Hampton University

History

Located in the tidewater area of Virginia between Virginia Beach and historic Williamsburg, what we know as Hampton University, was founded as the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute in 1868 to train newly emancipated African Americans. A private, nonsectarian, coeducational institution of higher learning, it was also the first U.S. college to admit Native Americans.

In 1878, it was renamed Hampton Institute. In 1984, it became Hampton University.

Academic Merit

The faculty in three colleges and six schools is internationally renowned. Over the years Hampton University has grown into a comprehensive university offering a broad range of technical, liberal arts, pre-professional, professional, and graduate degree programs. It ranks among the leaders in higher education and has consistently placed among the elite in numerous national polls and rankings.

Today, Hampton has over 5,700 co-ed students representing 49 states and 35 territories and nations.

With partners such as NASA, Hampton investigators in the Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences launched the AIM (Aeronomy in the Mesosphere) weather satellite, the first mission in the nation to be fully controlled by an HBCU.

Advancements in medical technologies in the Center for Advanced Medical Instrumentation (CAMI) in the Physics Department spawned the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute, the world’s largest freestanding proton therapy cancer treatment facility on campus.

Scientists receive funding and research awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF); the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the Department of Defense (DOD); the Department of Energy (DOE); the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); the Keck Foundation and other agencies.

Graduate and undergraduate degrees that can be earned at Hampton include:

Applied Mathematics
Architecture
Atmospheric Science
Biology
Business Administration
Chemistry
Communicative Sciences and Disorders
Computer Science
Counseling
Educational Leadership
Medical Science
Nursing
Nursing
Physical Therapy
Physics
Planetary Science
Religious Studies
Sport Administration
Statistics and Probability
Teaching

Campus Life

The majority of the students live on campus and enjoy the beautiful 204-acre landscaped setting nestled on the banks of the Hampton River and surrounded by water on three sides. Considered to be one of the nation’s most beautiful campuses, they call it “Home by the Sea.”

There are 155 buildings encompassing historic landmarks and state-of-the-art facilities including the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library with Academic Technology Mall.

The renovated university museum contains one of the foremost collections of African, African American, and Native American art held by any HBCU and Emancipation Oak. The latter is the site where in 1863 members of the Virginia Peninsula’s Black community gathered to hear the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Today, this majestic giant has been designated as one of the great trees of the world by the National Geographic Society.

Other amenities include a university-owned commercial development, the Hampton Harbor Project, consisting of a shopping center and 246 two-bedroom apartments, the after-tax profits of which are primarily utilized for student scholarships.

In recent years, Hampton University has erected 14 new buildings and renovated most other facilities.

ADDRESS: 100 East Queen Street, Hampton, VA MAP
PHONE: 757-727-5328 or 800-624-3328
WEBSITE: https://www.hamptonu.edu

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