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| Motto | E Tribus Unum (Latin) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | From Three, One |
| Type | Privateliberal arts college |
| Established | April 20, 1869 (1869-04-20) |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $2.00 billion (2025)[1] |
| President | Vanessa B. Beasley |
Academic staff | 288 (2024)[2] |
| Students | 2,633 (2024)[3] |
| Undergraduates | 2,490 (2024)[3] |
| Postgraduates | 143 (2024)[3] |
| Location | ,, United States |
| Campus | Urban, 125 acres (50.6 ha)[4] |
| Colors | Maroon & White[5] |
| Nickname | Tigers |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Website | trinity.edu |
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Trinity University is aprivateliberal arts college inSan Antonio, Texas. It was founded as acoeducational institution in 1869 byCumberland Presbyterians as the merger of three schools whose enrollment had dropped during theCivil War. Its first campus inTehuacana was built on 1,100 acres (450 ha) of land donated byJohn Boyd. The school moved its campus toWaxahachie in 1902, and finally,San Antonio in 1945.[6]
Trinity's 125-acre (51 ha) campus, built atop a former lime quarry, is located north of downtown San Antonio, between theMonte Vista Historic District to the west andOlmos Park to the north. Designed byO'Neil Ford, the campus has been designated aNational Historic Landmark District.[7] There are 288 faculty members, with astudent-to-faculty ratio of 8:1. As of 2024, the university had an enrollment of 2,490 undergraduate students and 143 graduate students.[8]
Following aliberal arts and sciences curriculum, Trinity University's four schools offer 57 majors, 63 minors, and 6 graduate programs.[2] The diverse student body represents 47U.S. states and 58 countries.[9] Students participate in over 100 student organizations, including the campus newspaper,Trinitonian, and the campus radio station,KRTU-FM. TheTrinity Tigers compete in theNCAA Division IIISouthern Athletic Association.[10]
Cumberland Presbyterians founded Trinity in 1869 inTehuacana, Texas, from the remnants of three small Cumberland Presbyterian colleges that had lost significant enrollment during theCivil War: Chapel Hill College founded in 1849, Ewing College founded in 1848, and Larissa College founded in 1855.[6]John Boyd, who had served in theCongress of the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1845 and in theTexas Senate from 1862 to 1863, donated 1,100 acres (450 ha) of land and financial assistance to establish the new university[11][12] TheTexas Hall building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Believing that the school needed the support of a larger community, the university moved in 1902 toWaxahachie, Texas. In 1906, the university, along with many Cumberland Presbyterian churches, affiliated with theUnited Presbyterian Church.
TheStock Market Crash of 1929 severely hindered the university's growth. Enrollment declined sharply, indebtedness and faculty attrition mounted, and trustees began using endowment funds to maintain daily operations. Consequently, theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Trinity's accreditation status on probation in 1936, jeopardizing its future. Once again, its leaders began to consider relocation to a larger community to improve the university's viability.
Meanwhile, in 1942, theMethodist-affiliatedUniversity of San Antonio was failing. San Antonio community leaders, who wished to maintain aProtestant-affiliated college in the city, approached Trinity with a relocation offer. The university left Waxahachie and took over the campus and alumni of the University of San Antonio. (The old Waxahachie campus is currently home toNelson University). For the next decade, the Woodlawn campus, on the city's near-west side, was Trinity's home while it developed a permanent home. Lacking adequate facilities, the university functioned by using militarybarracks andquonset huts to house students and to provide library and classroom space.[13]
In 1945, Trinity acquired a formerlimestonequarry for a new campus and hired TexasarchitectO'Neil Ford to design a master plan and many of the buildings. Construction began in 1950, and the current campus opened in 1952.
When it moved, the campus was largely undeveloped (one classroom building, one dorm, and a nearly empty library were the only completed buildings).[13] Under the leadership of James W. Laurie, the university's 14th president, Trinity took advantage of its new location in a rapidly growing major urban center to grow in academic stature. Laurie was responsible for drastically increasing Trinity's endowment, largely funded by theJames A. and Leta M. Chapman Charitable Trust ofTulsa, Oklahoma.[14][15] The stronger endowment allowed Trinity to construct a new, modern campus and increase the quality and range of its faculty while maintaining a high faculty to student ratio. In 1969, Trinity entered into a covenant agreement with the regionalsynod of thePresbyterian Church (USA) that affirmed historical connections but transformed Trinity into a private, independent university with a self-perpetuating board of trustees. The campus continues to be a "historically connected" member of theAssociation of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities.
Trinity's development continued under Ronald Calgaard, who followed Laurie's successor, Duncan Wimpress, in 1979. Under Calgaard, the university implemented a number of changes. These included its transformation into aresidential undergraduate school, the cutting the number of master's programs offered from more than 20 to 4, decreasing its student population from about 3,300 to 3,000 (and eventually to 2,700), increasingmerit scholarships, placing a focus on national student recruitment, and creating a series of speakers and cultural events open to the public.[16]
Calgaard's successor,John R. Brazil, focused on replacing outdated campus buildings and improving the school's financial resources. The "Campaign for Trinity University", which launched in September 2005, sought to raise US$200 million for a variety of purposes. At its conclusion on September 25, 2009, the campaign raised $205.9 million, surpassing the original goal.[17] Brazil served as Trinity's president through January 2010. Upon announcement of his retirement, the board of trustees awarded him its Distinguished Service Award, Trinity's most prestigious honor.[18]
Dennis A. Ahlburg served as president from January 2010 to January 2015.[19] During Ahlburg's presidency, Trinity developed and executed a strategic plan to shape the future of the university. Academically, Trinity refined its curriculum to further define a liberal arts education, developed an entrepreneurship program, and realigned the business program. Trinity also refocused its marketing to raise the university's national profile.[20] Finally, under Ahlburg, Trinity built the Center for Sciences and Innovation, which modernized and combined science facilities to ease collaboration across disciplines.[21]
Danny J. Anderson, a Latin American literature scholar and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at theUniversity of Kansas, succeeded Ahlburg as president in May 2015,[22] serving until May 31, 2022. During his tenure, improvements included the construction of Dicke Hall, home for Humanities studies; transformation of the Halsell Center into a modern learning environment, and creation of theMichael Neidorff School of Business, anAACSB-accredited undergraduate business school.[23] The school was named aNational Historic Landmark District during Anderson's tenure.[7] Anderson also implemented several initiatives aimed at increasing the school's inclusivity and by the end of his term 40% of Trinity's student body came from underrepresented backgrounds.
Vanessa Beasley, former vice provost for academic affairs, dean of residential faculty, and associate professor of communication studies atVanderbilt University was named Anderson's successor on May 31, 2022. Megan Mustain, provost and vice president for academic affairs, was interim president until Beasley began her tenure.[24] She is the first woman to lead Trinity and began her term at the beginning of the 2022–23 school year.
Trinity overlooksdowntown San Antonio and is adjacent to theMonte Vista Historic District and just south of the cities ofOlmos Park andAlamo Heights. The 125-acre (50.6 ha) Skyline Campus, the university's fourth location, is noted for its distinctive red-brick architecture and well-maintained grounds, modeled after an Italian village, by late architect O'Neil Ford.
The 166-foot (51 m) tall Murchison Tower is the most dominant landmark on the campus, designed, as many other buildings on campus, by O'Neil Ford, who also designed San Antonio landmark theTower of the Americas a few years later based on this design. It was previously the highest point in San Antonio. The tower is now lit at night (excepting evenings when the lighting interferes with on-campus astronomical observances), a tradition begun on September 22, 2002, to commemorate Trinity's 60th anniversary in San Antonio.
Laurie Auditorium seats 2,865 and hosts both campus and community events. The university has many lecture series, such as the Trinity Distinguished Lecture Series,[25] Stieren Arts Enrichment Series, Nobel Economists Lecture Series,[26] and Flora Cameron Lecture on Politics and Public Affairs.
The 164,000-square-foot (15,200 m2) Elizabeth Huth Coates Library houses more than 1 million books and bound periodical volumes. The library is home to over 200,000 volumes of government documents, over 1.3 million microforms, over 65,000 media items, and maintains 2,400 periodical subscriptions and access to over 20,000 electronic periodicals. The library's annual acquisition budget is over US$1.8 million.[27]
In 2006, the Ruth Taylor Fine Arts Center, consisting of the Jim and Janet Dicke Art Building, the Campbell and Eloise Smith Music Building, and the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall were substantially renovated under the guidance of Kell Muñoz Architects, providing 20,000 additional square feet of space. The building subsequently won a merit award for design from the City of San Antonio in 2008.[28]
The Center for Sciences and Innovation (CSI),[29] completed in 2014, modernized the university's science, engineering, and laboratory facilities and helped ease collaboration across disciplines. The center sits on the former site of theWilliam L. Moody Jr., Engineering Building.[30] Renovations to connect existing buildings allow for a 300,000 square-foot science facility. The complex, certified LEED Gold, features a rooftop observatory, a living "green" roof and rooftop greenhouse, and an open-air innovation and design studio. The new building helped Trinity earn a top-five ranking in thePrinceton Review for best science lab facilities.[31]
The Margarite B. Parker Chapel seats six hundred and is known for its large Hofmann-Ballardpipe organ, the largest pipe organ in South Texas,[32] comprising 5 divisions, 102stops, 112 ranks, and over 6,000 pipes. A state-of-the-art four-manual console was installed in summer 2007, with the aid of the university's Calvert Trust Fund.[33] Non-denominational services are led by the campus chaplain Sunday evenings.
In the fall 2022, Trinity opened its latest building, Dicke Hall, which houses the Humanities Collective, the English Department, and the Religion Department. The building is 3 stories with 40,000 square feet, 6 classrooms, and 1 lecture hall. It was designed by the San Antonio architectural firmLake Flato Architects using a mass-timber structural system also known asEngineered wood.[34]
Miller Residence Hall,[35] home to first-year students at Trinity University, was renovated and updated in 2010, earning goldLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by theU.S. Green Building Council in the process. In addition, Calvert Hall, the Thomas-Lightner complex, and The Center for the Sciences and Innovation[36] have been registered with the Green Building Council's LEED program and are awaiting certification.[37] Trinity is a member of thePresidents' Climate Commitment and is actively working towardcarbon neutrality.[38]
The university isclassified as a small, highly residential university with a majority of enrollments coming from undergraduate students. It is recognized as a Research College and University, having managed nearly $5.3 million on research and development in 2023.[39] The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is classified as "more selective, lower transfer-in" and has an arts and sciences focus with some graduate student coexistence.[40]
Trinity is accredited by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of thePhi Beta Kappa society. The Engineering Science program is accredited byABET, the Department of Business Administration is accredited byAACSB International, and the health care administration program is accredited byCAHME.
Full-time undergraduate tuition is $53,676 for the 2024–25 academic year; room and board are an additional $14,750.[41]
Trinity's four schools offer 47 majors and 59 minors in the traditionalliberal arts, business,sciences,fine arts, andengineering, and graduate programs inaccounting,teaching,school psychology,school administration, andhealth care administration[42] and is the only university in San Antonio to offer a minor increative writing.[43] Trinity has an 8:1 student/faculty ratio. The full-time faculty numbers 288, 98% of whom hold aPh.D. or other terminal degree in their field.[44] About 47% of the student body has studied abroad in over 35 countries.[45]
Within five years of graduation, 75% of students attend graduate school, with 39% of students doing so immediately after earning their bachelor's.[46]
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| Liberal arts | |
| U.S. News & World Report[47] | 37 |
| Washington Monthly[48] | 89 |
| National | |
| Forbes[49] | 82 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[50] | 164 |
Trinity University was ranked 37th in national liberal arts for 2025–2026 byU.S. News & World Report. The magazine also ranked Trinity 16th in most innovative schools, 33rd in best undergraduate engineering programs (at schools where doctorate not offered), and 51st in best undergraduate teaching programs.[2]
Forbes ranked Trinity 82nd nationally in its 2025-26 rankings of 500 colleges and universities. Trinity was also ranked No. 51 in private colleges and No. 19 in the South.[51]
The Princeton Review recognized Trinity in its 2025 edition ofThe Best 390 Colleges, its annual college guide, and has been featured in the guide since its first publication.[52]
In 2025, theMichael Neidorff School of Business was ranked the 27th Best Undergraduate Business School in the nation and 1st in Texas byPoets&Quants.[53]
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 12,506 | 11,425 | 11,463 | 9,626 | 9,394 | 9,864 | 8,654 | 7,663 | 7,255 | 5,563 |
| Admits | 3,241 | 3,217 | 3,497 | 3,246 | 3,158 | 2,860 | 2,956 | 2,946 | 2,950 | 2,672 |
| Admit rate | 26% | 28% | 31% | 34% | 34% | 29% | 34% | 38% | 41% | 48% |
| Enrolled | 650 | 659 | 655 | 663 | 634 | 646 | 690 | 642 | 662 | 602 |
| SAT range | 1300-1470 | 1290-1440 | 1340-1470 | 1300-1450 | 1263-1410 | 1290-1420 | 1260–1430 | 1230–1410 | 1160–1370 | 1160–1370 |
| ACT range | 30-34 | 29-33 | 30-34 | 29-33 | 28-32 | 29-32 | 28–32 | 27–32 | 27–31 | 27–32 |
Trinity's students come from 47 U.S. states and 58 countries.[2] Students of color account for 38.9% of undergraduate students.[2] 72% of the undergraduate student body is fromTexas; the next six states represented areCalifornia,Colorado,Louisiana,Arizona, andMissouri/Oregon.[2] The admissions office received 12,505 applications for the class of 2028 and accepted 26%.[2] Test scores for the enrolled class were 1360-1500 for theSAT and 31-34 for theACT.[2] Approximately 98% of the student body receives financial aid.[2]
Trinity hosts eighteen Greek organizations: eight fraternities and ten sororities.[55]U.S. News & World Report estimates that 14% of men and 19% of women were members, or about 17% of total undergraduate enrollment.[56]
On occasion, fraternities and sororities have been mired in conflict at Trinity. In 1991, theNew York Times reported that Trinity had revoked the charter of a fraternity as a result of being in violation of the university's alcohol use policy.[57] In 2012, two fraternities and two sororities had their charters temporarily revoked for hazing violations.[58] These violations were said to have taken place over many years.[59][60]
Trinity's radio station,KRTU-FM,[61] broadcastsjazz during the day, andindie rock overnight. TigerTV serves as the campus TV station. In addition to movies, the channel broadcasts three main shows: Newswave, Studio 21, and the Not So Late Show.The Trinitonian[62] has been the weekly campus newspaper for 103 years, and has a print circulation of 2,500.
Approximately 70% of students participate inintramural or club sports at Trinity University. The school offers intramural teams in Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Track and Field, and Volleyball for women, and Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, and Track and Field for men.[63]
In addition to group sports, Trinity'sOutdoor Recreation Club (OREC) runs outdoor trips for students throughout the year.[64]
The Trinity Tigers isthe nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University. They participate in theNCAA Division IIISouthern Athletic Association.[65]
In 1953, the Bengal Lancer fraternity sought to attain a live tiger as the school mascot. Members negotiated with theSan Antonio Zoo to house the tiger, and Lee Roy Pletz, a local builder, along with the support ofTom Slick, acquired and transported the tiger from California to San Antonio. Lee Roy the tiger (and later Queenie, his girlfriend tiger) would run laps around the football field after each touchdown. In 1962, the tiger died, and the school discontinued the use of a live tiger as a mascot.[66][67]
In November 2015, Trinity andAustin College announced they would affiliate with theSouthern Athletic Association for football in 2017. This alliance renewed a relationship that ended when the SAA schools split from the SCAC. As a result, the SCAC will no longer offer football as a sport.[10]
In 2023, Trinity University announced it would be moving all sports to theSouthern Athletic Association. Trinity completed the move in Fall 2025.[65]
Since theNACDA Directors' Cup inception in 1995, Trinity has finished in the top 10 on five occasions out of over 400Division Ill programs; it finished 31st in 2017–18.[68] Trinity also has won national championships in women'sbasketball (spring 2003) and men'ssoccer (fall 2003).
Trinity has historically had a strongtennis program. In 1963, Al G. Hill Jr, grandson of oilman H L Hunt, entered as a Freshman Tennis Player. When he graduated in 1967 as Tiger Captain, the College Tennis Courts were named after him. Under the tutelage of Coach Clarence Mabry, Trinity PlayerChuck McKinley won the Wimbledon Singles Championship in 1963 and was rated the #1 men's Singles Player in the World.[69] With partnerDennis Ralston, McKinley won the US Men's Doubles Championship in 1961, 1963, and 1964. McKinley and Ralston also played all of the matches while winning the Davis Cup for the US in 1963. All of these accomplishments occurred while McKinley was a Trinity undergraduate.
In 1970, as a freshman at Trinity,Brian Gottfried won theUSTA boys 18s Singles Championship, as well as the Doubles Championship withAlexander Mayer.[70] In 1972 Trinity won the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship.[71] The Tiger Captain that year,Dick Stockton, won the NCAA Men's Singles Championship. The Women's Team won theNCAA Collegiate Nationalchampionship in 1968, 1969, 1973, 1975, and 1976.[72] As recently as 2000, the men's and women's programs each won NCAA Division III National Championships.[73][74]
In the2007 Trinity v. Millsaps football game on October 27, 2007, trailing by two points with two seconds left, the Tigers used 15 laterals covering 60 yards for a touchdown to give Trinity the win as time expired.[75][76][77][78] The unlikely play was named the top sports moment of the year byTime Magazine[79] as well as the "Game Changing Performance of the Year" byPontiac.[80]
In May 2016, the Trinity Baseball Team won the Division III College World Series in a best-of-three format, beatingKeystone College 14–6 in game 1 and 10–7 in game 2. Trinity defeated the 2015 champion,SUNY Cortland twice in the bracket rounds of the tournament en route to the championship.[81]
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29°27′50″N98°28′55″W / 29.463794°N 98.482042°W /29.463794; -98.482042
