The article deals with subject (disciplinary) and interdisciplinary (methodological) approaches to the study of trust in higher education. The reasons of actualization of the problem are revealed. Among the subject approaches to the study of trust in higher education the most signifi cant ones are sociological, economic, psychological, and ethical. The article analyzes the fi rst two in detail. Their role in understanding the possibilities of using trust as one of the leading non-material assets of higher education development is shown. It is proved that the basis of disciplinary methodological approaches to trust in higher education is its moral characteristics.