The Cooper Union to Charge Tuition

Since Peter Cooper founded The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 1859, the school has given a full-tuition scholarship for students. With the rising costs of secondary education, The Cooper Union has been one of the few places where architecture students can receive a degree without the burden of tens of thousands of dollars of debt after graduation.

Yet severe financial strain has led the school to drop its full scholarship for undergraduate students*, starting in Fall 2014, five years after the construction of the $111 million building at 41 Cooper Square designed by Thom Mayne. The scholarship is being cut to 50%, meaning students will pay up to $20,000 per year, with those in need receiving additional scholarships. The Board of Trustees' announcement comes 18 months after the school first indicated it was considering a change to its long-held "free as air and water" policy, what is certainly its main defining characteristic.

In a statement to Architectural Record, Cooper Union alumnus Alexander Gorlin described the decision as "a sad day and especially ironic at a time when the gap between rich and poor has never been wider. ... As an alumnus of Cooper Union I am ashamed and embarrassed."