For more detailed information about our course offerings, requirements, faculty, and more, please visit our homepage.

The InterArts Program at Trinity College is an innovative, multidisciplinary program designed for a select group of outstanding students who share an interest in, and a passion for, the arts. A non-major program for students who may be considering a major in the arts as well as for those who plan to major in other fields, InterArts offers exceptional opportunities to study—and practice—art. Students in the Program are challenged to explore a great range of human creativity in a series of seminars that delve into intriguing questions: what purpose—if any—does art serve? are artists responsible to society? what role do issues of race, gender, and class play in making and understanding art? what are the fundamental sources of artistic creation? Other courses in the Program provide exciting opportunities to hone artistic skills and to discover new art forms and perhaps unexpected talents.

The arts are a vibrant and vital part of Trinity. The InterArts Program reflects Trinity’s belief that a program in the arts and a broad, coherent, liberal arts education are mutually enriching. According to Douglas Johnson, associate professor of music and a composer, "Training in the arts in a liberal arts environment opens up the creative process itself. Take a risk! Draw a line! Write down the first notes of a piece! Those are the real moments of truth. It’s the experience of taking risks that’s at the heart of the academic experience." And the analytical skills that students develop in the InterArts Program seminars are absolutely fundamental to a quality liberal arts education.

The InterArts program provides a special curriculum enabling first- and second-year students to study, practice, and discuss art in an arts-rich environment. Trinity’s campus is itself a flourishing resource for all the arts—state-of-the-art photography labs, a student-managed art gallery for student and faculty work, culture- and genre-spanning musical performances (including a jazz band, a salsa band, a chamber ensemble), a cutting-edge electronic media studio, a four hundred-seat proscenium stage and a black box theater, student playwriting program with monthly laboratory performances, and much more. Trinity’s location in Hartford and the College’s many working partnerships with the City’s cultural institutions enable the InterArts Program to draw on the extensive artistic treasures of Hartford—the Wadsworth Atheneum (America’s oldest public art museum), the Connecticut Opera, the Hartford Symphony, the Hartford Ballet, Hartford Stage, Real Art Ways, and the City’s many smaller venues for art, music, dance, film, and theater. This wealth of artistic resources provides students ample opportunities to observe, perform, and study many arts and to meet and learn from practicing artists in a wide array of art forms.

Students in the InterArts Program work especially closely with professors of creative writing, music, studio arts, and theater and dance; faculty from other disciplines and departments (for example, philosophy, psychology, religion, or sociology) also teach the Program’s seminars. Guest artists—from Trinity, Hartford, and beyond—participate in the Program as teachers, mentors, and models of artistic practices.

The Program

The InterArts Program is intended for students who have chosen their particular artistic practice and those who wish to explore their interests in other art forms. Designed to be completed during the first two years of a student’s education at Trinity, the Program complements whatever major or course of study the student might be pursuing within or outside the arts. The Program comprises less than half of the student’s total course load during these first two years.

The Curriculum

The InterArts Program features three common seminars (to be taken in succession during the student’s first three semesters), an artists’ colloquium (to be participated in during the second and third semesters), three arts-practice courses, of the student’s own choosing, drawn from at least two art disciplines (to be taken before the student’s fourth semester in the Program), and a concluding arts practicum.

InterArts Seminars

Fall Semester, first year
IART 101. The Artist and Society
Who creates art? For what purposes? Under what circumstances? These are some of the questions that guide a discussion of the role of the artist in various cultural, social, and political situations. By considering the relationship between artist and community in a variety of contexts, this seminar explores the ways in which artists shape and, at the same time, are shaped by specific cultural and historical forces. Topics could include: the artist as cultural emissary; the artist as outsider; the artist as visionary; and the artist as social activist.

Spring semester, first year
IART 102. Art and Ideas
This seminar examines the intersection of specific arts practices and key ideas in modern culture drawn from philosophy, science, religion, politics, and psychology: for example, the rise of psychoanalysis and its relation to early 20th-century avant-garde art; the influence of Eastern philosophies and art forms on modernist art and literature; analyses of art by major figures in the history of philosophy; and the influence of postmodernism on art theory and art practice.

Fall semester, second year
IART 201. Art, Identity, and Community
An exploration of the ways in which various social identities—ethnic, gendered, racial, sexual—are constructed and expressed through specific arts practices. This discussion of art as a socially transformative process includes cross-cultural examples of art as celebration, art as resistance, and art as a means of "giving voice" to both individual and communal assertions of identity.

IART 103. The Artists’ Colloquium

During the second and third semesters of the program, students participate in the Artists’ Colloquium, an opportunity to take part in workshops with Trinity arts faculty as well as with community-based-artists. The Colloquium also features discussions of local arts events attended as part of the Program’s curriculum, special presentations (by both students and faculty), and involvement in College-wide cocurricular projects.

Arts Practice Courses
Students choose three courses in the practice of art from: the Creative Writing Program of the English Department, the Music Department, the Studio Arts Program, or the Theater and Dance Department. Two of these courses must be taken from a single arts discipline (for example, painting, fiction-writing, theatrical performance, musical composition). Students in the Program should take these courses before enrolling in IA 1011, the Arts Practicum.

IART 202. Arts Practicum

Spring semester, second year
In the Arts Practicum, students explore the links between theory and practice by engaging in their own art-making process in preparation for a public presentation. At the same time, they investigate such questions as: what are the various methods and techniques of art-making? what is the nature of the artistic process? how do themes, ideas, and issues translate into artistic form? and how do artists negotiate between innovation and tradition? Students are encouraged to develop their imaginative and intellectual resources, experiment with various media, and call upon specific skills learned in their arts practice courses.

Questions & Answers

How do I become a candidate for admission to the InterArts Program?
Each year, applicants for admission to Trinity who are judged to have the necessary academic qualifications and potential interest in studying and practicing the arts are invited to become candidates for enrollment in the InterArts Program. If you receive such an invitation and wish to be considered for possible participation in the Program, send written notice of your interest to the director of the InterArts Program, Professor Katharine Power, by the end of March. Other applicants to the College who find the Program appealing are encouraged to seek admission to it as well. Inquiries should be sent to the Director of the InterArts Program (postal mail: Professor Katharine Power, Director, InterArts Program, Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106; e-mail: katharine.power@trincoll.edu).

What are the qualities the InterArts Program looks for in participating students?
The Program is designed for highly motivated, creative, and engaged students who are eager to experience and practice art and to read, think, and talk about art; students who are enthusiastic about exploring art outside the traditional boundaries customarily separating the various arts.

If I express interest in InterArts, what happens then?
If the Admissions Office makes a favorable decision on your application to Trinity, the InterArts Steering Committee (composed of faculty who teach in the Program and chaired by Professor Power) will then review your artistic and academic qualifications and determine whether to admit you to InterArts. If you are accepted into the Program, you will be so notified by mid-April and given until the end of the month to decide whether you intend to enroll in it.

Since there is room in InterArts for only about 15 students in each entering class, it is not always possible to accommodate all admitted students who wish to participate in the Program. When the number of candidates exceeds the number of places, preference is given to those students the Steering Committee judges to have the strongest aptitude and creative drive.

Will my chances of gaining admission to Trinity be affected by my decision about InterArts?
No. Admissions decisions are made independently of any InterArts considerations. If you are invited to become a candidate for the Program but choose not to do so, that decision will not adversely affect your prospects of being admitted to the College. Nor will your chances of gaining admission be strengthened because you have expressed interest in InterArts.

I am not sure whether I will major in the arts. May I complete InterArts and then major in a non-art area?
Yes, you may. The Program is specifically designed to allow this. The participation of students with a strong interest in the arts who have interests in non-arts fields strengthens the Program by adding different points of view to the discussions. For students interested in the arts, the InterArts Program will help in the selection of a major by providing a greater understanding of all areas of art and art practices.

If I both major in an arts field and participate in the InterArts Program, will my schedule be too concentrated in the arts?
No. While the InterArts Program requires you to take several courses in the arts, the three Arts Practice Courses are already required or recommended for the various arts majors. Thus, the total number of additional courses you take in the arts is not greatly increased. Furthermore, we believe these additional courses provide a better understanding of the way in which art is connected to other disciplines. This enriches your experience in the courses you take in other areas of the arts, humanities, and sciences.

Will participation in the InterArts Program limit my choice of major?
No. The Program is designed to be compatible with every major offered at Trinity, including those in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences, as well as those in the arts.

I plan to take a sizable number of courses related to my major during the first two years. Can I still participate in InterArts?
Yes. During the freshman and sophomore years students typically enroll in a total of 17 to 19 courses. Since InterArts consists of only nine courses (totaling eight course credits), students have ample opportunity to explore other subjects in those years.

Is the InterArts Program a major?
No. The Program complements the curriculum in any arts major and provides students interested in other majors a broad understanding of the arts.

Who will be my faculty adviser if I participate in the InterArts Program?
Since students in InterArts ordinarily do not take a first-year seminar, they have as their freshman-sophomore adviser one of the faculty members in the Program or the Program’s director.

Will it be possible for me to study abroad if I choose to enroll in the InterArts Program?
Yes. In fact, study abroad, by exposing you to the art and culture of other nations and peoples, will broaden and deepen your understanding of art.

If I am invited to participate in the InterArts Program and one of Trinity’s other special programs for selected entering students (The Guided Studies Program: European Civilization, The Cities Program, and the Interdisciplinary Science Program), can I enroll in both?
No. It is not feasible to participate in more than one such program. If faced with a choice, select the program that you think comes closest to your particular academic interests.

What happens if I decide to drop out of the InterArts Program before completing it?
Students may withdraw from the Program at the end of any semester and will receive full academic credit for those InterArts courses they have successfully completed up to that time.

If I am admitted to the InterArts Program does that mean that I will be entitled to remain in it until completion?
No. The Program Steering Committee maintains standards of satisfactory progress; students failing to work up to those standards may be asked to withdraw from the Program, typically at the end of the first year.

What recognition is accorded students who participate in the InterArts Program?
The fact that a student has successfully completed the InterArts sequence will be noted on his or her permanent academic record (i.e., transcript).

A congenial home for student-artists

The InterArts Program adds further depth and range to the exciting and innovative art programs at Trinity. According to Drew A. Hyland, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Philosophy and an instructor in InterArts, "Talented student-artists will find a congenial home at Trinity because the College so clearly recognizes the intellectual strengths of creativity, sensitivity, and thoughtfulness and affirms them as important intellectual contributions." To find out more, please contact the director of the Program.