Licensure

Architecture
Completing the Bachelor of Architecture program at The Cooper Union is your first step towards licensure. To become an architect in the US, you must earn a license in each state or jurisdiction where you want to practice – there is no national license. For more information, feel free to contact our faculty and student Architect Licensing Advisors – they can answer questions and help connect you to professional resources to help support you through this process, including:

Engineering

Why get licensed? Presentation (.ppt) and Video.

FE Exam

The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is a measure of minimum competency to enter the engineering profession. Passing the exam demonstrates initiative and drive to pursue an engineering career. Employers hiring recent engineering graduates may look to see if the applicant has successfully passed the FE exam. Passing the exam classifies one as an intern, also known as Engineering Intern (EI) or Engineer-in-Training (EIT).

Students and applicants who are within twenty (20) credits of graduation (generally your final semester) or have graduated from an EAC/ABET accredited baccalaureate program in engineering are automatically eligible to sit for an NCEES exam.

Exam Format

The FE exam is a six-hour long computer based exam consisting of 110 multiple-choice questions and it is delivered year round. The FE exam is offered in seven disciplines: chemical, civil, electrical and computer, environmental, industrial and systems, mechanical, and other disciplines. See exam specifications for more details including the topics covered on the exam for each discipline.

Examinees must earn a scaled score of 70 or higher to pass the FE exam and results are usually available within 10 days of taking the exam.

Step-by-Step Process for EIT Certification

1. Register with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) to take the exam. 

2. Once you pass the FE exam and graduate from an ABET accredited bachelor of engineering program you may apply for your Intern Engineer Certificate (EIT). 

3. Submit the application (form 1IE) for Intern Engineer Certificate with a $70 fee to the NYS Office of the Professions. 

4. Submit the form (form 2) for Certification of Professional Education: complete section 1, making sure to sign and date it, then send or bring the form to the registrar at Cooper Union (30 Cooper, 3rd floor) to complete section 2. The registrar must return it directly to the Office of the Professions (address and instructions are on the form). 

Important Notes

Students do not qualify for the Intern Engineer Certificate until they graduate. 

Students can indicate that they passed the FE on their resume, portfolio or professional website, but should not indicate "EIT" until they have graduated.

 

  • 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.