Experiential certificates
As part of the Trinity Plus curriculum launched in 2021, the College introduced experiential certificates, which complement the core liberal arts experience with integrated courses and applied learning experiences that prepare students for their next steps after Trinity.
“Experiential certificates are all about connecting academic inquiry to professional aspiration,” said Mitchell A. Polin, associate dean for curriculum and professor of theater and dance. “They present an opportunity for students to practice ideas and not just examine them from a distance.”
With 30 experiential certificates now offered—and more being designed by faculty each year—students have the opportunity to pursue deeper, more hands-on studies in highly focused areas. “The faculty is dedicated to expanding ways for students to think about what comes after Trinity, especially in their senior year, and to explore the disciplinary areas about which they’re passionate and curious,” Polin said.
An experiential certificate is one way in which students may fulfill the new curriculum’s three “plus” credits beyond Trinity’s required 32 academic credits, with 35 needed for graduation. Each certificate consists of three credits, combining both academic and co-curricular credit-bearing experiences, with at least one credit from both categories. Co-curricular experiences include, but are not limited to, teaching assistantships, peer teaching and mentorships, internships, short-term global study, some unpaid research with a faculty member, paid summer research, and most January Term courses.
A completed certificate will be reflected on a student’s transcript, which Polin said will demonstrate to a potential graduate school or employer that the student has worked seriously on a focused topic. “It tells where a student’s passion lies and provides a deeper story of who they are and the work they pursued while at Trinity College,” he said.
“We’re not leaving behind critical ideas and questions that are happening in the classroom—we’re applying them outward, pushing against the edge of the classroom and into the world,” Polin said. “The hours students spend outside of the classroom matter, too. With these certificates, students continue learning through experiential activities.”
30 EXPERIENTIAL CERTIFICATES
Academic Leadership
Archaeological Fieldwork
Bioinstrumentation
Carceral Systems and Social Change
Clinical Neuroscience
Cybersecurity
Design Thinking
Digital Communication
Entrepreneurship
Ethnomusicology
Film Curation
Global Health and Human Ecology
Information Security
Innovation
Machine Learning
Medicine and Allied Health
Multidisciplinary Approaches to Climate Emergency
Multimedia Communications
Organ Performance
Private Governance
Research in Mathematics
Software Development
Subject Specific Writing
Tax Policy and Inequality
Technical Theater
Translation in Practice
Tutoring Academic Writing
Urban Engaged Learning
Using Second Language Skills in a STEM Context
Writing Pedagogy
For more information on Trinity’s experiential certificates, please visit The Center for Academic and Experiential Advising
