The Benjamin Menschel Fellowship Program

'Jaffa' (installation view) by Dorit Aviv AR'09, part of the 2009 Menschel Exhibition

'Jaffa' (installation view) by Dorit Aviv AR'09, part of the 2009 Menschel Exhibition

The Benjamin Menschel Fellowship Program to Support Creative Inquiry was endowed by a grant given to The Cooper Union by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation in 1994 to support work in the fields of art, architecture, design, and engineering. This generous grant was intended to provide funding to exceptional students who propose scholarly, independent projects that will in some way provide a culmination to their educational endeavors at The Cooper Union. The Goldsmith Foundation hopes that the students designated as Benjamin Menschel Fellows will be encouraged by their awards to complete bodies of artwork, develop scientific protocols, or otherwise further their intellectual investigations in a manner that will provide inspiration and illumination to the community as a whole.

 

Application 2024-25

See this page for full information and application forms for the 2024-2025 cycle: Menschel Application Information

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Deadline for applications: March 25, 2024

Deadline for letters of support: March 27, 2024

Archive

View the fellows and catalogs from years past.

Fellowship Overview

The fellowships will be made on the basis of merit to students who have attended The Cooper Union for at least one year, were enrolled for the 2023–2024 academic year, and will be enrolled in the 2024-25 academic year. 

For the 2024-25 cycle, students are strongly encouraged to apply in groups of two or more students, and interdisciplinary groups across the three schools are especially encouraged. You are invited to consider research topics that allow you to pursue your interests while remaining conscious of the various social, scientific and artistic challenges that we face as a society. 

Fellowships are intended to cover eligible expenses for materials used to complete the proposed project, up to a maximum of $3500 per project. Students who are awarded Fellowships must agree to exhibit their work publicly during the following academic year, typically in January or early February. 

The award supports independent projects that are not subject to evaluation for grades in courses. 

Notification of Fellowship Awards 

You will be notified by email as to whether you have been selected for a Benjamin Menschel Fellowship. Menschel Fellows will be announced by late April, 2024. 

Contact: Buck Wanner

Director, Benjamin Menschel Fellowship Program 

buck.wanner@cooper.edu 

 

  • 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.