Old Dominion University (ODU) is a university located in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia and became an independent institution in 1962. As of 2004, it had approximately 14,200 undergraduate students and 6,600 graduate students.

Old Dominion is known in the state as a tier 4 university with low academic standards, and is regarded primarily as a community and commuter college. While they have been endeavoring to change this reputation the Norfolk area's high crime statistics and a general failure to attract top quality faculty and students have hindered their efforts.

In 1999 ODU began a project to build its own Maglev system[1] . The project was conceived as a test of the technology and spans less than a mile in length. Originally offered to several other institutes of higher learning, including Virginia Tech, all of these institutes rejected it due to concerns regarding the projected cost and safety of such a system. At least one of these concerns has proven true, as the $14 million originally slated towards this project has proven inadaquate, and the project has therefore frequently missed deadlines. Scheduled to open in 2002 for riders, as of 2005 it is still no where near completion.

In 2001 ODU opened the Ted Constant Convocation Center  for the 2001-2002 basketball season. "The Ted" has 7,319 fully cushioned seats, 16 luxury suites, and a state-of-the-art scoreboard. In addition to being used for home basketball games, the Constant Center hosts family-oriented events as well as concerts and lectures.

in 2004 ODU opened the brand new Engineering & Computational Sciences building, which is the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified higher education building in Virginia. This building has met rigorous environmental standards with regards to energy and resource efficiency in its design, as set by the U.S. Green Building Council .

Old Dominion's athletic teams are known as the Monarchs and compete in the Colonial Athletic Association. The school's best-known sports team is its women's basketball team, which is often nationally ranked.

ODU has not had a football program since it was still a division of William and Mary.

See also: List of colleges and universities