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Cooper Union

Academics

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The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is an all-honors private college that occupies a singular place in America's educational and social landscape. The Cooper Union's graduates, with a rigorous education in architecture, art or engineering - all of them beneficiaries of a full-tuition scholarship - become the visionary thinkers, creators and innovators who change the world in the service of humankind.

Specific admissions and credit requirements vary in the three schools and are defined in the course catalog.

Undergraduate Degree Programs

  • Bachelor of Architecture

    A program that includes five years of design, four years of structures and culminates with a thesis

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts

    Includes studies in drawing, film/video, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. Note: a certificate program is also offered in art:

  • Bachelor of Engineering

    Offered in chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical.

Graduate Degree Programs

  • Master of Architecture II

    A design research, post-professional degree open to applicants with a first professional degree in architecture

  • Master of Engineering

    Intended to prepare students for entry into the professional world or further study; offered in chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering.

 

  • 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.