Assignment of Credit Hours

Consistent with New York State guidelines, one credit earned at Cooper Union represents a minimum of 750 minutes of instructor supervised class time (50 minutes per week for 15 weeks.) Many courses exceed the 50 minute/week requirement determined as per the needs of each academic department.

In order to be considered full-time students, undergraduates must be registered for at least 12 credits each semester. Graduate students must be registered for at least 9 credits to be considered full-time.

  • 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.