What is a Trinity Elective?

• Trinity Electives are 5 ECTS credit standalone modules available to the majority of students to add breadth to their undergraduate curriculum. They tend to be interdisciplinary in their design and they link to the University's research themes or key societal challenges or they cover languages and cultures.
• They shouldn't be confused with Open Modules, which also add breadth to a student's studies but often in areas that are related or complementary to their home programme. For more details on Open Modules see https://www.tcd.ie/tjh/open-modules/.

What is the timetable for each Trinity Elective?

Trinity Electives are delivered during the following hours:

• Tuesday: 9-10 a.m. & 10-11 a.m.
• Thursday: 4-5 p.m. & 5-6 p.m.
• Friday: 9-10 a.m.
Please find the timetable for Trinity Electives below:
Semester 1 2023/24 timetable

Module co-ordinators may use some or all of these hours each week in the delivery of their Trinity Elective.

• List of Trinity Electives running in 2023/24.

How do I apply?

• Enrolement in Trinity Electives is on a first come, first served basis. You will go to my.tcd.ie and select the menu option 'My Programme' to choose your Trinity Elective. The process in outlined in a Quick Guide (to follow). If you have technical difficulties with this please contact OME@tcd.ie and put 'Trinity Electives 2023' in the subject line to enable a quick response.
• Academic Registry will be in touch with more information to all eligible students nearer the selection period, and watch out for social media posts. Notification will be by e-mail.
• Dates and associated activities are shown on the Academic Registry Online Module Enrolement webpage.
  

When do I apply?

• Students, including those who are off-books or have to repeat or take deferred assessments in August/September, will apply for 2023/24 Trinity Electives from 26th July to 9th August 2023.
• Academic Registry will notify you directly with further details. Note that if you are taking two Trinity Electives (one per semester), you will choose Trinity Electives for both semesters at the same time.
• Enrolement for Semester 1 Visiting Students in 2023/24 will open from 11am Thursday 7 September 2023 to midnight on Wednesday 13th September 2023. Semester 2 Visiting Students will select in January 2024.

What if I have re-assessments, deferred assessments or I'm off-books without assessments?

• Enrolment in Trinity Electives for all students will be through the 'My Programme' link in my.tcd.ie from 26th July to 9th August. The process for enrolment is outlined on the Online Module Enrolment webpage.

In which semester does each Trinity elective run?

• List of Trinity Electives running in 2023/24. Please note that this list is subject to change. Not all Trinity Electives are available - only those that are will appear in the selection screens at my.tcd.ie.

When will I know which Trinity Elective I’ll be taking?

• Once you confirm your Trinity Elective Module selection via Online Module Enrolment you will receive an intray message confirmation of your Trinity Elective Module Enrolments.

Can I take any Trinity Elective?

• Most Trinity Electives are available to any student to take. However, there are some exceptions – read the ‘Who can take this Trinity Elective?’ section at the bottom of the webpage for each Trinity Elective for any exclusions.
  

What do I do if I want to change my mind about my Elective(s)?

• Change of mind can not normally be facilitated so you need to be very careful when choosing your Trinity Elective. The rationale for not being able to change your allocation is that if you miss even the first week of a Trinity Elective, it will be difficult to catch up. Many Trinity Electives have an intense introductory couple of weeks to give you the basics of the topic. If you are experiencing difficulties, you should contact your Module Coordinator and your Tutor.

How are the Trinity Electives assessed?

• There is a variety of innovative assessment methods used across the Trinity Electives. You should look at the webpage of each Elective for details on which assessment methods will be used.
  

Can I take more than one Trinity Elective in a semester?

• No – you can only take one Trinity Elective per semester.
  

How many Trinity Electives can I take?

• Your programme determines whether or not you are eligible to take Trinity Electives and, if you are, the number you may take. For some programmes it is compulsory – e.g. Engineering 2nd year and 3rd year students must take one Trinity Elective in their 2nd year and one Trinity Elective in their 3rd year. For other programmes it depends on what pathway options are offered. You should check with your programme coordinator/ in your handbook. For the majority of students eligible to take Trinity Electives, a maximum of two may be taken during the course of their programme.  Only one can be taken per semester, if two are taken in the same programme year.
  

In what year can I take a Trinity Elective?

• Trinity Electives are taken in the 2nd and/or 3rd years. It will depend on which programme of study you are taking as to exactly when you take your Trinity Elective. You should check with your programme coordinator/in your handbook.

Do I have to take a Trinity Elective while I’m at College?

• The answer to this depends on your programme of study. For some programmes it is compulsory, e.g. Engineering, Engineering with Management, Integrated Computer Science. Your programme will determine whether these are taken in your 2nd and/or 3rd year. For other programmes, e.g., in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, depending on the pathways available to you, you may opt to take one or two Trinity Electives. Students in the Health Sciences do not generally take Trinity Electives (except for Human Health and Disease, where students take two Trinity Electives in their 2nd year).
  

Will the set of Trinity Electives change?

• There are an additional 4 new Trinity Electives being introduced from 2023/24. There may be changes to the offering every year and the offering of Trinity Electives will be reviewed on an annual basis.

What weighting will a Trinity Elective have towards my degree?

• The results of any Trinity Electives taken in your 3rd year will count towards your overall degree award. They will be treated in the same way as any of the core mandatory or optional modules that you take in your 3rd year, i.e., your degree award will be calculated based on your final two years’ results, normally weighted at 30% and 70% respectively.

I’m a Visiting Student – can I take a Trinity Elective?

• Depending on your programme of study, visiting students may take up to two Trinity Electives, one per semester. The application process for visiting students usually takes place in mid-September for Semester 1 visiting students and in January for Semester 2 visiting students.