Academics
A truly unique New York City institution, Cooper Union provides grants covering more than half tuition to all students (as well as additional need-based aid). Degree programs focus on art, architecture, or engineering. Academics are "very rigorous, although consistent and achievable with the resources provided," and students are very driven in achieving their coursework, "especially with major projects that offer them a great deal of academic freedom to create their own content." Students are pushed "to achieve the most in a short amount of time" and are well aware of the value they are getting relative to "cost of tuition and good job placement after graduating."
Professors are "generally very knowledgeable in their subject area" and "you're not that likely to have the same professor over and over again," making for a diverse learning experience. The "very focused" engineering program "sets you up to be a functioning member of the engineering community and workforce": "Even as a sophomore I have had the opportunity to take (and understand) graduate level material," says one student. The art school "constructs an art curriculum around the individual practice," and the "caliber of art teachers is unbelievable," with professors that "have exhibited at the MOMA and Guggenheim, just to name a few." Students from all major programs mix in the required humanities courses. Though the school's 2009 addition of a new academic building (housing the engineering and art programs, and bringing the total up to two) increased visibility, the building is "chronically short on space due to its atrium," and the school "could use more classrooms to work with." The academic prestige of the school attracts a high standard all around, and art, architects, and engineers come together "to create a rich environment for scholarly thinking, problem solving, learning, and debate."