Policies, Fees & Registration

Quick Links

Registration Policies and Deadlines
Summary of Fees
Late Registration
Confirmation and Class Location
Waitlists
Transfers
Requesting to Withdraw from a Class
Refund Deadlines
Letters of Credit and Electronic Vouchers
Proof of Course Completion
Class Attendance and Auditing

Registration Policies and Deadlines

Full payment is required to process your registration. Incomplete registrations or partial payments cannot be processed. You will be notified by our office once to complete your registration and submit payment. You will not be registered for the class until full payment is received. VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards, check, money order, cash or original Cooper Union Letters of Credit are accepted as payment for Continuing Education classes and programs. Registrations are processed in order of receipt.

Classes fill quickly and early registration is recommended to guarantee placement. Prompt registration also reduces the possibility that a course might be cancelled due to insufficient enrollment.

Should your selected course be full, you will be notified and asked to select another course or be placed on a waiting list. The Cooper Union Continuing Education reserves the right to cancel courses (with full refund), alter schedules or substitute faculty when necessary.

To register online, browse through our categories to find courses that interest you. Online registrations require an active email address and credit card payment.

Please visit our homepage to confirm the registration deadline for the current semester

To register with a Letter of Credit or a Gift Certificate, the original Letter of Credit or Gift Certificate must be returned to the Office of Continuing Education. You may either mail it directly to us, or bring it with you to register in person. **Please note that mailed registrations must be postmarked by the registration deadline posted on our homepage.

back to top ]

Summary of Fees

Amount

Type of Fee

Fee Description

 

Class Tuition

Prices vary. Please refer to specific course descriptions for the cost of your class.

$25.00

Registration Fee- Non-Refundable

Charged once per student per term in addition to the Tuition Fee.

 

 

$10.00

Transfer Fee- Non-Refundable

Students may transfer once for free per semester. This fee is charged for the second transfer. Only 2 transfers permitted per student per semester.

$25.00

Returned Check Fee- Non-Refundable

Registration cannot be guaranteed until check is re-submitted and clears.

$10.00

Course Completion Letter - Non-Refundable

Processing Fee

 

Model Fees & Supply Fees-Non-Refundable

Fees vary. Please refer to specific course descriptions for the cost of your class.

back to top ]

Late Registration

If you are registering:

 

After the registration deadline (see our homepage)

After the first class meeting date

ONLINE

 

Online Registration Closed

email us

 

BY PHONE

 

Tuition + Registration Fee 

email us

Many classes fill well before the first session and some require special preparations by the instructors. We may not be able accept registrations the day the class begins, please register early.

back to top ]

Confirmation and Class Location

A registration receipt for course, lecture or tour will be emailed to confirm registration and meeting dates.You will be informed of the classroom location once it has been confirmed which may not be until just a day before the class meets. Your registration receipt is your identification and is required for admission to The Cooper Union's buildings and courses. Building guards will have class rosters and will also be able to direct you to your classroom. 

To participate in classes on campus

  • Please be prepared to arrive up to 30 minutes early on the first class to present proof of vaccination and a state issued picture ID in the lobby of 41 Cooper Square.

  • You must wear a mask at all times inside the school.

  • A school ID will be issued so you can enter all subsequent weeks by showing it to the guards. A photo will be taken on the first evening of your class for the ID card.

  • Unvaccinated individuals will not be allowed access to campus buildings. 

  • If you are not able to arrive before class on the first session or within 1 hour of the start of the first class session, please request to withdraw from class by email. Policies apply.

back to top ]

Waitlists

If a class you wanted to register for is already full, you may add your name to the class waiting list. You may do this by clicking the 'Add student to the waiting list' link beside the class that is full on our website. An email will be automatically sent to our office and you will be placed on the list.

Putting your name on the waitlist does not guarantee placement in the class.

You will be notified by phone if space becomes available in the class. If we do not hear back from you within one business day, we will continue to call other people on the waitlist.

back to top ]

Transfers

If you would like to transfer to a different course, you must notify the Office of Continuing Education in writing. No transfers can be processed without a written request.

Students are permitted to transfer:

- once within a semester at no charge
- only twice per semester - there is a $10 fee for the second transfer) 
- only if the class they are transferring into has availability

Students may not transfer:

- into a class that has already met for two or more sessions
- into a class that meets in a different semester

Transfers are processed in the order they are received and may take 1-5 business days to be processed.

back to top ]

Requesting to Withdraw from a Class

If you need to withdraw from a course, you must notify the Office of Continuing Education in writing. No full or partial refund can be granted without a written request.

Failure to complete a course, ceasing to attend class, notifying the instructor of your desire to withdraw, or general dissatisfaction with a course does not constitute a withdrawal and does not entitle you to a refund. Instructors are not permitted OR able to process withdrawals, transfers or refunds. Withdrawals, transfers and refunds are available only through The Cooper Union Continuing Education Office by written request.

To submit a written request to withdraw, students may send an email with subject heading as 'WITHDRAW' to continuing@cooper.edu. Please include the following information in your request:

  1. The Continuing Education course you are withdrawing from
  2. Your first and last name
  3. Your telephone number
  4. Reason for withdrawal

back to top ]

Refund Deadlines

Refunds are granted if your written request to withdraw is received by our office as per the schedule listed below. Requests sent by mail will be considered by the date they are postmarked. Please note that during June, July and August the office is closed on Friday. Therefore, in summer Fridays are not considered a business day.

In case of withdrawal due to medically certified illness, a Cooper Union Letter of Credit/ Electronic Voucher will be issued upon receipt of physician's documentation. A Cooper Union Letter of Credit/Electronic Voucher will be issued for the balance of the remaining class sessions. There will be no monetary refund. Registration fees, model fees and materials fees are not refundable.

Refunds are processed in the order they are received and may take 8-10 business days to be processed.

For 4-10 session classes or longer

If you withdraw

You will receive

5 business days before the first class session

The student will receive a 100% tuition refund.

4 business days before the start of class to before second class session

The student will receive a 75% tuition Electronic Voucher.

After the second class session

No refunds or vouchers are granted.

 

For 1-3 session classes and workshops

If you withdraw

You will receive

5 business days before the first class session

The student will receive a 100% tuition refund.

4–1 business day before the first class session

The student will receive a 75% tuition Electronic Voucher.

Day of first session

No refunds or vouchers are granted.

After the second class session

No refunds or vouchers are granted.

If you are entitled to a refund, you will be refunded the same way you paid, with the exception of cash or money order payments.

If you paid by:

You will be refunded by:

Credit card

Credit card

Check

Check

Cash or Money Order

Check

Letter of Credit

Electronic Voucher

Combination of Letter of Credit and Cash

Combination of  Electronic Voucher and Check

back to top ]

Letters of Credit and Electronic Vouchers

We now have the ability to create Letters of Credit for our students in our online database. These electronic Letters of Credit are called Electronic Vouchers. We have phased out written Letters of Credit and replace them with Electronic Vouchers. If you are eligible to receive a Letter of Credit, it will now be granted to you as an Electronic Voucher. This means that your credit with our department will be programmed into your online account. This enables you to use your credit while registering for courses online.

  1. If you have a Letter of Credit you must present the original in person,
    or mail it to our office in order to apply it towards your registration.
    The original must be received by our office—copies
    will not be accepted.
  2. At any point in time you may bring in (or mail in) an original Letter of Credit
    and we can convert it into an Electronic Voucher. Once this is done,
    your credit will be applied toward your next registration.

back to top ]

Proof of Course Completion

Requests for proof of course completion must be made in writing within one year of course completion and must include a $10 service fee for each class record requested. Please allow two weeks to process.

back to top ]

Class Attendance and Auditing

Auditing:

The Cooper Union Continuing Education program does not allow unregistered students to audit classes. You must be enrolled and your tuition must be paid in full in order to attend our classes.

Attendance:

If the student is aware in advance that he or she will be unable to attend class, the student should inform the instructor and request any lesson plans or assignments in advance.

If you miss a class and your instructor teaches the same class on a different night of the week you are not permitted to attend the class. Students must attend class on the night that they have registered for, due to our campus security policy, limited classroom space, and to ensure a consistent and productive learning environment for all students.

*Please consider your schedule carefully and be sure to review our refund policy before registering for a class.

back to top ]

  • 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.