Summer Art Intensive 2021

The Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive 2021 will be conducted online this year from July 12–August 5, 2021, Mondays–Thursdays. Classes that will be offered this year are Animation, Digital Photography, Drawing, and Graphic Design. 

Visit the courses page to learn more about individual classes. Visit the class galleries pages to see student work produced in the 2020 online program. To stay up to date on important dates and deadlines, subscribe to our mailing list. For questions about The Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive 2021, you can email us at summerartintensive@cooper.edu.

Enrollment is now open!

The Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive helps high school students prepare a portfolio for college applications, worthy of top undergraduate programs. Participants have the choice of 1 out of 4 concentrations, Animation, Digital Photography, Drawing, or Graphic Design. All instructors are working professional artists and are active in the contemporary art world. A mix of local and out-of-town students will engage with the vast cultural resources of New York City through visits to major museums and gallery districts as well as guest artist talks.

Each class will have the rare opportunity to have a look into guest artists' studios and their practices. It is a great chance for students to interact and speak with professional artists about their inspirations, techniques, and career.

The Summer Art Intensive will end with a celebratory showcasing of students' work in digital galleries on cooper.edu.

The Summer Art Intensive does not provide any college credits, official transcripts, housing, or meal plans. We do provide a letter of completion upon request.

The Cooper Union Summer Art Intensive 2020 Online Exhibition

The young artists of the 2020 Summer Art Intensive rose to the challenge of learning remotely with creative spirit and determination. Taught entirely online last year, students worked remotely, turning their homes into artists' studios where productive energies flowed and amazing artworks were produced.

View their works in these galleries. Congratulations to all who participated! 

5 Projects Online Gallery

Animation Online Gallery

Digital Photography Online Gallery

Drawing (Section A) Online Gallery

Drawing (Section B) Online Gallery

Drawing at Home: Material Exploration, Observation and Contemporary Practice Online Gallery

Graphic Design Online Gallery

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Contact us at Summerartintensive@cooper.edu

Office Hours

9:00AM–5:00PM

Monday–Thursday

Join our mailing list here for updates and more information.

  • 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.