Three Year Degree Option

Trinity offers qualified students a three-year degree option, with free summer tuition for most courses. Students in many majors who choose this option can complete their degree in three years. Most summer courses are offered at no additional tuition cost to qualified students (see below). This represents significant savings in that the student pays for only three years of tuition (i.e., instead of four) and is able to be employed or engaged in graduate study in the fourth year.

To qualify for tuition-free May term face-to-face and summer online courses, the student must meet all of the following conditions:

  1. composite ACT score of 20 or higher (or the SAT equivalent)1
  2. full-time enrollment at Trinity in the two semesters immediately preceding the summer study (i.e., fall/spring)
  3. cumulative Trinity College GPA of 3.0 or higher at the end of the preceding fall semester
  4. enrollment in further undergraduate coursework at Trinity in the (fall) semester immediately following the summer in question (unless graduating)
  5. declare as a three-year student by the end of freshman year
  6. earn at least 40 credits by the end of year 1 summer, and at least 80 credits by the end of year 2 summer, in order to remain in the three-year option and be eligible for tuition remission.
  7. enter Trinity College as a freshman; the three-year option is only available to first-time freshmen who wish to accelerate their degree program. Freshmen may bring in college credit earned in high school (dual credit, dual enrollment), Advanced Placement credit, or College Level Examination Program (CLEP) scores.

Those who meet these qualifications will receive a 100% tuition rebate for up to 12 credits of coursework (four 3-credit-hour courses) in the intervening summer, in any combination of the following:

  • one May term course and/or
  • up to two online courses in each of the two summer online terms. [A per-course technology fee will be assessed for each online course; the tuition rebate does not cover this fee.]

Students in the 5-year BA/MDiv ADVANCE program/major are considered three-year students, as their program is accelerated and predicated on completing the BA in three years or less. When students declare that major, they will also be marked as three-year students. They will need to meet all requirements as outlined above.

Note: Guided studies, independent studies, and internships are not included in the summer tuition rebate.  BE 476X/PH 476X and BE 477X/PH 477X, associated with The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity’s annual summer conference, provide a unique opportunity for students to interact with internationally recognized professionals in their field and receive academic credit; these courses also are not included in the summer tuition rebate.