The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, established in 1859, is among the nation’s oldest and most distinguished institutions of higher education. The college, founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist, Peter Cooper, offers a world-class education in art, architecture and engineering as well as an outstanding faculty of humanities and social sciences. The College admits undergraduates solely on merit and currently awards a minimum of a 50 percent tuition scholarship 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.
Maya Dixon, Class of 2022, Fine Art Major
What makes your school’s art & design programs different & unique from other art & design school programs? What are the top 3 features?
1. The admissions process is a uniquely directed and determined solely by Faculty. A student attending is selected by a review of Faculty committee.
2. Students are not accepted into specific majors. The curriculum is an integrated offerings of prerequisites and advanced studio classes representing all areas of concentration, providing students with a broad based rigorous visual education enhanced by a humanities and art history program.
3. After the Foundation year students craft their own course of study in consultation with their Faculty and the Academic Advisor.
Can students take courses in other schools or majors?
The students from the School of Art can take a minimum 11 credits of Free Electives from any class across the institution.
What steps do you take to evaluate a student’s candidacy, apart from reviewing their creative portfolio?
The application process requires a home test to be submitted in addition to a portfolio requirement.
What does your program look for most in the creative portfolio during admissions? What do you think makes an a+ portfolio?
The portfolio provides the opportunity through the work submitted to understand how well the student thinks visually beyond the craft of production. It is an important element of gauging the appropriate fit.
How does your program help graduating students with internships or jobs? Can students expect job placement more at your program than in others? If so, how or why? What kinds of job opportunities have you seen students take once they completed their degrees?
There is a very active Career development and Outreach office and an internship program, funded by the school, that often leads to summer or continued employment.
Interviewed by Day Gleeson, Associate Professor and Academic Advisor, The Cooper Union’s School of Art
FACT!
The Cooper Union has historically been one of the most selective colleges in the United States, with an acceptance rate typically below 10%. Both the art and architecture schools have acceptance rates below 5%
FACT!
SEA2M3 provides a forum within which students from the schools of Engineering, Art and Architecture come together to develop new design criteria that yield materials, manufacturing techniques, habitats and lifestyles that are sustainable, and that, ultimately, reduce the chasm between the rich and the poor.
RANKING
#1 Best Value for its region, U.S.News 2015
#2 Best overall undergraduate school, U.S.News 2015
DEGREES
BFA:
Bachelor of Architecture
Bachelor of Engineering
Bachelor of Fine Arts
SCHOOL OF ART
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
APPLICATION MATERIALS
Common application
PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS
Slideroom 5-10 pieces
*Home Test & Studio Test: Regular Decision applicants to the School of Architecture and/or School of Art will be sent a studio test or home test, respectively, in January. Early Decision applicants to the School of Art will receive a home test in December. This must be completed within one month of receipt. The home test and studio test will be sent to all applicants via email on the same day after the online application deadline.
WRITING SAMPLE
Part of home test
TRANSCRIPTS
Required
RECOMMENDATION LETTERS
1 Teacher or Counselor
INTERVIEW
Not Required
APPLICATIONS DEADLINES
Early Decision: Dec 1, 2017
Regular Decision: Jan 11, 2017
FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
TOEFL: 600 paper or 100 (iBF)
IELTS: n/a
PTE: n/a
ALUMNI
Roy DeCarava, Photographer
Patty Jenkins, Filmmaker
Whitfield Lovell, Artist
Ellen Lupton, Graphic designer, Writer, Curator and Educator
Mike Mills, Filmmaker
Jack Whitten, Painter
Alex Katz, Figurative artist
Milton Glaser, Graphic designer
Herb Lubalin, Graphic designer, Creative Director for publications
Wangechi Mutu, Artist
Javaka Steptoe, Artist, Illustrator
Audrey Flack, Painter, Performer
Sylvia Mangold, Painter
ADMISSIONS OFFICE
30 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10003-7120
+1 (212)-358-4120