College of Arts & LettersCenters & Institutes
Ethics & Public Affairs
The Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs (IEPA) exists to raise awareness and stimulate discussion of the ethical dimensions of matters of public concern, within both the ODU campus community and the larger Hampton Roads community. It is housed in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and its Co-Directors are members of that department.
Gay Cultural Studies
ODU's Gay Cultural Studies Advisory Council has established a program, unique in Virginia's academic community, that focuses on the contributions, concerns, and challenges associated with LGBT culture. The Gay Cultural Studies program promotes academic research and provides graduate and undergraduate educational opportunities, and engages the local Hampton Roads LGBT community through ongoing dialogue and community involvement.
Institute for Humanities
The Institute for the Humanities at Old Dominion University offers a Master of Arts degree in the Humanities. The program allows students to pursue individualized programs of study that incorporate classes from across the University.
Institute for Jewish Studies & Interfaith Understanding
The Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, an interdisciplinary academic program at Old Dominion University, fosters knowledge of Jewish history, thought, cultures, and languages through education, scholarship, and community outreach. The Institute offers courses in the Jewish religion and literature, the Hebrew language, the history of modern Israel and its role in shaping global Jewish identity, the cultures of the Jewish diaspora throughout the ages, and the ethical and philosophical role of Judaism in influencing other world religions and civilizations.
Institute for Race and Ethnicity
The Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (ISRE) promotes high quality teaching and rigorous policy-oriented research emphasizing interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, as well as the methods of the traditional social sciences and humanities disciplines.
The Institute seeks to establish as a major archive and research center in the southeast United States focusing on the experiences of African-Americans.
Model United Nations
The Old Dominion University Model United Nations Society is ODU's window on the United Nations and international activism. The Society's mission is promoting global, multicultural education and leadership experience through experiential learning, stressing student participation in simulation conferences and academic courses. We represent the university at model U.N., European Union, NATO and crisis simulation conferences around the country, and by organizing major simulations of our own, including U.N. Day in October and ODUMUNC, held every February. Membership is open to students from all colleges and disciplines at the university.
Social Science Research Center
The Social Science Research Center is located on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The SSRC has been in operation since 1998 and is staffed by two, full-time research and management professionals, a full-time project coordinator, and several part-time research assistants. The SSRC has successfully managed a variety of research and evaluation projects involving several national, regional and statewide surveys, and many program evaluations.