Commencement

Welcome to Cooper Union's 2012 Commencement website. Commencement will take place at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 in the Great Hall of the Foundation Building. A simultaneous webcast will be available on this page at that time for remote viewers.

Due to inclement weather, the luncheon and reception following commencement will take place on the fourth floor of the Foundation Building.

Commencement guests are invited to view the expansive end-of-year exhibitions mounted by students from the schools of art, architecture, and engineering. The exhibition will be installed at the time of commencement throughout the Foundation Building and 41 Cooper Square. More information will be available on our website as commencement approaches.

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.