Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art admissions is most selective with an acceptance rate of 15% SAT scores between 1390 and 1520 or an ACT score between 31 and 34 are required for admission to Cooper Union for half of the applicants. However, 25% of accepted applicants received ratings that were above these ranges, and 25% received ratings that were below these ranges. The application deadline is Jan. 5 and the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art’s $75 application fee
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art admissions officers view a student’s GPA as a very important academic factor. The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art takes into consideration an applicant’s high school class rank, if one is available, and values letters of recommendation. Learn more about College Compass to see additional academic factors along with other school data.
Enrollment
All accepted undergraduate students at The Cooper Union receive a half-tuition scholarship, which is currently worth $22,275 per academic year. Students may be eligible for additional funding to help with tuition, room and board, and other related costs after submitting an application for need-based financial aid. Limited merit scholarships are also available for selected students.
For the academic year 2022-2023:
- 892 Undergraduate Students: 16% in the School of Architecture; 28% in the School of Art; 56% in the School of Engineering
- 59 Graduate Students: 19% in the Master of Science in Architecture program; 81% in the Master of Engineering program
- 49% Male, 51% Female
- 14% Overall Acceptance Rate based on the total number of completed Common Applications submitted for fall 2022 (4% School of Architecture, 9% School of Art, 27% School of Engineering)
- Undergraduate Students who are U. S. citizens and residents: 28% are Asian; 5% are Black or African-American; 11% are Hispanic/Latino; 32% are White; 3% are Two or More Races; 7% are Unknown/Did Not Report a Specific Race or Ethnicity; and 14% are Nonresident Aliens/International Students
- 9 to 1 Student-to-Faculty Ratio
- 92% of Students Returned for Sophomore Year
- 83% of Fall 2022 First-year Students Live on Campus
The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture offers a Bachelor of Architecture degree which is completed over five years and prepares students for an array of opportunities in the profession. The school also offers a post-professional Master of Science in Architecture degree. Through close interaction with internationally recognized faculty, practitioners, and scholars, graduates obtain a lasting ability to produce architecture that is a meaningful synthesis of the social, the aesthetic and the technological.
The School of Art offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree completed in four years. The program is committed to an integrated curriculum that encompasses the fundamental disciplines and resources of the visual arts including painting, sculpture, drawing, audiovisual, graphic design, photography, and printmaking. The students in the program benefit from working alongside renowned faculty and utilizing New York City’s extraordinary pool of practicing professionals in fine art and graphic design.
The Albert Nerken School of Engineering offers Bachelor of Engineering degrees in chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering, a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering, and a Master of Engineering degree. The program prepares students for leadership and entrepreneurial roles in a world that faces complex political, social, and environmental challenges. At the graduate level, the school encourages interdisciplinary studies in additional areas including computer systems, robotics, biomedical, and environmental engineering issues, as well as material science.
Our three schools are academically integrated by the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty. Students must complete a core curriculum in the humanities and social sciences during their first two years of school. An additional three-semester art history course is required of students in the School of Art. Students have a lot of freedom to investigate the humanities and social sciences during their third and fourth years through elective courses. The Center for Writing, which works with our students to provide feedback, support, and training in all areas of written and spoken communication, is under the direction of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The Cooper Union is one of the nation’s top-ranked higher education institutions in all categories due to the rigorousness of its academic programs.
- U. S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2022 – 2023 rankings: #1 best value schools, #1 most innovative schools, #2 best regional colleges (north), #6 best undergraduate teaching, #9th best undergraduate engineering program, #12 civil engineering program, #13 mechanical engineering program, #14 electrical engineering program, and #20 top performers on social mobility.
- Top 20 Colleges and Universities for Best Buy in 2023 according to Fiske Guide to Colleges
- Niche Best Colleges 2023 rankings: #9 of 746 best colleges for art in America, #17 of 157 best colleges for architecture in America, and #23 of 969 best small colleges in America.
- Ranked #3 Bachelors College by Washington Monthly, 2022
- Top 30 for Best Selective Colleges by Money, 2022
- The Princeton Review’s Top 30 List of Best Value Colleges (Private Institutions), 2022
- Ranked #17 on list of Top 50 U. S. Most profitable colleges by CNBC Make It, 2020
- Ranked #2 for Undergraduate Architecture School for design theory and practice, research, and communications and presentation skills, and #4 for Most Admired Undergraduate Architecture Program by Design Intelligence, 2020.
Student, Alumni and Faculty Achievement
The alumni, faculty, and student body of The Cooper Union have amassed an extraordinary proportion of the country’s most prestigious honors:
- 39 Fulbright scholars since 2001
- 13 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships since 2004
- 40 percent of graduates continue to pursue top-ranked graduate programs
- 2014 saw only four Royal Society of Arts-Architecture Student Design Awards given out.
Additional prestigious prizes awarded to Cooper Union alumni:
- 15 Rome Prizes
- 26 Guggenheim Fellowships
- Whitfield Lovell A from 1983, Elizabeth Diller AR from 1979, and Ricardo M Scofidio AR’55.
- Nobel Prize in Physics: Russell A. Hulse Ph’70
- 1 Pritzker Architecture Prize: Shigeru Ban A84
- 9 Chrysler Design Awards
- 3 Thomas Jefferson Awards for Public Architecture
- 8 AIGA Medallions for Design Excellence
- 1 inaugural Jane Jacobs Medal: Barry Benepe A’54
- 1 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering: Dick Schwartz ME’57
Foundation Building
The Cooper Union Foundation Building was constructed in 1858 as a gift to New York City and stands as evidence of Peter Cooper’s generosity and inventiveness. The Foundation Building was once Manhattan’s tallest structure and the most avant-garde addition to the city’s skyline. It was built with rolled iron I-beams and featured an interior shaft before elevators were widely used. The Foundation Building’s Great Hall auditorium, a popular venue for cultural and intellectual events, is another reason to visit. This venue has played host to speeches and events for a number of US presidents and illustrious public figures who have made significant contributions to American history. As a National Historic Landmark and New York City Landmark today, the Foundation Building houses classrooms, studios, a library, and the Arthur A. Little Research Institute. Houghton, Jr. Gallery. John Hedjuk, the former Dean of Cooper Unions Irwin S. Cooper, renovated the interior in the 1970s. Chanin School of Architecture, and a rededication and exterior restoration were completed in 2002.
The Great Hall
Peter Cooper created the Great Hall in the Foundation Building with the goal of fostering public participation because, in his opinion, it is crucial for a healthy democracy. The Great Hall was built to introduce the people of New York City to America’s most significant pioneers of the 19th century. In February 1860, Abraham Lincoln attended as one of the most well-known guests and gave his “Right Makes Might” speech. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass and supporters of women’s suffrage Susan B. Early workers’ rights campaign movements, Samuel Gompers, Anthony and Victoria Woodhull The NAACP and American Red Cross were also founded there.
The Great Hall has been a notable location for more than 160 years, hosting American presidents Ulysses S. Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Grant, William Howard Taft, Grover Cleveland, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama Authors Harriet Beecher Stowe and Salmon Rushdie, thinkers Bertrand Russell and Susan Sontag, researchers Thomas Huxley and Brian Greene, musicians Benny Carter and Billy Joel, to name a few, have also presented.
41 Cooper Square
41 Cooper Square, an academic building with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, is the newest campus addition to The Cooper Union. The building was created by 2005 Pritzker Prize–winning architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis and debuted in September 2009. More than 40% of the college’s academic space was replaced with reconfigurable, modern classrooms, laboratories, studios, and public spaces by the nine-story, 175,000 square foot building.
Last Updated
- The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, established in 1859 by inventor, industrialist, and philanthropist Peter Cooper, provides instruction in the humanities and social sciences along with programs in architecture, engineering, and fine arts.
- In an 1853 speech, Peter Cooper declared, “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world.” When knowledge “shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep,” he looked forward to that time. ” .
- Cooper Union has always been a special place, committed to founder Peter Cooper’s idea that education is the key to not only one’s own prosperity but also to civic virtue and harmony.
- Peter Cooper wished for his graduates to develop technical proficiency, entrepreneurial skills, intellectual and creative acuity, and a sense of social justice that would lead to action.