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Office of Academic Advising & Off-Campus Programs

The mission of the School of Art is to educate artists in the broadest sense, both as creative practitioners and as enlightened citizens of the world who are prepared to question and transform society. 

Academic Advising is integral to this mission, empowering students to navigate the BFA curriculum and The Cooper Union’s many resources with confidence, intention, and success. 

The Office of Academic Advising also houses the School of Art’s international exchange program and coordinates access to several other off-campus opportunities. These include the Rothenberg Travel Fellowship, Skowhegan, the Yale Norfolk summer program, and curricular practical training (CPT) for international students.

Please see the FAQ for common questions.

Key forms can be found on the forms page.

Team

Frances Northcutt Green
Assistant Dean
Primary advisor for first-time, full-Foundation students
frances.green@cooper.edu | Foundation Building, Room 212 | 212-353-4205

Students: contact Fran with any questions regarding academic or co-curricular experiences at Cooper Union.

Faculty & staff: contact Fran if you would like to promote an opportunity or if you have concerns regarding a School of Art student.

Doug Ashford
Professor, Faculty Advisor
Primary advisor for transfer and post-Foundation students
doug.ashford@cooper.edu | 41 Cooper Square, Room 805a, back of Media Lab | 212-353-4019

Students: contact Doug to discuss your path as an artist – to align specific course progression with your individual studio goals and process in order to make school study more integrated to your aspirations. Also see Doug for preapproval/evaluation of transfer credits or to request an exception.

Faculty & staff: contact Doug to discuss any ideas you have that might help a student find new contexts for agency, fortitude, and initiative in their work.

Coco Fusco
Professor, Director of the Exchange Program
coco.fusco@cooper.edu

Cooper students: contact Coco if you are interested in going on exchange.

Exchange students: contact Coco with questions or concerns about your application or your academic experience at Cooper.

Faculty: contact Coco with questions or concerns regarding a current visiting exchange student or the process of evaluating a Cooper student’s work done on exchange.

Staff: contact Coco for administrative matters related to exchange.

  • 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.