Fall 2020 Plans for International Students

The Cooper Union is actively working on Fall 2020 enrollment options for international students who are unable to arrive in the United States due to visa or travel restrictions.   

The Department of Homeland Security is expected to provide new guidance regarding international student status for the Fall 2020 Semester in the coming weeks, for the last update received was on June 4, 2020. 

Under normal circumstances, international students are required to be enrolled full-time for in-person classes in order to maintain their immigration status. However, Homeland Security made allowances for this past Spring Semester due to COVID-19, and students were able to maintain their valid F-1 SEVIS status even while studying remotely (in the U.S. or abroad). We hope the same relief will be provided for the Fall 2020 Semester and current students will be able to maintain their active SEVIS status regardless of their physical location.   

For the Fall 2020 entering class, if you cannot arrive to the United States in time for the Fall Semester due to visa or travel restrictions, you may study remotely. However, you will need to obtain an updated SEVIS I-20 with a new start date to study in-person for the Spring 2021 Semester. The Spring 2021 Semester starts, Tuesday, January 19, 2021. A mid-semester entry is not an option.  

To defer your current I-20 or receive a new I-20 for the Spring 2021 semester, please complete this ISSO form no later than 7/10/2020.  

If you are in the U.S., have a visa, and plan to live on campus, please make sure to let me know first, then carefully read and complete this form for Residential Life.  You can contact reslife@cooper.edu with any questions in regards to housing. Please be advised that residence hall spaces are limited and on-campus housing is not guaranteed.

For post COVID-19 travel restrictions and the most current Dept. of Homeland Security guidance information, please click here. We will continue to provide updates on our webpage and do not hesitate to contact us at international@cooper.edu with any questions or concerns.  

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.