Delaware State University Delaware State University ( also referred to as DSU , DESU , or Del State ) , is an American historically black , public university located in Dover , Delaware . DSU also has two satellite campus es located in Wilmington , Delaware , and Georgetown , Delaware . The university encompasses six colleges and a diverse population of undergraduate and advanced - degree students . With around 4 , 400 students , DSU is the second - largest university in the state ( behind the University of Delaware ) . History . The State College for Colored Students was established on May 15 , 1891 , by the Delaware General Assembly . It first awarded degrees in 1898 . In 1944 , the Middle States Commission on Higher Education awarded the college provisional accreditation . Three years later , the institution became Delaware State College by legislative action . Although its accreditation was revoked in 1949 , it was regained in 1957 . On July 1 , 1993 , the institution changed its name yet again , this time to Delaware State University . September 21 , 2007 , campus shootings . On September 21 , 2007 , two university students were shot on campus near Memorial Hall around one a . m . Classes were canceled for the day . One student was hospitalized in stable condition , and another student was hospitalized with injuries that were considered serious , according to a news release on the university ' s web site . The campus was " locked down " with students confined to their dormitories and traffic blocked at the campus gate , through Sunday , September 23 . Classes resumed on September 24 . On that day , a freshman student was arrested for attempted murder in connection with the incident , and was expelled from the university . The episode is significant because it marks the first test of a university ' s response to a campus shooting following the Virginia Tech shootings in April 2007 . One of the students , a seventeen - year - old freshman , died . Campus . The main campus in Dover , the capital of Delaware , is an approximate two - hour motor drive from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; Baltimore , Maryland ; and Washington , D . C . , and three hours from New York City , New York . There are two satellite campuses in Wilmington and Georgetown . The main campus in Dover contains thirty buildings , including : There are seven campus residential halls : four for women , and three for men . There are also three apartment - style residence halls for upperclassmen . They include : Two dining halls serve the more than 1 , 500 on - campus students . As a part of the Internet2 initiative , the university maintains several research computer laboratories including a high - performance computational cluster in its DESAC center . Almost every building has a computer lab and each student has a dedicated data port for internet access , their own phone , a campus email address , and cable television access in all residence hall rooms . Most campus buildings also offer wireless connectivity . DSU is one of 148 schools in the country to receive Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation . The university also has two farm properties in the Kenton and Smyrna areas , and its Airway Science Program maintains it fleet of planes and base of operation at the Delaware Air Park in Cheswold . Administration . Harry Lee Williams became the 10th president of DSU on Jan . 10 , 2010 . Maurice E . Thomasson served as acting president from 1949 to 1950 and from 1951 to 1953 . Claibourne D . Smith served as acting president from September 2008 to November 2009 . The business and affairs of the university are governed by the Board of Trustees . The Board of Trustees has all the powers accorded it by Title 14 , Chapter 65 of the Delaware Code . The Board consists of 15 members whose appointment or election is provided for in the Delaware Code , and the governor of the state and the president of the university , both of whom shall be members of the board , ex officio , with the right to vote . Academics . The university consists of five colleges : The university offers fifty - six undergraduate degrees , twenty - five graduate degrees , and five doctoral degrees ( interdisciplinary applied mathematics and mathematical physics , applied chemistry , neuroscience and optics , and doctorate programs in education ) . The university also offers several cooperative and dual degree programs . Students receive instruction in classes with a 13 : 1 student - to - faculty ratio . About 83 percent of undergraduates receive scholarships , grants , loans or work - study income . It has an Honors Program , an Honors Curriculum , and a Minority Access to Research Careers ( MARC ) Honor ' s Program to increase the number of students in science interested in pursuing biomedical research and obtaining doctor of philosophy degrees in biology , chemistry , physics , mathematics , computer science , and biopsychology . In addition to satisfying the requirements for the major or majors and any minor , all undergraduates are required to complete the General Education Program , which includes : seven core courses , twelve foundation courses ( across the curriculum ) , and the Senior Capstone Experience . Accreditations include the Middle States Commission on Higher Education ( MSCHE ) , the American Chemical Society ( ACS ) , the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission ( NLNAC ) , the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education ( CCNE ) , the Council on Social Work Education ( CSWE ) , the Accreditation Council for Programs in Hospitality Administration ( ACPHA ) , the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education ( NCATE ) , and the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetic Education ( CCDE ) . The university ’ s College of Business is nationally and internationally accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business ( AACSB ) . Aviation program . DSU ' s Aviation Program provides students with education and experience in preparation for careers in the aviation industry . Curricula in the program lead to a B . Sc . degree with concentrations in Aviation Management or Professional Pilot . Professional Pilot graduates will complete their Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) requirements for Private Pilot , Instrument , Commercial , Multi - Engine and Certified Flight Instructor ratings while earning their Bachelor ' s Degree . Delaware State operates the only full - service , university - based flight school in the mid - Atlantic area . The Aviation program is approved by the State of Delaware Education Department for Veterans Flight Training . Research . The institution has greatly increased its research endeavors over the past several years , as it has developed the research infrastructure needed to attract federal grants for projects in the following DSU Research Centers and in the sciences and mathematics : 1 ) Applied Mathematics Research Center , numerical analysis of partial differential equations , analytical methods in solid mechanics , wavelet analysis , NURBS methods of computer geometric design , nonlinear PDE s , topology ; 2 ) The Center for Applied Optics , as well as The Center for Research and Education in Optical Sciences and Applications ( CREOSA ) ( a National Science Foundation - Center for Research Excellence ( NSF - CREST ) ) , optical science and laser physics ( including Laser - induced breakdown spectroscopy ) ; 3 ) Center for Applied Optics for Space Science ( CAOSS ) ( a National Aeronautics and Space Administration University Research Center ( NASA - URC ) ) ; 4 ) additional physics , including mathematical physics , plasma physics , theoretical physics , fluid dynamics , high pressure materials , semiconductor materials and devices , geophysics ; 4 ) Hydrogen storage and Fuel cell Chemistry Center , biochemistry , organic chemistry , analytical chemistry , synthetic chemistry , NMR spectroscopy , electrochemistry , phospholipases ; 5 ) IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence ( NIH - INBRE ) , cell biology , microbiology , molecular mechanisms of neuronal function , neurobiology and behavior , nanobioscience , RNA sequencing ; 6 ) biotechnology ; 7 ) Delaware Center for Scientific and Applied Computation , computer science and bioinformatics , data mining and machine learning , combinatorics , spatial - temporal statistics , artificial neural networks ) ; 8 ) neuroscience ; and 9 ) environmental sciences ; among others . Major grants are awarded through the U . S . Department of Defense , National Institutes of Health , National Science Foundation , National Aeronautics and Space Administration and other granting agencies . Rankings . DSU is placed 235th ( out of 682 U . S . institutions ) in the " Washington Monthly " ' s 2012 master ’ s universities rankings . The College of Business at DSU is one of the nation ' s most outstanding business schools , according to the Princeton Review . The Princeton Review and Random House have selected the college for their 2009 edition book to be recognized as one of " The 269 Best Business Schools " in the U . S . offering quality MBA programs . The college has dropped for the fifth year in a row in the ranking list ( 2009 - 2013 ) . Global connections . The university has over thirty formal international partnerships with institutions in countries including China , Cuba , Egypt , France , Italy , Japan , Korea , Mexico , Nigeria , Poland and the UK which facilitate research and conference collaborations as well as student exchanges . Student activities . Athletics . The university fields teams , who are known as the Hornet s , in : Men ' s Women ' s Women ' s Cont . The athletic programs participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ' s ( NCAA ) ' s Division I ( FCS for football ) . The Hornets compete in the Mid - Eastern Athletic Conference as full members since the conference was founded in 1970 . The university ' s Department of Intramural Sports provides a wide variety of quality recreational programs for students , faculty and staff .