Standardized Test Requirements


The Cooper Union test policy varies per school:  
 

  • School of Architecture – TEST OPTIONAL
  • School of Art – TEST OPTIONAL
  • School of Engineering – TEST SCORES REQUIRED 

School of Engineering applicants are required to submit their SAT or ACT scores; however, scores will be evaluated in context with your application as part of our holistic process. The SAT writing section and ACT science and writing sections are not required.

School of Architecture and School of Art applicants that choose to take the SAT or ACT may submit their test results as part of their application for consideration, in context and as part of our holistic review process. If School of Architecture and School of Art applicants choose not to submit test results, we will evaluate their candidacy without scores. School of Architecture and School of Art applicants will not be implicitly advantaged or disadvantaged by their choice to submit or not to submit test scores.  


Applicants may self-report their SAT or ACT scores when they submit their application. Official scores will be required once an applicant is admitted and chooses to enroll at The Cooper Union. The Cooper Union SAT code is 2097, and our ACT code is 2724. 

For application steps, click on the school link of interest: School of Architecture, School of Art, and School of Engineering.

The Cooper Union graduate programs do not currently require a GRE submission. A GRE test result may be submitted should an applicant choose to do so, however there will be no implicit advantage or disadvantage based on a submission or lack thereof.

To learn more about our application process, please visit our apply webpage.

  • 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.