Special Opportunities
Old Dominion University and the College of Business and Public Administration offer students several special opportunities to enhance their educational experience.
Career Management Center
The University's Career Management Center offers centralized, comprehensive career development and placement services to matriculated students in all undergraduate and graduate programs.
Career Management Center services include student employment, cooperative education, internships, career counseling, career education programs and workshops, and graduate placement. Programs and counseling services are intended to assist graduating students. Services include: one-on-one counseling; job search readiness programs; special career symposia; the Alumni Career Advising Network, computerized career guidance systems; and small group workshops.
Student Employment links employers with students seeking part-time, temporary, seasonal and summer positions. Student Employment plays a vital role in helping students meet their educational expenses as well as providing them with actual work experience, both on- and off-campus.
Cooperative Education programs place students with public and private sector organizations. Co-op students alternate working for a semester and taking courses for a semester. Students can earn academic credit, professional-level work experience and competitive salaries and often receive job offers from their employers upon graduation.
International Focus
One of the most exciting areas of study within the College is international business. The core requirements for a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration include a required international course in each major. An emphasis in international economics within the Bachelor of Arts with a major in economics degree is offered. Additionally, the College offers a major in international business for its own students and a minor in international business for all non-business majors. All students in the Ph.D. in Business Administration program have a required minor area in international business and an area-related requirement in a foreign language and culture.
Study Abroad opportunities are expanding each year. At present, the College has cooperative agreements with Kitakyushu University in Kitakyushu, Japan, and with the Centre d'Etrudes Franco-Americain de Management in Lyon, France. The latter agreement allows Old Dominion University students to spend their junior year abroad with no loss of time or credit. Similar agreements with other universities in Europe and Asia are under discussion.
Other study abroad and exchange programs are coordinated through the University's Office of International Programs. Currently the University has formalized relations with universities in Japan, England, France and Morocco and is continuing informal interaction with many others.
Faculty and students are involved in several other programs and organizations such as the University's Multicultural Center, the international sister city program, and the Japan-American Society. Such cross-cultural consciousness is a natural extension of Norfolk's being a port city and of the region's increasing foreign investment.
Internships
Because Old Dominion University is located in a large metropolitan area, students have a wide variety of opportunities to integrate academic study with work experience. Students may receive academic credit for approved programs in business, government agencies, service organizations, and non-profit institutions. Each semester students choose to work for newspapers, magazines, and advertising agencies, as well as for local businesses and industries. These programs not only give students valuable work experience, they also provide contacts, which frequently lead to summer work and future employment. Each program within the College establishes its own guidelines governing student internships. Details regarding internship requirements, as well as information on how to locate suitable internships can be obtained from the Career Management Center.
