Financial Aid at Cooper

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Dorm Room

Dorm Room

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Architecture Studio

Architecture Studio

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Frankie's Cafe

Frankie's Cafe

Honoring Peter Cooper’s belief that education should be accessible to all, our mission is to ensure that no student is deterred from attending The Cooper Union based on their financial circumstances. 

  • We meet 100% of demonstrated and determined financial need
  • Every admitted undergraduate student receives a half-tuition scholarship valued at $22,275 per year, as well as need- and merit-based aid if eligible
  • A tuition-free senior year currently valued at $44,550
  • Our plan is to be 100% tuition-free by the 2028-2029 academic year
  • For the sixth consecutive year, we are not raising undergraduate tuition
  • 2024 - 2025 academic year aid for undergraduate students includes: 
    • 100% tuition covered by scholarship or grant aid for 55% of students
    • 85% of tuition is the average scholarship amount or grant aid received 
    • 100% of students receive a minimum of 50% scholarship or grant aid 
    • 27% of our students are Pell Grant recipients

The Master of Science in Architecture program offers a merit scholarship valued at approximately 30% of the base tuition.

The Cooper Union is recognized as one of the most affordable colleges in the country, receiving top rankings in US News, Money, and The Princeton Review. 

Learn more about Cooper's affordability: 

 

 

  • 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.