Bowie State University is a public HBCU in Maryland with a comparable mix of STEM, business, and education programs and similar enrollment scale. Useful peer for evaluating HBCU operating benchmarks and Title III performance.
• Howard University: Howard University is a leading private HBCU with comparable graduate programs and research centers. National brand benchmark for HBCU recruiting and fundraising.
• Tuskegee University: Tuskegee is a private HBCU with comparable STEM and engineering focus. Useful peer for understanding research-grant performance at small-to-mid-size HBCUs.
• North Carolina A&T State University: NC A&T is the largest public HBCU in the U.S. with strong STEM, engineering, and research programs. Useful benchmark for NSU's trajectory toward becoming a more research-intensive HBCU.
• Hampton University: Hampton University is a private HBCU also located in Hampton Roads, Virginia, offering comparable undergraduate and graduate programs. It competes directly with NSU for regional HBCU students, faculty, and philanthropic dollars.
• Virginia State University: Virginia State University is Virginia's other public HBCU, providing a very close analog in mission, funding model (state appropriations + tuition + grants), and program mix. Direct peer for student recruitment and state funding comparisons.
• Morgan State University: Morgan State is a public HBCU and emerging research university with comparable graduate and research programs. Strong peer for research-grant strategy and doctoral program expansion.

Broad incumbents

• Old Dominion University: Old Dominion University is the dominant public research university in Hampton Roads and a direct partner via the Joint School of Public Health. Broader in scope than NSU but overlaps substantially on regional student recruitment and STEM research.

Emerging players

• Eastern Virginia Medical School: EVMS is Norfolk State University's partner in the DNIMAS BS-MD program. Regional partner institution rather than a direct competitor, but its trajectory and capacity constraints shape NSU's pre-medical pipeline programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Norfolkstate
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NorfolkStateUniv
• Facebookfacebook.com/NorfolkStateUniversity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/norfolk-state-university
• Instagraminstagram.com/norfolkstate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Norfolk State University