Trinity Is a Research School. It’s Time We Act Like It.

Leon Hu ’29

Contributing Writer

On Sept. 18, I had the privilege of attending Trinity’s inaugural Summer Research Symposium. It was magical—the Washington room was flooded with dozens of posters spanning numerous departments and fields, all representing research done by fellow students at Trinity. Yet, amidst this proud display of research prowess, I found a surprising aversion to research by many students. There were many student researchers presenting, but there were not many people there that weren’t involved in research already themselves. For those who weren’t, they seemed quite averse to the concept of research. Unfortunately, this seems to match my general impressions of our student body’s perception of research: we are far too detached from the research of our professors, and we need to change. 

I am in the Interdisciplinary Science Program (ISP), a gateway program designed almost entirely around early research experience. But even within my cohort, surprisingly few of my classmates seem to have thought much about research. This is no offense to them (they are a wonderful bunch), but when I heard that a peer wasn’t even aware that we were to do research in the spring, I was admittedly quite shocked. One of the main reasons I even matriculated at Trinity was for the guaranteed research the ISP provided. In fact, during the summer, I cold-called numerous psychology professors about their research—and every single one of them responded. Since then, I’ve found a lab willing to take me, met with multiple professors about research goals and found a vocation here through the plentiful research opportunities Trinity has to offer. Certainly, nobody has to go this deep into research, but at the very least, why are we not more aware of what research opportunities we have at Trinity? 

Trinity is one of only 30 liberal arts colleges recognized as a “Research College and University” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This is a huge deal. Almost every Carnegie-recognized research school is a massive school with thousands more students than we have and, more importantly, Ph.D. programs specializing in research. For a school like Trinity, with just four master’s programs and no doctoral programs, to be recognized with the same classification is absurd. The amount of research per faculty that we have to do at Trinity to match these demands is insane: we have no Ph.D. students, far less faculty and staff, and a fraction of the undergraduate student body as many other research schools. Yet, we manage to do it. 

In fact, our small size actually comes to an advantage. Since we have such a small student body (only about 2,200 undergraduates), each one of us has far less competition for research opportunities than at most research institutions. It’s what makes a program like the ISP possible; at a big research school, guaranteeing an entire cohort of students both in-semester and paid summer research in their first year would be nothing short of impossible. There would just be too much competition, especially from graduate students. Comparatively, at Trinity, we mostly compete with other undergraduates for opportunities, and given how small even that population is, there’s no shortage of available research positions. Chances are, there are professors here doing research that need help, that need student researchers for support. 

Additionally, our summer research program pays well. Really well. My brother, a biology student at the University of Connecticut, received a $5,000 stipend for 10 full-time weeks of work with no housing. Here, we get paid $5,500 and get housing for the same amount of time. Also, unlike at big research schools like the University of Connecticut, we do not have to scrabble over spots. Whereas my brother had to fight tooth and nail to get a position, programs like the ISP just about guarantee it in your first year—and once you’re in, chances are you can continue. 

This isn’t restricted to the sciences, either. We have research in virtually every department: urban studies, humanities, STEM, healthcare. Just about every field represented here at Trinity has research going on. Chances are, even if your field has no opportunities, there’s probably research going on somewhere close by that Trinity faculty could connect you to. 

For the pragmatists, it is important to note that graduate schools, whether medical, law or (my pick) Ph.D. programs, really like undergraduate research on a CV (especially for Ph.D. programs). Thus, doing research at Trinity isn’t just for a stipend; it’s essentially future-proofing your resume. Chances are, no matter where you go career-wise, research experience will look good. And you are getting paid—so why not email your professors and see if they have any research going on? 

Last year, about 125 Trinity students participated in summer research. This is okay, but this is still only about 5% of our student body—just around one out of 20 students did research this past summer.  That’s not a lot, and although research positions and funding are limited, I can’t imagine that professors wouldn’t like more interest in the research they do.  

As we enter an increasingly strife-filled chapter for higher education and scientific research, I urge every Trinity student to begin considering research. Research in all fields of academia serves as the backbone of our society. Everything we do is connected to research: the devices we use, the healthcare we receive, the development of the cities we live in—our lives are filled with the fruits of scientific research. Especially in face of some of the strongest anti-scientific and anti-academic rhetoric in modern history, I challenge readers to resist it, to continue pushing science and academia to its limits in spite of all its challenges. It helps your career, it helps the world and it helps Trinity—so why aren’t we researching? Get in the lab, email a professor, do anything. Recognize that one of the reasons why Trinity has the reputation it does is because of research. It’s our duty to contribute to it.