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Mechanical Engineering

Mission Statement

The Cooper Union’s Department of Mechanical Engineering will produce broadly- and rigorously-educated graduates, able to practice professionally, pursue advanced studies and innovate in a wide range of fields. Together with our faculty and staff, our students will develop a commitment toward lifelong interdisciplinary learning, fulfill their potential for responsible leadership and inspire others to continuously pursue excellence by example.

Accreditation

The Mechanical Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

Program Educational Objectives

Within a few years of graduation, our graduates will:

  1. Apply their broad and rigorous education to responsible, interdisciplinary problem solving.
  2. Embrace leadership or collaborative roles in innovative undertakings that take on technological, sustainability, economic, or societal challenges.
  3. Take the initiative to expand their abilities through self-study, professional development, or the pursuit of graduate or professional degrees.

Student Outcomes

At the conclusion of the ME program, our students will have:

  • an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
  • an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
  • an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
  • an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams
  • an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
  • an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
  • an ability to communicate effectively
  • the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
  • a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
  • a knowledge of contemporary issues
  • an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

  • 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.