Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in France.[10][11][12] The school was built on a radical new model of American higher education based on Cooper's belief that an education "equal to the best technology schools established"[13] should be accessible to those who qualify, independent of their race, religion, sex, wealth or social status, and should be "open and free to all".[14]
Not to be confused with Cooper University Hospital, a teaching hospital in Camden, New Jersey.
The college is divided into three schools: the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, the School of Art, and the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. It offers undergraduate and master's degree programs exclusively in the fields of architecture, fine arts (undergraduate only), and engineering.
Cooper Union was one of very few American institutions of higher learning to offer a full-tuition scholarship to every admitted student, a practice it discontinued in 2014, now offering a half-tuition scholarship to each admitted student.[15] Admission to Cooper Union is competitive, with an acceptance rate of 12% across the three schools.[16][17]
History[edit]
Founding and early history[edit]
The Cooper Union was founded in 1859[18] by American industrialist Peter Cooper, one of the richest businessmen in the United States. Cooper was a workingman's son who had less than a year of formal schooling. Cooper designed and built America's first steam railroad engine and made a fortune with a glue factory and iron foundry. He was a principal investor and first president of the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company, which laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable, and once ran for President under the Greenback Party, becoming the oldest person ever nominated for the office by a political party.[19][20]
Notable faculty of the Cooper Union include:
Film
Literature
Television