Grants, Fellowships & Scholarships

The directories below offer an extensive, though not fully comprehensive, list of scholarships, fellowships, and grants for use by the Cooper community:

ARCHITECTURE
ART
ENGINEERING
GENERAL

Grants are need-based non-repayable funds disbursed or gifted by one party, often a government department, corporation, foundation or trust, to a recipient, a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business, or an individual. Grants can be awarded to those pursuing either undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Fellowships are competitive, merit-based monetary awards that allow you to receive funding while pursuing specific academic interests. Fellowships are short-term opportunities lasting from a few months to several years.

Scholarships are usually merit-based and are awarded based on desired qualities such as academic achievement, financial need or involvement in a certain extra-curricular activities. Scholarships can also be based on particular traits like ancestral background or group affiliation. Scholarships are awarded by a number of funding sources such as businesses, religious groups, individuals, community organizations, college departments or alumni. Scholarships do not require repayment.

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In addition to the directories above, here are additional resources:

The Career Center has a subscription to the Foundation Center's Grants to Individuals, an online database of more than 6,000 foundations and public charities that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grant seekers. Contact the Career Center to make an appointment to utilize this database or bring your laptop to drop-in hours to gain access.

The Career Center encourages grant seekers to research grants, fellowships, and scholarships maintained by other institutions. Three rich resources are the Office of Distinguished Scholarships - University of North Carolina, the Michigan State University Libraries, and NYFA Source. The Institute for International Education also maintains a directory of grants, scholarships, and fellowships.

The Fulbright Program offers a wide variety of programs that are appropriate for students, faculty and staff. To learn more, please refer to The Cooper Union Fulbright webpage.

Sources of funding information for international students who are studying in the United States are Abroad Planet, the College Board, International Education Financial Aid, and International Scholarships. Please note that many of the opportunities at this site are also open to domestic students.

Students are strongly encouraged to utilize the Center for Writing and the Center for Career Development as resources for developing their applications.

  • 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.