Cooper Union

Through outstanding academic programs in architecture, art and engineering, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art prepares talented students to make enlightened contributions to society. The College admits undergraduates solely on merit and awards full scholarships to all enrolled students. The institution provides close contact with a distinguished, creative faculty and fosters rigorous, humanistic learning that is enhanced by the process of design and augmented by the urban setting.
Founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper, industrialist and philanthropist, The Cooper Union offers public programs for the civic, cultural and practicable enrichment of New York City.

The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture provides its students the finest professional education available within an intellectual environment that fosters and expands their creative capacities and sensibilities and establishes the foundation for a productive professional life. The School is committed to the belief that one of society's prime responsibilities is toward learning and education in the deepest sense: that the exercise of individual creativity within a willing community is a profoundly social act. Fundamental to the mission of the School is the maintenance of an atmosphere in which freedom of thought and exploration can flourish, where students can explore and utilize their special and individual talents, interests and modes of working, to their highest potential.

The mission of the School of Art is to educate artists in the broadest sense, both as creative practitioners engaged with a wide range of disciplines in the visual arts and as enlightened citizens of the world who are prepared to question and transform society. The program is structured around an integrated curriculum that fosters connections between disciplines, as well as between traditional and new media. The studio experience affords the opportunity for the development of individual artistic vision in dialogue with collective debates and experiments within an intimate community of artists. The study of history, theory and criticism in the visual arts and general studies in the humanities and social sciences are considered essential in intellectually grounding studio practice. Central to the school's philosophy is the advancement of the artist's role in initiating critical responses and alternative models in relation to the prevailing forms and institutions of cultural production. Students are challenged to expand their research and experimentation across The Cooper Union, as well as in the surrounding urban environment and in the wider public sphere.

The Albert Nerken School of Engineering will create an educational culture with
a commitment to excellence. We will bring together the best and brightest engineering students; we will nurture and develop their talents; we will encourage them to work and learn at their highest levels; and we will instill in them the desire and the ability to use their engineering background to fulfill their potential as knowledgeable, creative and responsible leaders in society.

Within the structure of our three professional degree-granting Schools, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is committed to providing a liberal arts education "equal to the best." Students from the three Schools join together in a required four-semester core sequence of humanities and social science courses, and then select electives on more specialized topics across a range of disciplines. Small class size and a rigorous emphasis on written expression and critical thinking are key elements in the program. Through their work in the humanities and social sciences, students gain a deeper awareness of the world and become attentive to the social and humanistic implications of their professional work.