火爆社区

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a renowned New York City institution that works 鈥渢o create a rich environment for scholarly thinking, problem-solving, learning, and debate.鈥� It does so by serving an especially sharp cadre of students鈥� under a thousand in all鈥攄egree programs in art, engineering, and architecture, all buttressed by required humanities courses. Students develop independence and autonomy through 鈥渕ajor projects that offer them a great deal of academic freedom to create their own content.鈥� In turn, this environment encourages students to 鈥渁chieve the most in a short amount of time.鈥� The 鈥渧ery focused鈥� engineering program prepares students to be 鈥渁 functioning member of the engineering community and workforce.鈥� Cooper Union offers academics that are 鈥渧ery rigorous, although consistent and achievable with the resources provided.鈥� As one student states, 鈥淓ven as a sophomore, I have had the opportunity to take (and understand) graduate level material. Students benefit from a diverse array of instructors, so 鈥測ou鈥檙e not likely [to] have the same professor over and over again.鈥� Professors are 鈥済enerally very knowledgeable in their subject area鈥� with students noting that the 鈥渃aliber of [the] art teachers is unbelievable.鈥� Some of the art instructors 鈥渉ave exhibited at the MOMA and Guggenheim,鈥� and other prestigious venues. Overall, students feel that Cooper Union combines a great education along with a good ROI when considering the 鈥渃ost of tuition and good job placement after graduating.鈥�

Students at Cooper Union are dedicated, ambitious, and focused, as the school 鈥渞equires a lot of time to study in order to pass the courses.鈥� They are often described as 鈥済enerally stressed and hardworking, but high-spirited,鈥� as well as 鈥渉ighly intelligent鈥�and helpful.鈥� Within this 鈥渟mall but complex community,鈥� many students work part-time while in school, and it is generally understood that 鈥渟choolwork is valued over social interaction.鈥� As one student describes, 鈥淭he level students are at, and their work ethic makes you feel like the people here are destined for success.鈥� It鈥檚 a community where 鈥渁lmost everyone is pretty friendly,鈥� and most students lean 鈥渟ocially and politically left.鈥� It鈥檚 a place where niche interests thrive and 鈥渆veryone has their own thing that makes them tick.鈥� Students at Cooper Union delve deeply into their interests and excel in their field by 鈥渄oing extra activities that they don鈥檛 need to鈥� purely for their innate 鈥渃uriosity and fun.鈥�

Cooper Union is located in the heart of the East Village, a busy and buzzing metropolitan area that provides students 鈥渁mple opportunity to explore New York City鈥� and its 鈥渁bundance of鈥�places of interest.鈥� There are well-used meeting areas on campus 鈥渇or both group study and recreational uses鈥� and clubs and organizations offering a variety of events from 鈥淧aint and Chill Night鈥� to runs around the city organized by the Cooper Union Track Club. In general, it鈥檚 a small campus, which is great in that students are 鈥渁lways near each other, ready to chat and grab a coffee for a little break.鈥� On the other hand, limited on-campus food services push students to visit local city restaurants or to use residence hall stovetops 鈥渢o cook their own food when time permits.鈥� This isn鈥檛 a bother for students, who say that 鈥渓ife is packed鈥� and say they often head to a bar on weekends, hit the gym, or play sports or video games as 鈥渟tress-management mechanisms.鈥� And in a nod to the city鈥檚 location, location, location, 鈥渁s a means to decompress, a stroll through the streets of New York City is always beneficial鈥攖he city is our campus.鈥�

The Center for Career Development encourages 鈥渟elf-accountability, initiative, and autonomy鈥� in all students as they transition to a professional practice. With that in mind, the center offers ample resources to help students find their way, like workshops on portfolio development, self-assessment worksheets, and career counseling tailored to each school. Other center resources include the Cooper Career Connection, the channel that informs students about all career-related events, programs, and forums. The center鈥檚 Professional Internship Program for art students formalizes experiential learning and provides an hourly wage for select internships that would otherwise be unpaid, and the Engineering Alumni-Student Career Mentoring Program pairs engineering students with alumni mentors for one year. The CU@Lunch program also brings alums into the fold, allowing recent grads to 鈥渟peak about the vital issues they face following graduation,鈥� and the semi-annual Mock Interview Night lets students practice interviewing with alums and get feedback. Those graduates who visited PayScale.com report a median starting salary of $81,500.