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Office of Academic Advising & Off-Campus Programs

The mission of the School of Art is to educate artists in the broadest sense, both as creative practitioners and as enlightened citizens of the world who are prepared to question and transform society. 

Academic Advising is integral to this mission, empowering students to navigate the BFA curriculum and The Cooper Union’s many resources with confidence, intention, and success. 

The advising model of the School of Art comprises a centralized component (The Office of Academic Advising & Off-Campus Programs) and decentralized caseload advising for upper-level students performed by full-time faculty.

The Office of Academic Advising & Off-Campus Programs also houses the School of Art’s international exchange program and coordinates access to several other off-campus opportunities. These include the Rothenberg Travel Fellowship, Skowhegan, the Yale Norfolk summer program, and curricular practical training (CPT) for international students.

Please see the FAQ for common questions.

Key forms can be found on the forms page.

Team

Frances Northcutt Green
Assistant Dean
frances.green@cooper.edu | 212 Foundation | 212-353-4205

Key responsibilities:

  • General advising for Foundation and sophomore BFA students
  • Oversight of BFA student registration processes
  • Degree progress tracking for all BFA students
  • Point person for BFA student petitions
  • Transfer credit evaluation process
  • Onboarding and continuing guidance for faculty advisors
  • Coordination of off-campus programs

Fia Backström
Associate Professor, Director of Academic Advising
fia.backstrom@cooper.edu | 239B Foundation

Key responsibilities:

  • Art-focused advising for Foundation and sophomore BFA students
  • All advising for BFA transfer students
  • Coverage for faculty advisors on leave
  • Transfer credit evaluation
  • Review of certain BFA proposals and petitions
  • Onboarding and continuing guidance for faculty advisors
  • Support with acute junior/senior advising issues

Coco Fusco
Professor, Director of the Exchange Program
coco.fusco@cooper.edu | 238A Foundation

Key responsibilities:

  • Guiding Cooper students who are interested in going on exchange
  • Selection, registration, and support for visiting students
  • Assessment of existing and potential school partnerships
  • Administrative matters related to exchange

  • 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.