Commencement

The Cooper Union’s 165th Commencement will take place on Thursday, May 28, 2026, honoring our 2026 graduates. The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. in our historic Great Hall, located in the Foundation Building, 7 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003. The program will also be livestreamed for public viewing at youtube.com/cooperunion.

For additional details, please click on the Frequently Asked Questions link on the sidebar. 

More details and information will 

be added here and on the Frequently Asked Questions site 

as final preparations are made to celebrate 

the graduating class of 2026!

Continue to check back for updates & more information!

  • 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.