Grants, Loans, & Outside Scholarships

Grants

Federal Pell Grants

Grants are awarded to undergraduate students who have not yet earned a bachelor's degree. The Federal Pell Grant is based on financial aid need demonstrated in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Graduate level courses that do not meet bachelor's degree completion requirements are not eligible for Pell grant or any Title IV undergraduate financial aid.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants

Grants usually range from $200 to $4,000 per academic year and are awarded to students with the greatest need. They are funded by both federal sources and Cooper Union.

NYS (New York State) Grants & Scholarships

Tuition Assistance Program (TAP): One of the nation's largest need-based college financial aid grant programs. Available for students attending full-time, part-time and in non-degree programs.

NYS Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Incentive Program

The Carroll & Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund

This grant was created to provide quick-response emergency grants to matriculated students in good standing with short-term financial emergencies. This grant is administered through the Office of Student Affairs. More details can be found here.

Institutional Grants

The Cooper Union has funds available from which awards are made to qualified students in need of aid. The Cooper Union grants are made possible through the income of The Cooper Union endowment and the generosity of our alumni and friends who contribute to special funds.

Institutional grants are need-based awards for students who demonstrate financial need, as determined by their completed annual FAFSA application. Award amounts may be adjusted each year based on changes to their financial need. The grants are available for a maximum of four years (eight semesters) for students in the School of Art and School of Engineering programs, and up to five years (ten semesters) for School of Architecture students. To remain eligible, students must maintain satisfactory academic standing, enroll full-time (a minimum of 12 credits per semester), annually submit a completed FAFSA, and comply with all verification requests.

Loans

Federal Direct Loan Program

This program includes subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans. During the first year of undergraduate study, an eligible student may borrow up to $5,500; $6,500 in the second year; and $7,500 in subsequent years. Students who meet the federal requirements for independent student status and dependent students whose parents are not able to secure a Federal PLUS Loan may be eligible to receive additional funds through the unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan Program.

Graduate students may borrow unsubsidized Stafford loans up to a maximum of $20,500. Students who receive Federal Direct Loans will have their loan information submitted to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and that information will be accessible by guarantee agencies, lenders and schools that are authorized to access your information.

Also available under this program is the Federal PLUS Loan.

Learn more about interest rates and origination fees HERE.

Private Loan Options

After considering the resources available through the Office of Student Financial Services, some families need further assistance and choose a private loan product. We strongly encourage students to discuss their financial situation with a financial aid professional prior to taking out a private education loan. We also recommend comparing the rates and payment plans of federal loans to those of private lenders – as well as between various lenders. If you choose to pursue a private loan, please only apply to one private loan program. Learn more about the differences between federal and private loans.

The Cooper Union does not have an exclusive partnership with any single lender and does not endorse or recommend specific loan providers. We suggest using ELM Select as a starting point to compare various loans and lenders.

Outside Scholarships

In addition to federal, state, and institutional aid, students can apply for outside scholarships. Below is a list of scholarship search platforms.

Unrestricted or Limited Restrictions

Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation
Awarded to internationally renowned academics from abroad in recognition of their entire academic record to date.

Ella Lyman Cabot Trust
Supports people with charitable, religious, artistic, educational, and scientific projects that promote the good of others.

Gates Cambridge
Designed to support full-time postgraduate study in any subject at the University of Cambridge for those with outstanding intellectual ability and a commitment to improving the lives of others.

GyanDhan Scholarship
The GyanDhan Scholarship 2026 is all about empowering students from around the world to pursue their higher education dreams, whether in India or abroad. With a total fund of ₹20 lakh, GD scholarship supports both undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is based on your skills, effort, and test performance, not just past academic records.

Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarships
Enables foreign students from 110 different countries to study for 1-2 years in Japan.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Knight-Hennessy Scholars develops a community of future global leaders to address complex challenges through collaboration and innovation.

Open Society Foundations
Awards grants, scholarships, and fellowships throughout the year to organizations and individuals who share Open Society values.

The Schwarzman Scholars Scholarship
Schwarzman Scholars looks to prepare young leaders to deepen understanding between China and the rest of the world. Schwarzman Scholars is the first scholarship created to respond to the geopolitical landscape of the 21st Century.

The Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service -- FELPS
Leadership development program for early-career public service professionals in New York City.

The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International
Offers grants that support a wide variety of projects, scholarships, and training that Rotarians are doing around the world. Explore the grant types and find one that’s right for your project.

True Ventures’ True Entrepreneur Corps (TEC) Summer Fellowship
For students passionate about technology and entrepreneurship.

Architecture

Graduate
Gensler Opportunity Tuition Scholarships
Works to break down the barriers of entering the architectural profession and provide opportunities for all students.

Joseph L. and Vivian E. Steele Architecture Scholarship
Grant scholarships to students in need of financial assistance.

a/e ProNet David W. Lakamp AIA Scholarship
Supports students who best demonstrate strong interest in practice and risk management.

Bogliasco Fellowships for the Arts and Humanities
Given to individuals of all ages and nationalities who have made significant contributions in the arts and humanities.

Center for Architecture Design Scholarship
Merit-based scholarships that support students acquiring their first professional degree in architecture, design, engineering, planning, or a related discipline.

Connecticut Architecture Foundation Scholarship
This organization’s mission is to raise the public awareness of, and expectations for, Architecture and the built environment.

Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals
Encourages student journalism on architecture, planning, and related subjects, and to foster regard for intelligent criticism among future professionals.

Hart Howerton Travel Fellowship Program
Provides a select number of Fellowship positions for students at design schools. The Fellowship provides funded travel for research on a topic the Fellow selects.

Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship
Aides to defray costs associated with the Architect Registration Examination (ARE) and it recognizes the significant contributions of those in the early stages of their career.

Municipal Engineers Scholarship Program
Professional organization dedicated to improving the engineering standards on municipal construction projects in Greater New York.

Rome Prize - American Academy in Rome
Supports innovative and cross-disciplinary work in the arts and humanities.

The Concrete Industry Foundation Inc.
Provides financial assistance to students preparing for careers in the design and construction industry, with special emphasis on study related to concrete.

The Deborah J. Norden Fund
Provides grants for research projects proposed by passionate and curious students of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies.

The Loeb Fellowship
Supports accomplished practitioners who are influential in shaping the built and natural environment, whose work is advancing positive social outcomes in the US and around the world.

Whitney Museum of American Art - Independent Study Program (ISP)
The ISP provides a setting within which students pursuing an art practice, curatorial work, art historical and architectural scholarship, and critical writing engage in ongoing discussions and debates that examine the historical, social, and intellectual conditions of artistic production.

Art

Graduate School
Antonio Cirino Memorial Scholarship
Awarded to a student in arts education or in the arts with an intention to teach.

College Art Association, Professional Development Fellowships
Fellowships for professional development in the visual arts and art history.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Fellowships
The Museum offers several art-related fellowships for students pursuing graduate or professional degrees in the arts.

Practice / Project Support
Artist in the Marketplace (AIM)
Provides professional development opportunities to emerging artists residing in the New York metropolitan area.

Creative Time Fellowships
Offers many fellowship opportunities for young people in the visual arts.

Ella Lyman Cabot Trust
Supports people with charitable, religious, artistic, educational, and scientific projects that promote the good of others.

Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts
EFA provides artists across all disciplines with space, tools, and a cooperative forum for the development of individual practice.

Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation
Aids artists in the early stages of their careers. Work must be representational.

Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant Program
Emergency Grants provides prompt funding for innovative visual and performing artists.

Ford Foundation
Most foundation grants to individuals are awarded either through publicly announced competitions or on the basis of nominations from universities and other nonprofit institutions. In all cases, recipients are selected on the merits of their proposals and on their potential contribution to advancing the foundation’s program objectives.

Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship
Awarded annually to a select number of exceptional American artists and musicians who plan to pursue their studies in Paris.

Kala Art Institute - Printmaking Fellowship Program
Awards artists time, space, and financial support for their work.

LEF Foundation – New England
Funds the work of independent documentary film and video artists in the region, and to broaden recognition and support for their work, both locally and nationally.

Pollock-Krasner Grant, Pollock-Krasner Foundation
Grants for recognizable artistic merit and demonstrable financial need, whether professional, personal or both.

Rome Prize - American Academy in Rome
Supports innovative and cross-disciplinary work in the arts and humanities.

Socrates Sculpture Park Emerging Artist Fellowship
Opportunity for rising artists to experiment with ambitious, large-scale public art.

The AAF/Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts
Provides fine arts graduate students studying at American universities, or those who have completed their graduate studies within the past two years, fellowships to participate in the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Austria.

The Artists' Fellowship, Inc.
Financially assists professional visual artists and their families in times of emergency, disability or bereavement.

The Bogliasco Fellowships
Fellowships given to individuals of all ages and nationalities who have made significant contributions in the arts and humanities.

The Franklin Furnace Fund
Award grants to emerging artists, allowing them to produce major performance art works in New York.

The Jerome Foundation
Supports the creation, development, and production of new works by emerging artists. The Foundation makes grants to not-for-profit arts organizations for artists in Minnesota and New York City.

The Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship
Provides meaningful opportunities for individuals in the fine and applied arts to enhance their professional status, to aid their pursuit of an advanced degree, or to finance a special project within the field.

The Puffin Foundation
Provide grants to artists and art organizations that are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their genre and/or social philosophy.

The Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program
Provides a working studio space and community for artists.

The Stained Glass School Scholarships
The SGAA actively works to improve the craft of stained glass and architectural art glass through various programs.

Whitney Museum of American Art - Independent Study Program (ISP)
The ISP provides a setting in which students pursuing an art practice, curatorial work, art historical and architectural scholarship, and critical writing can engage in ongoing discussions and debates that examine the historical, social, and intellectual conditions of artistic production.

Engineering

Graduate Studies
American Concrete Institute (ACI) Graduate Scholarships
Offers scholarships for eligible graduate students whose studies relate to concrete.

American Society of Civil Engineers Scholarships
ASCE offers multiple scholarships and research fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students. You can view eligibility requirements, deadlines and obtain applications for each individual scholarship and research fellowship by viewing the website.

ASME Graduate Teaching Fellowship Program
A collaboration between ASME and mechanical engineering departments to encourage outstanding doctoral candidates in mechanical engineering education (and related engineering fields), particularly women and minorities.

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program
Encourages independent graduate level research in NOAA mission-related sciences of oceanography, marine biology and maritime archaeology, including all science, engineering and resource management of ocean and coastal areas.

Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program
Fellowships to students who are pursuing degrees in a transportation-related discipline while conducting transportation-related research.

The Hertz Foundation Fellowship
Awarded annually to the nation’s most promising graduate students in science and technology.

IBM PhD Fellowship
Supports exceptional PhD students that address focused areas of interest in technology.

The Moles
Every year The Moles awards scholarships to junior-year students in civil engineering and construction-related studies at participating colleges.

National Physical Science Consortium Fellowship
Aides in increasing the number of American citizens with graduate degrees in the physical sciences and related engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool.

National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship
Awarded to U.S. citizens and nationals who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in science or engineering.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Scholarships
Grants assist students with pursuing an educational program in mechanical engineering or mechanical engineering technology at the undergraduate or graduate level.

The KAUST Fellowship
General scholarship program of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Supports students for the duration of their graduate studies.

Research
Mensa Education & Research Foundation Scholarship Program
Provides funding to support students in achieving their educational and career aspirations.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) Program
The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative models for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate education training.

SEA Grant Fellowships
Supports a variety of graduate opportunities in coastal science, management and policy. These fellowships help to generate a diverse ocean and freshwater workforce that understands technical and social challenges facing coastal communities and the natural environment.

The Concrete Industry Foundation Inc.
Provides financial assistance to students preparing for careers in the design and construction industry, with special emphasis on study related to concrete. Visit website for information about eligibility, deadlines and awards.

The GEM Fellowship Program
Promotes opportunities for individuals to enter the industry at the graduate level in areas such as research and development, product development, and other high-level technical careers.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
IEEE offers a variety of scholarships, grants, and fellowships for IEEE Student members.

The Richard Kelly Grant
Recognizes and encourages creative thought and activity in the use of light.

The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship
For individuals with backgrounds in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—interested in teaching in high-need secondary schools.

True Ventures Fellowship
Opportunity for students to experience and learn about entrepreneurship and venture capital.

Alumni, Professionals, or Current PhD Students
ASME Graduate Teaching Fellowship Program
A collaboration between ASME and mechanical engineering departments to encourage outstanding doctoral candidates in mechanical engineering education (and related engineering fields), particularly women and minorities.

IBM PhD Fellowship
Supports exceptional PhD students that address focused areas of interest in technology.

U.S. Citizens only

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
Enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad.

Boren Fellowship
Funding opportunities for U.S. students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad.

Boren Scholarships
Funding opportunities for U.S. students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests, and underrepresented in study abroad.

Marshall Scholarships
Finances young Americans of high ability to study for a degree in the United Kingdom.

Fulbright Grants
Allows students to undertake research or advanced study for one year in a foreign country. Enrolled Cooper Union students must submit applications to the campus Fulbright advisor.

George J. Mitchell Scholarship
Designed to introduce and connect generations of future American leaders to the island of Ireland.

Harry S. Truman Scholarships
Financial support for those preparing for a career in public service.

The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program
Funding to participants who are prepared to academically and professionally to enter the United States Department of State Foreign Service.

The Japan Exchange & Teaching Program (JET Program)
Competitive employment opportunity that allows young professionals to live and work in cities, towns, and villages throughout Japan.

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, & DACA Recipients

American - Scandinavian Foundation (ASF)
Awarded to individuals who pursue research, study, or creative arts projects in one or more Scandinavian country for up to one year.

Ford Foundation Fellowships
Various fellowships designed to support individuals working to address the complex, deeply rooted drivers of inequality.

National Institute of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program
Offers competitive scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds that are committed to careers in biomedical behavioral and social science health-related research.

Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship Program (PPIA)
Supports students in their pursuit of graduate degrees in public policy and international affairs.

Rhodes Scholarship
Study toward a degree in any field at Oxford University.

Institute for International Education (Study Abroad Funding)
This directory features detailed descriptions of hundreds of study-abroad scholarships, fellowships, grants, and paid internships for U.S. undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, and professionals.

Alumni, Professionals, or Current PhD Students