Trinity College

Table of Contents

Tours

  1. Admissions Self-Guided Tour

    Welcome to Trinity College located in Hartford, CT.

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    1. Admissions and Financial Aid Office

      Admissions and Financial Aid, and Bantam Network Offices

      Welcome to Trinity College, located in Hartford, Connecticut! Trinity was founded in 1823 as Washington College and is the second oldest college in Connecticut. This tour will show you various paths to involvement as a student both on campus and in the vibrant city of Hartford.

      Your first stop when visiting campus will be the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices located in the Manuel and María Luisa Lopes Borges Admissions Center thanks to a generous gift by the Borges Family (former Connecticut State Treasurer Francisco L. Borges is Class of ’74).

      Admissions: Our admissions counselors and staff are here to help you along your college search journey and help you identify whether Trinity is the right fit for you. The team can answer any questions you may have about specific characteristics of the school, academic programs, co-curricular activities, class size, location, and more. 

      Meet our Admissions Team

      Financial Aid 

      We know that financing college can greatly influence your decision on which school is the right fit for you. At Trinity, we are among a select group of schools in the United States that meet the full demonstrated need for all students that we admit. We are committed to making sure that finances aren’t a barrier to you starting your college education with us.

      We hope that after taking this tour you will connect—whether through email, virtual conferences, or a phone call—with one of our admissions or financial aid staff members.   

      Bantam Network
      A first-year mentoring program designed to connect students to individuals and resources that would deepen their college experience and ease their transition to college life.
       
      The Network consists of 5 Nest pairings, each named after the College’s traditions and historical legacies. Supporting each Nest is a team composed of Deans, Faculty Mentors, a TRINsition Fellow (a recent liberal arts college graduate), upper-year student Peer Mentors, Career Development Mentors, and Wellness Mentors.
    2. Smith House

      Smith House 

      This Victorian style guest house is Trinity’s on-campus bed and breakfast. The Smith House is available to host parents, alumni, trustees, and Trinity guests overnight. 

      It is also the site of countless guest speeches and lectures throughout the school year. 
       
      Room reservations may be made Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. via smithhouse@trincoll.edu.  
       
      *During the winter and summer breaks, guest rooms are available Sunday-Thursday evenings. The house is closed on Friday and Saturday. 

    3. President’s House

      The President’s House 

      The President's house located on campus is currently occupied by Trinity's President, President Joanne Berger-Sweeney
       
      Joanne Berger-Sweeney was inaugurated as the 22nd president of Trinity College on October 26, 2014. She is Trinity’s first female and first African American president. President Berger-Sweeney holds a Ph.D. in neurotoxicology and occasionally teaches a course in the neuroscience department.

      Since becoming president, she has completed the College’s strategic plan, Summit, which has guided Trinity toward its bicentennial in 2023 and beyond, created the Bantam Network mentoring program for first-year students; launched the Campaign for Community, a campus initiative promoting inclusiveness and respect; and established the Trinity Innovation Hub in downtown Hartford. 

    4. Trinity College Chapel

      Trinity College Chapel 

      An architectural icon at the heart of our campus, the Trinity College Chapel honors traditions as old as the College itself while supporting a wide array of current spiritual and intellectual endeavors. 
      Chapel History 

      The Chapel serves as a vital center for worship, music, student life, academic programs, community programs, and College convocations. Our multi-faith team of professional staff offers resources and care to all. 
       
      No matter your religious affiliation, you will be able to pursue your religious and/or cultural interests on Trinity's campus. The chapel offers weekly Episcopalian and Roman Catholic services, Jewish Services are offered at the Hillel House, Muslim services are available in the House of Peace, and Zen and Buddhist meditation occur in the Chapel's crypts. 

    5. The Long Walk and Quad

      The Long Walk and Quad 

      The Long Walk Buildings, a combination of residence halls and academic facilities, are Trinity’s oldest buildings and they are one of America’s earliest examples of Collegiate Gothic architecture.  

      Adjacent to the Long Walk is the Main Quad. This is where every student begins and completes their time on campus. First-year students are welcomed to the community here during the President’s Convocation, and seniors graduate here during Commencement. Throughout the year you will see students studying, meeting friends, and relaxing under the elm trees that inspired Trinity’s alma mater, ‘Neath the Elms'. 

      Highlights

      President’s Office
      President Berger-Sweeney has open office hours throughout the semester and is a well-connected presence to our students. 

      Jarvis Hall

      Residence hall that you can live in starting sophomore year, still has its original fireplaces (they are now non-functional).

      Main Quad

      The perfect place to relax in between classes, get homework done, hang out with friends. The trees have been planted to form a “T” that can be seen from an aerial view. Our wireless campus allows access to the internet outdoors. You can surf the web, do homework, even take your finals depending on the course.

      Statue of Bishop Brownell

      Trinity was originally located on the site of the present state Capitol Building (the building with the big gold dome on Capitol Ave). The campus moved to its current location in 1872. The statue of Trinity’s founder and first President, Bishop Thomas Church Brownell was moved here from the old campus.

      Luther-Roosevelt Stone

      Installed to commemorate the honorary degree presented to Theodore Roosevelt in 1918 during his Commencement address to Trinity College. Inscription translates roughly to “Let not the person equipped for war boast as equally as the person who has laid down his arms.”

      There is a tradition of not stepping on the plaque until graduation—if you step on it before then, you will not graduate in four years. During graduation, the graduates will line up to officially step on it signifying the end of their journey.

      Seabury Hall

      Mostly classroom space. Seabury and Jarvis were the first brownstones built in 1878, using a Collegiate Gothic style. Average class size is 18 students, 9:1 faculty to student ratio. 95% of faculty hold a terminal degree in their field.

    6. Cinestudio

      Cinestudio 

      Cinestudio is the only independent, non-profit volunteer-run movie theater in the nation. It was founded by a group of Trinity students in 1970. 
       
      The theater has classic movie palace features like a gold screen-curtain and balcony, and it shows everything from blockbuster hits to foreign films to the annual Trinity Film Festival. All movies are shown at discounted prices for students and the public. 

    7. Hamlin Hall

      Hamlin Hall

      The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is comprised of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Queer Resource Center, and the Women and Gender Resource Action Center. They work collaboratively to ensure that all members of the Trinity College community feel included and have the resources and support they need to thrive. 
       
      The Office of Multicultural Affairs provides programming and resources that promote multicultural engagement and diversity among students, staff, and faculty. 
      Connect with the Diversity and Access Team (DAT) 
       
      The Women & Gender Resource Action Center (WGRAC) brings together individuals of diverse socio-economic backgrounds, cultural groups, and sexual and gender identities to increase awareness of women’s rights and gender inequalities across various intersecting identities. 
       
      The Queer Resource Center (QRC) serves as a welcoming and safe space for Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, and Queer students, faculty, and staff. Allies are also welcome.

    8. Mather Hall

      Mather Hall  

      Mather Hall is home to Trinity’s main dining hall, featuring options for 14 different food stations. 

      Mather also houses numerous offices and departments that serve student life and campus events, including the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement which oversees more than 150 student-run organizations. 

      Downstairs you’ll find the bookstore, a full-service post office, a stop-and-go dining option called The Cave, and one of two student-staffed coffee shops, The Underground Coffee House, which features cozy couches and dim lighting, poetry readings, and open mic nights. 

    9. First-year Corridor & Health Center

      First Year Corridor and Health Center 

      A large portion of first-year students are housed in this corridor. First-year Housing at Trinity comes in all varieties—traditional doubles, quads, singles, or two-room doubles—and each residence hall has its own character.

      The Bantam Network is the heart of the first-year experience at Trinity. Residence halls are grouped together into Nests, where you’ll get to know your peers in and out of the classroom and be supported by a strong network of mentors, staff, faculty, and peers.  
       
      The Health Center, located in the first-year corridor, is open 6 days a week and is staffed by nurse practitioners. A physician is on site several days a week and there is a nurse on call 24/7. Prescriptions can be delivered to the Health Center and over-the-counter medication is available. In cases of emergency, Hartford Hospital is less than 2 blocks away. 

       

    10. Life Sciences Center (LSC) Quad

      Life Sciences Center (LSC) Quad 

      The Life Sciences Center Quad sits between The Albert C. Jacobs Life Sciences Center, The Roy Nutt Mathematics, Engineering, & Computer Science Center, several residential housing halls, and the McCook Academic Building which is home to many Public Policy and Law courses. During the warm weather you’ll find students grilling, testing out their drones, and relaxing between classes on this quad. 

      The Albert C. Jacobs Life Sciences Center is home to the departments of biologypsychology, and the interdisciplinary neuroscience program—which offers a B.A./M.A. option. It contains classrooms, an auditorium, teaching labs, research labs, and a greenhouse. 
       
      The Roy Nutt Mathematics, Engineering & Computer Science Center (MECC) is designed to resemble the periodic table of elements from the side, and a microchip from the sky. It is home to the engineeringmath, and computer science departments, as well as the Aetna Quantitative Center.       
       
      Trinity is one of only a handful of liberal arts colleges with an ABET-accredited engineering program, and many students can conduct research as early as their first year. 

      The Trinity Tripod

      The official student newspaper of Trinity College has its offices at top of Jackson Hall. It was established in 1904 and has been published nearly continuously (only exception was during wartime) and serves as the student record of the College. The paper strives to give complete coverage of campus news and is the primary medium for the expression of student opinion and criticism.

       
      The Coop

      Trinity's on-campus student-organized and operated thrift store, you can find a lot of good deals on appliances and furniture, especially towards end of semester when people moving out.

    11. Crescent Community

      Crescent Community       

      The Crescent Townhouses are the newest housing option at Trinity and are available for Upperclassmen. The townhouses feature 8-9 single bedrooms, full kitchen, and washer/dryers. 
       
      In 2019, the townhouses adopted composting as part of Trinity's commitment to increasing sustainability efforts on campus.  
       
      Facilitated by Trinity's recreation department, the Crescent community also houses Trinity's spin studio. Group cycling classes are held weekly for students, faculty, and staff and are led by student instructors. 

    12. Crescent Center for Arts and Neuroscience

      Crescent Center for Arts and Neuroscience 

      The Crescent Center for Arts and Neuroscience is home to Trinity's Neuroscience Program. It includes labs and clinical research space; an arts and creativity wing with a digital media lab, film studies studio, performance lab and gallery space; and common space for socialization and collaboration. 

      Students in Trinity's Neuroscience Program, an interdisciplinary program that integrates biology, chemistry, philosophy, engineering, and psychology will get hands on experience with: 

      •    Autism spectrum disorder developmental laboratory 

      •    Brain explorations laboratory 

      •    Neuro-computation teaching laboratory 

      •    Neuroimaging suite with EEG and transcranial doppler equipment 

      •    Traumatic brain injury cognitive laboratory 

      •    Seminar room designed for small classes and meetings 

    13. Ferris Athletic Center

      Ferris Athletic Center 

      Trinity is a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Our 30 varsity teams compete at the Division III level, though men’s and women’s squash compete against teams from all divisions. The men’s squash team holds the record for the longest winning streak in collegiate sports history. 

      Ferris Athletic Center contains a swimming pool, rowing tanks, exercise and weight rooms, an indoor track and tennis courts, wrestling room, basketball courts, and a robust recreation and club sports program for everything from group fitness classes to rugby. Trinity’s boat house is nearby on the banks of the Connecticut River and other outdoor sports facilities are present on campus. 

    14. Gruss Music Center

      Gruss Music Center

      The Gruss Music Center serves as a space for musicians on campus to have a home-away-from-home. 

      The Gruss Music Center features a Music Hall with acoustical treatments to accommodate the teaching, rehearsal, and performance of all genres of music. Inside you’ll also find an electronic music lab, a state-of-the-art recording room and four music practice rooms, each with recording capabilities. 

    15. Austin Arts Center

      Austin Arts Center 

      Austin Arts Center is where you will find the Music and Theater and Dance Departments, Studio Arts teaching studios, and the Widener Gallery. 

      The Austin Arts Center also houses a large proscenium theater, a black box theater, and a recital hall.  

      Trinity Students engage in a wide range of arts opportunities, both through academic courses and extracurricular activities. You do not need to major in the arts to take a studio arts course, to perform in a play, a musical, a dance performance, a musical ensemble, or to gain skills in backstage theatrical work. 

    16. Raether Library and Information Technology Center

      Raether Library and Information Technology Center 

      The Raether Library and Information Technology Center features one of New England's largest collegiate libraries, with over 1,000,000 volumes online and in print and access to borrowing privileges at over 25 schools via the Boston Library Consortium. The library introduces first-year students to college-level research and connects them right away to research librarians who work with students one-on-one.

      The Watkinson Library, located inside Raether Center, is home to the repository of the College’s archives and the College’s rare book and special collections, which range from the fifteenth century to the present. 

      At Trinity’s Information Technology Services, also in this building, you can find help for all your computing and technology needs, including the Help Desk. 

      The Center for Educational Technology provides access to specialized software and equipment for creating multimedia digital projects and provides 3D printers and scanners for students and faculty to use. 

      Trinity’s Financial Research and Technology Center on the ground floor includes eleven Bloomberg terminals with Bloomberg Professional Service subscriptions to enable students in all majors to conduct financial and market data research. 

      Peter B’s Espresso, Trinity’s second on-campus coffee shop, is located on Level A. 

    17. Lower Long Walk

      Alumni Bricks

      Since 2018, the College honors the senior class by providing each graduate with an engraved brick to be installed on the Lower Long Walk. The inscribed bricks are meant to unite the class in celebration and symbolize the mark these students have made on Trinity before they go out and make their mark on the world. When they return to campus as alumni, these bricks will serve as a reminder of their many great memories and accomplishments from their time as Trinity students.

      Cannons

      Part of USS Hartford, Union Civil War Flagship. Donated by the state to commemorate Trinity students who served during the Civil War.

      Athletics
      • Facilities: Assaiante Tennis Center, Murren Family Field in DiBenedetto Stadium, Soccer Field, Softball Diamond, Sheppard Field, Jessee/Miller Football Field and Track, Friends of Trinity Rowing Boathouse (Located across the bridge in East Hartford), Koeppel Community Sports Center (Location of the ice hockey rink)
      • About 20% of Trinity students participate in varsity athletics. An additional 20% of our students participate in intercollegiate club or intramural sports. Nearly all our varsity teams are Division III and play within the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
    18. The Bistro

      The Bistro

      A third dining option on the north side of campus is The Bistro, Koeppel Student Center. Here you will find a smoothie bar, salad bar, grill, deli, and an Exhibition station with daily features including grilled salmon, chicken parmesen, steak, and other delightful meal options. 

      Pre-packaged sandwiches, snacks, and desserts are also available. 

    19. Hansen Hall

      About 90% of students live on campus, however those who don’t are well within walking distance/transport distance. You can apply to be approved to live off campus.

    20. Vernon Street and Downtown Hartford

      Trinity seeks to provide all students with a sense of belonging and community, and many find that community within the cultural and student-organized theme houses located on Vernon Street. 

      Cultural Houses

      AASA House
      Asian-American Students Association: promotes Asian and Asian-American cultures to increase awareness of the Asian/Asian-American identity. Hosts events in the house almost every other Friday to familiarize the student body with different Asian cultures and to create informed cultural awareness across campus

      Umoja House
      Imani and Trinity College Black Women’s Organization: was created to serve as a gathering space for students from underrepresented backgrounds, in particular those of African-American descent, and to foster intellectual connections and discussions amongst all Trinity students.

      La Eracra
      La Voz Latina: to increase the awareness of Latin American culture, politics and social issues in the Trinity community. It has a commitment with the Latino community of Hartford in bringing what they can offer to Trinity and its Latino students.

      Trinfo

      Internet café founded in 1999 years ago to give the Hartford Community access to technology. 12-15 students on staff

      Center for Hartford Engagement and Research (CHER)

      Liberal Arts Action Lab (LAAL)

      Hartford community partners propose semester-long research projects to pursue in collaboration with student and faculty teams from Trinity College and Capital Community College. Each semester, students apply to join Action Lab project teams and enroll in two courses to learn research skills and digital tools while collaborating with their partner organizations.

      Innovation Center

      13,000 square-foot Trinity Innovation Center overlooking Constitution Plaza across from Liberal Arts Action Lab. The Innovation Center houses programming for Trinity’s partnership with Infosys; a Digital Heath CT accelerator; as well as new innovation and entrepreneurship programming for our students.

      Campus Safety

      We are a Blue Light campus with Campus Safety emergency call boxes and emergency phones situated throughout campus. Officers patrol the campus and have an established presence.

      Zachs Hillel House

      Home base for Jewish life on campus, providing an inviting, comfortable environment for Jewish students to connect with their own Jewish identity and campus community.

      Counseling and Wellness Center

      Full range of counseling and psychological services to all students with personal and emotional difficulties. All services offered by the center are free, and all contact with members of the staff is privileged and confidential as provided by law.

      Greek Life

      22% of the student body participates. Trinity has a delayed rush policy until sophomore year.

      Also located on or near Vernon are the International House (IHouse), Charleston House of Interfaith Cooperation, the TREEhouse and the Mill

       

       

    21. Cornelia Center

      The Cornelia Center is among the first buildings on campus named for a woman, in honor of Cornelia Parsons Thornburgh Class of ’80, who served for 17 years on the Trinity College Board of Trustees.

      Home to Career & Life Design as well as the Office of International Students & Scholars and Retention Strategy & Transition Programs.

      Career & Life Design equips students and alumni with career readiness skills. Resources include funding for summer internships, hosting employer treks, offering a drop-in Career & Life Design Studio, organizing Career Community networking events, scheduling one-on-one coaching appointments, and more!
    22. English Department Building

      Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric 

      Across from the enrollment office is The Allan K. Smith Center for Writing and Rhetoric
       
      At the center, students take courses on Rhetoric, Writing, and Media Studies taught by rhetoric and composition faculty.  
       
      This building also houses the Writing Center, where tutors help students perfect their writing skills. The Writing Center is staffed by peer tutors of varying majors who participate in a 25-year-old Writing Associates Program.  The Writing Center offers both Online Appointments and eTutoring Appointments.

      • Online Appointment – outlining, essay development, brainstorming
      • eTutoring – sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, grammar
    23. Admissions

      Visit the Admissions website for more information about how to apply and follow us on Instagram!