2024-2025 Welcome Week and Orientation Schedule

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2024

8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 
Residence Hall Check-In 
29 3rd Ave Residence Hall 
Welcome to Cooper Union! Upon arrival, you will be given move-in materials, including your room key, mailbox key, and general building information. Please abide by the staggered move-in times supplied by the Housing & Residential Education staff. There will be several Cooper Union students and staff members present to help you with all your personal items.

9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 
Check-in and Student ID Card Pick-Up for Non-Residential Students  
Stop by the lobby of the Foundation Building and let us know you're here! We'll have some exciting Cooper surprises for you!  

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 
Engineering Math Placement Exam – ENGINEERING STUDENTS ONLY 
Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square 
The math placement exam is applicable to qualified Engineering majors only. Students seeking to place out of MA111 should take this placement exam. Students who are qualified to take the placement exam will be notified by the Enrollment Management team in advance. If you have any questions about the math placement exam, please contact Professor Mili Shah, Chair of the Math Department at mili.shah@cooper.edu. Students living in the Student Residence Hall who are taking this exam may make arrangements for an early move-in by emailing reslife@cooper.edu. 

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  
Financial Aid Meetings 
41 Cooper Square — The Hub (entrance on 6th Street)
The Office of Student Financial Services (SFS) is offering in-person appointments between 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on August 20. Meetings are by appointment only. A link to schedule appointments will be available here as we get closer to the start of Welcome Week.

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  
Family Orientation Session  
The Great Hall, Foundation Building  
Geared towards the families and loved ones of our new students. Join our Dean of Students and others from Cooper Union to review what new students will experience during Welcome Week and an overview of the supportive services and resources available to students during their time at Cooper Union. 

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Welcome Week Official Start Welcome Address
The Great Hall, Foundation Building
Please join President Laura Sparks, and members of her leadership team, for a Welcome Address and formal start to our Welcome Week activities followed by a welcome reception.

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Welcome Reception for Students and Family
Peter Cooper Park – Outside Foundation Building
Following the Welcome Address from President Sparks, please join The Cooper Union community for a welcome reception. The Office of Alumni Affairs and Development invites you to enjoy some light refreshments while mingling with Cooper Union faculty, staff, and fellow new students. 

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. 
Student Welcome and Orientation Overview 
Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square 
Dean Chris Chamberlin and the Student Affairs team will welcome you to the Cooper Union community and will provide an overview of Welcome Week. This session is essential to understand upcoming sessions and to ask any general questions you may have.

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. 
Residence Hall Floor Meetings  
29 3rd Ave Residence Hall  
Details will be provided when you check into the Residence Hall by your Resident Assistant.  
 
8:30 p.m. – ? 
New Student Welcome Party
 

THURSDAY AUGUST 29, 2024
 

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 
Commuter Student Breakfast Meeting and Social  
2nd Floor Lobby, Foundation Building 
Meet up with fellow commuter students, share some breakfast, and make connections.  

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
International Student Breakfast Meeting – MANDATORY FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Room 104, 41 Cooper Square
Mandatory Check-in meeting with Cooper’s PDSO and valuable information on how to keep your F-1 immigration status valid, get to know your fellow international students better, and have some breakfast!

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Student Collective Breakfast
101, 41 Cooper Square
Come and meet some fellow new students who may share some of your identities! Come have some food and join us for conversation and connection among peers. All are welcome but please note that our Cooper Collectives focus on LGBTQIA+ Students, Students of Color, and First-Generation Students. 

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. 
Student Care, Support, and Wellbeing  
Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square 
During this session we will discuss common wellness related concerns among college students and how to identify these concerns in oneself. This session will also cover healthy relationships. This session will provide students with information regarding supportive resources available at Cooper Union and throughout NYC. The session will include tips and resources to engage in self-care and suggestions on how to stay safe and healthy and be successful at Cooper Union.

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. 
Meet the College Orientation Guides – Community Building Activities and Lunch
LL120 Gallery, 41 Cooper Square 
Get to know our upper-class College Orientation Guides a little bit better. Learn how they can help you get your questions answered and just make you feel a bit more at ease.  Enjoy lunch with our College Orientation Guides. Mix, mingle, and continue to get to know each other.
 
2pm – 5pm 
Academic Program Orientations

School of Architecture  
2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Introductions (for all new undergraduate and graduate Architecture students)
330, Foundation Building
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Studio Safety/Locker Information (for all new undergraduate and graduate Architecture students)
330, Foundation Building
3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Meet the first-year faculty (for all new undergraduate Architecture students)
315, Foundation Building 
Meet the graduate faculty (for all new graduate Architecture students)
712, Foundation Building
Academic Program Orientations: School of Art 

School of Art
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. 
Welcome Event  
630C, Foundation Building 

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 
New Art Exchange Students ONLY 
Room 212, Foundation Building 
Mandatory art exchange student gathering to review important academic opportunities and policies.

School of Engineering 
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Overview of the School of Engineering 
Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Meet the First-Year Faculty
Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
International Exchange student gathering – New Engineering Exchange Students ONLY
Dean’s office Conference Room, Room 204, 41 Cooper Square
Meet the other students who have come to Cooper for their “study abroad” experience.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Department / Major Specific Meetings
BSE: RM 204 | CE: RM 506 | ChE: RM 427 | EE: RM 603 (EE Lab) | ME: RM 503 - 41 Cooper Square
 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2024


9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.  
Cooper Union 101  
Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square 
Dean Chamberlin will provide an overview of the student experience which will include important policies and procedures that will be essential for you to know and navigate during your time here at The Cooper Union.
  
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 
Center for Writing and Learning Workshop  
Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square 
Meet some of the Cooper Union’s Writing Associates, who are scholars (of history, dance, literature, and more), as well as poets and fiction writers. Find out how they can help you do your best work at Cooper.

12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Campus Open House, Welcome Back Picnic, and Fall Festival
Peter Cooper Park, Foundation Building ,and 41 Cooper Square
Our academic buildings and key spaces will be open for you to explore, meet the amazing humans who run these facilities and will provide key support. A pdf of spaces and details will be available for you to download here prior to the Open House. Lunch will be provided by Cooper Union – first come, first served! Be sure to stop by the amazing Cooper Union Library at 1pm, 2pm, or 3pm for a quick game of "Get to Know the Library and Archives BINGO" for cool prizes. A guide for the Open House and Floor Plans for the buildings will be available here for download closer to the start of Welcome Week. 


SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2024

TBD - Day at the Park / Museum Tours / NYC Highlights / Etc.  

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2024


MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2024

Labor Day

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

Classes begin.

12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. 
All School Convocation and Gathering 
Great Hall, Foundation Building 
 

  • 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.