Registration Instructions

Get ready to register! Spring 2026 and Summer 2026 term instructions are now available.

Spring 2026

Online registration through Student Self-Service for Spring 2026 semester classes will take place between Tuesday, November 18 – Friday, November 21, 2025. Registration starts at 9 am in accordance with the schedule below. This registration is for all Bachelor's degree and Master's degree students who plan to return to The Cooper Union in the Spring.

If in Spring 2026 you will be: You will register online starting at 9 am on:

A Senior or Masters student

Tuesday, November 18

An Art Junior, or
An Engineering Junior, or
A Third- or Fourth-Year Architecture student

Wednesday, November 19

An Architecture, Art, or Engineering Sophomore

Thursday, November 20

A First-Year student

Will be placed into Spring 2026 courses by the Office of the Registrar before December 31, 2025*



*First-year students will be registered for their Spring 2026 classes by the Office of the Registrar. Registration for all students is not simultaneous; the process takes several weeks. If you plan to attend in the summer and fall but do not have a visible schedule posted by December 31, 2025, please email the Office of the Registrar at registrar@cooper.edu.

Separate registration instructions for each school and HSS can be found below:

Please note: Students who have a financial obligation to The Cooper Union will not be permitted to register. Please satisfy any debts before registration.

Registration Changes and Important Dates

Schedule changes and necessary program alterations may be accommodated without a fee during the add/drop period (Tuesday, January 20, 2026 – Tuesday, January 27, 2026). After the add/drop period, there is a $25 fee for withdrawing from courses (no courses may be added).

The first day of classes is Tuesday, January 20.

Any returning student who does not register between November 18 – November 21, may register between January 20 – January 27. However, a $100 late registration fee will be charged, as the main registration period is in November.

After January 27, students may withdraw from classes only within the guidelines and timeframes established by the three schools and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; there will be a $25 fee for each transaction.

Master's students on the thesis track, even if only pursuing the completion of their thesis, must still register according to the guidelines above.

Note on Drops and Withdrawals

A "drop" and a "withdrawal" are separate processes with different implications for financial aid, grading, and degree progress.

A class drop occurs when a student elects to remove a class from their schedule during a designated "add/drop period," sometimes called a "late registration period." A dropped class does not appear on a students transcript, does not count as attempted credits or towards the GPA, and does not receive a grade. Dropped classes do not count towards the 12-credit requirement to be considered a full-time student.

A withdrawal occurs at any point after the add/drop period when a student decides to no longer attend the class for any reason. Withdrawn classes appear on the transcript with a W grade. They count as attempted credits, and thus towards the 12-credit minimum requirement to be considered full-time, but are not included in GPA credits calculations.

The deadline for withdrawals is eight weeks into the semester, after which students must attempt to complete the course to the best of their ability.

Both drops and withdrawals must be made with the permission of your academic advisor. We strongly advise that students consult their advisor before withdrawing from a class and do not simply stop attending, as this may result in an F grade.

Students who register in November but have not paid their balance or enrolled in a payment plan by January 9, will be deregistered from all courses on January 8 at 5 p.m. Seats in courses that are lost will be held until the first day of the semester, January 20. Once the semester begins, the seats will no longer be held and may be lost for the semester.

Students who are not registered for Spring 2026 classes after the end of the first week of the semester will have their IDs deactivated and will not be permitted on campus. This will result in a status of "Stopout" being applied to their record, which may have financial aid implications. If you plan to take a leave of any kind in the Spring 2026 semester, it is important to begin the Leave of Absence request process as soon as possible by speaking with your advisor or emailing registrar@cooper.edu for more information.

Engineering Students: Prerequisite Waivers for Classes

Please note that if you intend to register for a class in Spring or Fall that requires a prerequisite waiver, you should submit the waiver form at least one week prior to registration to ensure it is processed and approved before your registration window opens. Contact Betsy Quitugua in the Engineering Dean's Office to begin the prerequisite waiver process.

If a Spring course has a Fall course as a prerequisite, failure of that Fall course will cause you to be removed from the Spring course, unless you obtain an approved prerequisite waiver in January (once grades are finalized and course failure is confirmed). If you are in danger of failing a fall course, please discuss this situation with your advisor.

All Seniors and Graduating Master’s Students

Please answer the questions in the Graduation section in Student Self-Service, and make sure to indicate how you want your name to appear on your diploma.

Name Changes

To change your name, you must make arrangements to bring original legal documentation to the Office of the Registrar. For more information, visit our Name and Address Change webpage, or contact us at registrar@cooper.edu.


Online Registration

Online registration through Student Self-Service will occur in the following way:

  1. Each student will submit a proposed schedule to their advisor. Students are encouraged to email their advisors that they have submitted their course plan. School of Art students will follow their school's instructions and follow up with their advisors as needed.
  2. Advisors will review the schedule and approve it if satisfactory. Advisors must email the students upon approval.
  3. Starting on their appointed day and continuing through November 21, students will register online.
  4. If a student encounters difficulty with registration, staff members in the Office of the Registrar can be reached during normal business hours at registrar@cooper.edu.

See Using Student Self-Service for detailed instructions.

Summer 2026

Online registration through Student Self-Service for Summer 2026 semester classes will take place between Tuesday, April 21 – Friday, April 24, 2026. Registration starts at 9 am in accordance with the schedule below. This registration is for all Bachelor's degree and Master's degree students who plan to return to The Cooper Union in the Summer.

If in Summer 2026 you will be: You will register online starting at 9 am on:

A Senior or Masters student

Tuesday, April 21

An Art Junior, or
An Engineering Junior, or
A Third- or Fourth-Year Architecture student

Wednesday, April 22

An Architecture, Art, or Engineering Sophomore

Thursday, April 23

 

Please note: Students who have a financial obligation to The Cooper Union will not be permitted to register. Please satisfy any debts before registration.

The Office of the Registrar will complete registration for new first-year and transfer students by early August. Students will be notified once their schedules have been finalized.

Registration Changes and Important Dates

Schedule changes and necessary program alterations may be accommodated without a fee during the add/drop period (Monday, June 1, 2026 – Wednesday, June 3, 2026) for Sessions A and B. After the add/drop period, there is a $25 fee for withdrawing from courses (no courses may be added).

The first day of the Summer 2026 term, Session A, is Monday, June 1.
The first day of the Summer 2026 term, Session B, is Tuesday, July 14.

After June 3, the last day to withdraw from Session A classes is Wednesday, June 10, and the last day to withdraw from Session B classes is Tuesday, July 21. There will be a $25 fee for each transaction.

Students who register in April but have not paid their balance by May 28 will be deregistered from all courses on June 1.

Previous Term Registration Instructions

  • 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.