The Cooper Union is committed to the principle that an education in the liberal arts provides the ethical, social and humanistic framework crucial to personal development and professional excellence. Through their work in the humanities and social sciences, students gain a deeper understanding of the world in which they must live and act. They learn to think, to write and to speak clearly and effectively. Most significantly, an education in the liberal arts offers students the opportunity to become sensitive to the social and humanistic implications of their professional work and to acquire the basis for a satisfying cultural and intellectual life.

All students in the first two years take a core curriculum of required courses in the humanities and social sciences. In addition, the art and architecture curricula have specific requirements in art and architectural history. These are prerequisites to the elective offerings of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

During the third and fourth years, students have considerable latitude to explore the humanities and social sciences through elective courses to fulfill degree requirements.