Campus update: While we've worked hard to preserve the possibility that students could return, the remainder of the spring semester will be conducted online. Staff will work remotely until at least April 20. See the Coronavirus / COVID-19 Updates page.

Summer Art Intensive 2020

Enrollment is now open!

Program Dates: July 6–30, 2020

Exhibition Date: August 5, 2020

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.

During classes, students will see first hand works of historic, modern and contemporary artwork. Students have visited such institutions such as, The Metropolitan Museum, MoMA, Noguchi Museum, The Met Breuer, The New Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Pace Paper and Jungle Press.

The Summer Art Intensive will end with a celebratory reception showcasing student works in drawing, graphic design, and digital photography on three floors in the historic Foundation Building.

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 Jeff and Paula Gural Merit Scholarships for NYC Public High School Students

In an effort to continue Cooper Union’s tradition of meritocracy and opportunity, we welcome our partners, The Jeff and Paula Gural Merit Scholarships for NYC Public High School Students. Scholarships will be awarded based on merit and are available for NYC public high school students who wish to pursue portfolio preparation and intensive study this summer. To be eligible to apply, students must be currently enrolled in a NYC public high school in one of the 5 boroughs of NYC (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens or Staten Island).

A very generous donation of $35,000 from Jeff Gural, Chairman of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and former member of The Cooper Union’s board of trustees, makes these scholarships possible. These scholarships are destined for dedicated students who currently attend a New York City public high school. The Summer Art Intensive will award these scholarships based on merit.

We will begin accepting applications for the The Jeff and Paula Gural Merit Scholarships for NYC Public High School Students on February 24, 2020 through March 31, 2020. The application will become live on February 24, 2020.

Scholarship application deadline has been extended to April 14, 2020.

Qualifications & Instructions

Go to Application Now

Contact us at Summerartintensive@cooper.edu

212.353.4202

Office Hours

9:00AM–5:00PM

Monday–Thursday

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  • 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.