Other universities teach history. Hampton University puts you right in the middle of it. Because, as you will soon discover, you are not just a part of Hampton University - Hampton University is a part of you.
While our roots reach deep into this nation's history and the African-American experience, our sights – like yours – are set squarely on the horizons of the global community of the 21st century.
Rich in history, steeped in tradition, Hampton University is a dynamic, progressive institution of higher education, providing a broad range of technical, liberal arts, and graduate degree programs. In addition to being one of the top historically black universities globally, Hampton University is a tightly-knit community of learners and educators, representing 49 states and 35 territories and nations.
Hampton University is nestled along the Virginia Peninsula banks near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Hampton's surrounding city features a wide array of business and industrial enterprises, retail and residential areas, historical sites, and miles of waterfront and beaches. Attractions such as Fort Monroe, NASA Langley Research Center, and the Virginia Air and Space Center add to the splendor – and just plain fun – of the HU campus.
Hampton University is a comprehensive institution of higher education dedicated to promoting learning, the building of character, and preparation of promising students for positions of leadership and service. Its curriculum emphasis is scientific and professional, with strong liberal art undergirding. In carrying out its mission, the University requires that everything is of the highest quality.
A historically black institution, Hampton University is committed to multiculturalism. The University serves students from diverse national, cultural, and economic backgrounds. From its beginnings to the present, the institution has enrolled students from five continents – North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe – and many countries, including Gabon, Kenya, Ghana, Japan, China, Armenia, Great Britain, and Russia, as well as the Hawaiian and Caribbean Islands and numerous American Indian nations. Placing its students at the center of its planning, the University provides a holistic educational environment. Learning is facilitated by a range of educational offerings, a rigorous curriculum, excellent teaching, professional experiences, multiple leadership opportunities, and an emphasis on character development, which values integrity, respect, decency, dignity, and responsibility.
Research and public service are integral parts of Hampton's mission. To enhance scholarship and discovery, the faculty is engaged in writing, research, and grantsmanship. Faculty, staff, and students provide leadership and service to the university and the global community. In achieving its mission, Hampton University offers exemplary programs and opportunities which enable students, faculty, and staff to grow, develop, and contribute to our society in a productive and useful manner.
Where do you want to go? You set the goal. We will give you the tools to make it happen. Hampton University produces more than graduates. We combine proven theory and challenging practice, engaging you to take the lead in your chosen career.
An aggressive attitude toward progressive education is at the heart of Hampton University. Comprised of over 80 academic programs ranging from Engineering to Journalism & Communications, HU can help you reach your career goals – and exceed your dreams.
Like you, we take education seriously. For example, in 2005, the National Urban Leagues' Black Executive Exchange Program awarded the Hampton University School of Business the prestigious Cal Darden Campus Leadership Award, designating the Hampton program as "Best in the Nation." And the HU departments of English and Psychology consistently rank in the top 100 colleges and universities in the annual number of African-American graduates.
Whether you are entering as an undergraduate, continuing your graduate studies, or transferring from another school, we are here to help you get started on the path toward all your educational goals. And with a variety of financial aid options, you will be able to focus on your studies instead of your wallet. With over 80 engaging academic programs and a heritage rich with history, Hampton University is ready to help you blaze trails wherever life takes you.
The year was 1861. The American Civil War had shortly begun, and the Union Army held control of Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, at the Chesapeake Bay. In May of that year, Union Major General Benjamin Butler decreed that any escaping slaves reaching Union lines would be considered "contraband of war" and would not be returned to bondage. This resulted in waves of enslaved people rushing to the fort in search of freedom. A camp to house the newly freed slaves was built several miles outside the protective walls of Fort Monroe. It was named "The Grand Contraband Camp" and functioned as the United States' first self-contained African American community.
To provide the masses of refugees some education, Mary Peake, a free Negro, was asked to teach, even though an 1831 Virginia law forbade the education of slaves, free blacks, and mulattos. She held her first class, which consisted of about twenty students, on September 17, 1861, under a simple oak tree. This tree would later be known as the Emancipation Oak and would become the first Southern reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Today, the Emancipation Oak still stands on the Hampton University campus as a lasting symbol of the promise of education for all, even in the face of adversity.
Today, over 140 years after its inception, Hampton University continues to break new ground in academic achievement, staying true to General Armstrong's original promise of The Standard of Excellence, An Education for Life.
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