Degree Requirements

Policy

Within Trinity College, two options exist for completing the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree: Program I and Program II. You will complete Program I if you declare one of the officially recognized majors offered in Trinity College. Program II offers you the option to design your own curriculum.

Program I

Program I requirements have as their goal to insure that each student who graduates with a bachelor's degree from Trinity College experiences a program of study that is both broad and deep. The general education requirements provide breadth, while the major ensures depth of engagement with a particular field of academic study. In addition, the requirements of Program I ensure that students take course work in a variety of Areas of Knowledge and are exposed to various Modes of Inquiry.

Graduation Requirements of Program I:

A total of at least 34.0 course credits
General education requirements
- Two courses in each of five Areas of Knowledge¹
- Two courses in each of the following four Modes of Inquiry:
  Cross-Cultural Inquiry, Ethical Inquiry, Research², and
  Science, Technology, and Society
- In the other two Modes of Inquiry:
  Three courses in Writing (includes Writing 20, below) and
  one to three courses in Foreign Language, depending on level of proficiency.
- Writing 20 in the first year
- One seminar (coded "S") in the first year
- Two Small-Group Learning Experiences (seminars, tutorials, thesis course, or independent study) completed after the first year of enrollment
One major

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¹ If you matriculated before May 2004 you must either satisfy the QID Mode requirement (including one M-coded course) or the QS Area of Knowledge, as students do who matriculated after May 2004. If you choose the second option, you may only use QS-coded courses you take after May 2004 to fulfill the QS requirement.
² If you matriculated in Fall 2001, you must complete only one Research course.

Program II

Program II requirements also ensure academic breadth and depth, though not necessarily in the same ways that those of Program I do. Program II provides you the option to work with one or more faculty members to design an individualized program of study that reflects your special academic interests and talents. Your Program II must be pre-approved by the Program II Committee of the Arts & Sciences Council.

Graduation Requirements of Program II:

A total of at least 34.0 course credits
General education requirements – generally the same as those of Program I but can be modified so long as breadth is maintained
Writing 20 in the first year
one seminar (coded "S") in the first year
The stated requirements of the approved Program II

See Program II for additional information.