TRIO Programs
TRIO is a nationwide, federally-funded organization of projects committed to providing
educational opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race, ethnic background,
or economic circumstance.
TRIO programs are designed to help low-income and first-generation American students enter college, graduate, and move to participate more fully in America's economic and social life. TRIO projects are funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. While financial aid helps students overcome financial barriers to higher education, TRIO programs help students overcome class, social, and cultural barriers to higher education.
As mandated by Congress, two-thirds of the students served must come from low-income families, where neither parent graduated from college. More than 2,700 TRIO programs currently serve nearly 866,000 low-income Americans nationwide. A student must be eligible to receive services and be accepted into a funded project that serves the institution or school that the student is attending or the area in which the student lives. Twenty-two thousand individuals with disabilities and more than 25,000 U.S. veterans are currently enrolled in the TRIO programs.
TRIO funds are distributed to institutions through competitive grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Education. Click here for more information about Federal low-income guidelines