Carroll and Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund

The Carroll and Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund has been fully expended for the 2024-2025 academic year. Applications are now closed.

All students experiencing financial difficulty should connect with someone in Student Financial Services and/or Financial Aid to discuss your financial aid package and overall funding needs so they can help you develop a plan and seek resources based on your need. Please know that Cooper Union has personal resources to help support students. You can find these resources here. Please know that we are here to help! We hope to have the grant renewed next year and these new funds would be available beginning in September, 2025.

The Carroll and Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund has been created to provide quick response emergency grants to matriculated students in good standing with short-term financial emergencies. The Fund seeks to assist students so that they may continue their education at The Cooper Union, rather than being forced to take a leave of absence or to withdraw from school.

Petrie Foundation Grant Award Guidelines for Emergency Funds

Examples of emergencies to be considered include, but are not limited to:

  • Travel home for serious illness or death in the immediate family (e.g. parents or siblings)
  • Homelessness due to loss of housing
  • Imminent documented eviction
  • Documented theft of books and other essential academic or personal belongings
  • Required uninsured medical treatment or follow up medical care
  • An unanticipated loss of a job in mid-semester resulting in a lack of funds to meet necessary school expenses
  • Prescription eyeglasses or essential dental work
  • Unanticipated expenses related to a search for a permanent job or preparation of a graduate school application
  • Unexpected commutation costs because of injury or illness or other unforeseen circumstance
  • Victims of domestic violence

Petrie Foundation Grants will not be given for:

  • Student fees or tuition charges;
  • Previously owed debt;
  • Legal representation;
  • Replacement costs for items left unattended on Cooper Union premises
  • More than one emergency per year

Eligibility Requirements for the Petrie Emergency Grant
Students who demonstrate need as noted above may apply for this grant. The applicant must:

  • have a record of good conduct;
  • be in good academic standing;
  • be matriculated into a degree granting program at the Cooper Union with at least 12 credits.

How much can a student apply for?

The maximum cash award will normally be $1500. Documentation is required at the time of application. Students with extreme circumstances requiring more than $1500 may request up to $3,000. Students need to provide documentation of their exceptional circumstances. 

Who reviews the application?

The application will be reviewed by a review committee. This committee meets once per week on Wednesdays to review applications. The student's academic school may also be consulted if necessary and appropriate.

If approved for the grant, when will I receive the funds?

If approved, grant funds may take up to two weeks to be processed by the Cooper Union Business Office. When applying, please note that you may not receive funds for up to two weeks after grant approval. We will make every effort to have the funds provided as quickly as possible. Students applying should see below to sign up for direct deposit to ensure the quickest possible release of the awarded funds.

Direct-Deposit Requirement

All funds will be transmitted electronically. Any student who wishes to receive funds must enroll in direct deposit. Instructions for signing up for direct deposit can be found here.

Where to get an application?

As of December 10, 2024, the application is now closed for the current academic year 2024-2025. 

The application is available online and can be found here here. 

FINANCIAL AID STATEMENT

The Carroll and Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund is not a substitute for financial aid. Students who are seeking funding due to a chronic or recurring situation will be required to utilize all available financial aid resources before being awarded the Petrie Grant. Financial aid status will be verified prior to awarding the grant.

Please remember that we have student support resources available to students and you can review those here. 

 

  • 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.