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The Rise · HBCU

NSU(Norfolk State University)

Norfolk State University Lyman Beecher Brooks Library
Norfolk State University Communications and Marketing, 2015-04-06 07:38:50, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Norfolk, Virginia · Founded 1935 · Spartan Legion Marching Band

Public · Four-year · ~6,000 students

www.nsu.edu · official site

Founding

Norfolk State College was founded on September 18, 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, as the Norfolk Unit of Virginia Union University. It became the independent Norfolk Polytechnic College in 1942, was placed under Virginia State College by the legislature two years later, became fully independent again in 1969, and attained university status in 1979.

Source: History and Mission, Norfolk State University, read 2026-09-14.

What the school says about itself

On the official record

Campus address
700 Park Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23504-8000
Control
Public
Students
~6,000 students
Directory id
232937
OPE id
00376500
Student aid
Takes part in Title IV student aid
Title III Part B list, FY 2026
Listed
Location
700 Park Avenue, Norfolk, VA. See it on the Ledger map.
Where this location comes fromCampus location from IPEDS 2024-25This campus location comes from the federal IPEDS 2024-25 record, used as published, so the pin on the map is the campus.IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 collection, file dated 2025-09-21, retrieved 2026-09-14: coordinate 36.848429, -76.261375 as published. The Census Bureau geocoder also matched this address exactly on 2026-09-14.

Across newBWS

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics, Directory information (HD2024), 2024-25 provisional data collection. Unit id 232937. https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/HD2024.zip. File dated 2025-09-21.
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. Higher Education Programs Eligibility Matrix, sheet 'HBCU', dated 2026-06-08. https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fy-2026-higher-education-programs-eligibility-matrix-june-8-2026-114185.xlsx.
  3. History and Mission, Norfolk State University. https://www.nsu.edu/about/history-and-mission. Read 2026-09-14.
  4. Students: 6,045 total, Fall 2023 (5,510 undergraduate, 535 graduate). IPEDS Fall Enrollment 2023, derived variables (DRVEF2023). https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/data/DRVEF2023.zip. File dated 2024-09-30, read 2026-09-17.
  5. Home, Norfolk State University. https://www.nsu.edu/. Read 2026-09-17.
  6. Photograph: Norfolk State University Communications and Marketing, 2015-04-06 07:38:50, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norfolk_State_University_Lyman_Beecher_Brooks_Library.jpg. Retrieved 2026-09-16.
  7. U.S. Census Bureau Geocoder, batch address service, benchmark Public_AR_Current. https://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/.

Enrollment is the official 2023 count, rounded. Tap a school for its source.

Machine-readable: /api/v1/hbcus/norfolk-state-university · All HBCUs

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