Trinity College (Connecticut)

Trinity College (Connecticut), private, coeducational institution in Hartford, Connecticut. Trinity College is the second oldest college in Connecticut after Yale University in New Haven. The school was established in 1823 as a male-only institution, named Washington College. The school changed its name to Trinity College in 1845. During most of the 19th century the institution had close ties with the Episcopal Church and offered courses in philosophy, oratory, the sciences, Greek, and Latin. In 1872 the college sold its campus to the city of Hartford, which used the site for construction of a new state capitol building.

In 1878 Trinity moved to its present location, a campus designed by British architect William Burges. Modeled after campuses at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, the Trinity campus was the first in the United States to be built in collegiate Gothic style (see Gothic Art and Architecture). In the late 1800s the school gradually loosened its ties to the Episcopal Church.

Enrollment declined after the turn of the century, in part because of an incident in 1899 in which the entire sophomore class was suspended because of its hazing of freshmen (hazing is a process of initiation whereby initiates are forced to perform humiliating rituals). In 1929, after a period of decline, the college began an effort to raise standards and increase enrollment. In 1936 enrollment topped 500 for the first time. The college became coeducational in 1968. Currently women and men comprise roughly equal percentages of the student body.

Trinity College confers bachelor’s and master’s degrees. It offers a liberal arts curriculum, with programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, economics, education, and engineering. The college’s Watkinson Library includes special collections, such as the Ostram Enders Ornithology Collection and the Mark Twain Memorial, a collection featuring much of the correspondence of American writer Mark Twain. The school encourages international education and maintains a small branch campus in Rome, Italy.