Trinity College

trinity college major

Trinity College Degree Programs

Trinity College appears in our ranking of 50 Great Value Colleges for Urban Studies.

Undergraduates at Trinity College have a variety of programs from which to choose, including certificates and minors. The degrees at Trinity College are organized into five schools: Arts, Humanities, Natural and Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Special Academic Programs.

The Special Academic Programs offer nontraditional looks at diverse subjects. For example, the Cities Program allows students to expand their liberal arts experiences through the study of cities from Ur to modern New York. These special programs are not degree programs in and of themselves. Neither are they minors. Rather, they are additions to existing programs.

In the Humanities, students may select from among many liberal-arts degrees, such as African Studies, American Studies, and Architecture. While studying, they may minor in the Ancient Greek language or Asian Studies, among others.

When it comes to the Social Sciences, Anthropology, Caribbean Studies, and Cognitive Science beckon to students. All classes at Trinity College have a liberal-arts focus, and the college stresses a broad understanding of subject matter.

Graduate students, however, only have three degrees that they may pursue: American Studies, Public Policy, and English. Those students who wish to pursue combined degrees and get their bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the same time can do so in either Neuroscience or American Studies.

The bachelor’s programs at Trinity College all encompass roughly 120 credit hours while the master’s degrees include roughly 35 credits. The combined degrees are designed to be completed in five years instead of four.

About Trinity College

Trinity College was founded in 1823 as an alternative to Yale University. It was the first Episcopalian college in the United States. Despite the fact that the first classes took place in a church basement, it is nonsectarian. As a liberal-arts college, the focus has always been on a well-rounded education that fosters critical thinking.

The college has a sister college in Rome, and Trinity College also helps manage a Spanish university with six other institutions. The college was for men only until 1969, and the 50-year anniversary of being a co-educational college is being celebrated in 2019.

Among National Liberal-Arts Colleges, Trinity College ranks No. 46 in U.S. News and World Report‘s list. It is also No. 38 on the list of “Best Value Schools.” About 2,000 students attend Trinity College, and the student-to-faculty ratio is just 9-to-1. The college is quite selective and only admits one in three students who apply. Fully three-quarters of the classes at Trinity College have fewer than 20 students in them, which contributes to the school’s renown at providing individual attention.

Trinity College Accreditation Details

Trinity College holds regional accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education. The school’s engineering department has earned academic accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc.

Trinity College Application Requirements

Incoming freshmen must have completed the following in high school:

  • Four years of English
  • Three years of the same foreign language
  • Two years of laboratory science
  • Two years of algebra
  • Two years of history
  • One year of geometry

Two teacher evaluations are required. These evaluations must come from teachers who have taught students during the final two years of their high-school careers. One essay is required, and students may also select the option to do a second essay. Trinity College is test-optional, and students who do decide to take the SAT, ACT, or both should have the applicable company or companies send Trinity College their results.

Graduate students must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university. Each of the four graduate departments has its own requirements regarding letters of recommendation, resumes, and the like. Students should contact the appropriate department to find out about those requirements and any testing requirements, such as the Graduate Record Examinations, Miller Analogies Test, or Graduate Management Admission Test.

In all cases, all applicable official transcripts must also be sent by all schools the student has attended in the past.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Undergraduate tuition at Trinity College is $56,380 annually. The general fee is $2,240. The student activity fee is $340, and the standard room rate is $9,960 annually. The 19-point meal plan, which is mandatory for all freshmen, is $5,340. All in all, the cost, including books, incidentals, and travel, is roughly $75,000 annually. Graduate students pay $2,850 per credit hour. Veterans get a reduced rate, and all veteran students should contact the Bursar’s Office for details.

Students may also study abroad, and the costs are varied. Most overseas destinations associated with Trinity College cost about $35,000 for the year abroad. Interested students should check the website.

Everyone who attends Trinity College can apply for need-based financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA outlines all of a student’s income and assets and also includes the income and assets of the student’s parents. Students may also apply for private financial aid, but any private awards count as assets on the FAFSA.

Need-based aid takes three forms: loans, scholarships, and grants, which include work-study. Most students receive a combination of these awards toward their tuition. When it comes to loans, there are two kinds: subsidized and unsubsidized. Need-based loans are subsidized, which means that the government picks up the interest tab while the student is enrolled. Unsubsidized loans accrue not only interest on the principal but also on the generated interest.

Most private loans are unsubsidized. Also, many private scholarships and grants come with stringent academic requirements. Students who fail to meet those requirements, in some cases, might lose the award or have to repay the already awarded money as an unsubsidized loan. To find out more, students should contact the Office of Financial Aid at Trinity College.

Trinity College has provided a viable alternative to Yale University for nearly 200 years. Its broad focus and commitment to critical thinking, individuality, and diversity position it quite favorably for its next 200 years and beyond.