Career Outcomes and Professional Achievement of Wellesley Alumnae (1950–2024)

From Liberal Arts to Leadership

In 2025, Wellesley commissioned Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, to conduct research into our alumnae outcomes. Their findings demonstrate that Wellesley graduates are not simply represented in diverse sectors of the economy—they are the leaders within their workplaces.

Our graduates study, choose to work in, and succeed in fields where women are traditionally underrepresented, such as business, STEM, and government, and they achieve positions of leadership regardless of major—proof that a liberal arts education prepares students for success in any career they choose. Our alumnae are more than just the most powerful women’s network in the world—they are a force for progress and change.

Paula A. Johnson

President, Wellesley College

Read the full letter and report

Breaking Barriers

Over

10%

of recent graduate cohorts are employed at Fortune 500 firms. Wellesey graduates lead peers in employment at Fortune 500 companies, including fields where women are traditionally underrepresented.

17%

better represented in executive, legislative, & other government roles than alumnae of other selective colleges and universities***

Career Success

97%

of the members of the class of 2024 were employed, attending graduate school, or participating in military or service programs within 5 months of graduation

10%

of all alumnae are serving in executive level positions in their careers

Lead More Often

Over

40%

of all alumnae have ascended into management roles within 15 years of graduating.

4th

Wellesley ranks fourth among the other selective colleges and universities for alumnae serving on corporate and nonprofit boards.

.Share of Wellesley Alumnae at Fortune 500 Companies, By Graduation Cohort

Rise of Graduates Into Management Roles, By Graduation Cohort

.

150 Years of Global Industry Impact

More than 24,000 Wellesley alumnae from the classes of 1950 to 2024 are currently in the workforce, and their presence can be felt in nearly every corner of the economy—especially in the top industry areas of education; health care and life sciences; consulting, business, and finance; technology; and government and law.

Wellesley Alumnae in the Current Workforce (1950–2024)

23.17%

Education

13.40%

Health Care & Life Sciences

13.31%

Consulting, Business, Finance

12.39%

Technology

10.90%

Government & Law

8.98%

Arts, Communications, & Media

7.49%

Nonprofit

5.48%

Retail, Hospitality, & Tourism

4.86%

Other

.

Top Organizations for Currently Employed Wellesley Alumnae

.

Top Job Titles for Currently Employed Wellesley Alumnae

1. Owner
2. Partner
3. President
4. Associate
5. Software engineer
6. Research assistant
7. Director
8. Executive director
9. Attorney
10. Principal

11. Consultant
12. Assistant professor
13. Teacher
14. Professor
15. Vice president
16. Board member
17. Managing director
18. Physician
19. Founder
20. Project manager

Top 10 Global Work Countries for Wellesley Alumnae

The top 10 work locations outside the U.S. for Wellesley alumnae are the United Kingdom, Canada, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, France, India, Germany, Singapore, and Japan. Wellesley ranks 28th out of 42 selective colleges and universities analyzed in this report in share of alumnae employment abroad.

.

A Legacy of Learning

More than 20,000 alumnae, or nearly 60%, have pursued advanced degrees at the master’s level or above. Wellesley College is the #1 liberal arts college for educating women who earn Ph.D.s in science and engineering.

Advanced Education by Degree Type (1950–2024)

52.20%

Masters, Other

13.56%

J.D.

12.07%

Ph.D.

11.21%

M.B.A.

7.73%

M.D.

3.23%

Doctorate, Other

Top M.B.A. Institutions for Wellesley Alumnae (1950–2024)

Top Medical Schools for Wellesley Alumnae (1950–2024)

Top Law Institutions for Wellesley Alumnae (1950–2024)

.

Methodology

In 2025, Wellesley commissioned Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, to conduct research into our alumnae outcomes. In collaboration with Wellesley, Lightcast matched and supplemented Wellesley’s internal employment dataset and National Student Clearinghouse graduate school records with information pertaining to more than 18,500 professional profiles within Lightcast’s database,

Profiles are created by aggregating public source information such as LinkedIn profiles. The Lightcast research team compared these Wellesley graduate records to the same publicly available profile information of a defined list of peer women’s colleges, peer liberal arts institutions, and a larger defined list of selective colleges and universities. The data represents available digital information from graduates in the class of 1950 to the class of 2024 and where they reside in the labor market today.

Peer/Comparison Institutions, by Group

Peer Women's Colleges *

Barnard College
Bryn Mawr College
Mount Holyoke College
Scripps College
Smith College
Spelman College

Peer Liberal Arts Colleges **

Amherst College
Oberlin College
Barnard College
Pomona College
Bowdoin College
Smith College
Bryn Mawr College
Swarthmore College
Carleton College
Trinity College
Middlebury College
Wesleyan University
Mount Holyoke College
Williams College

Selective Colleges and Universities ***

Amherst College
Barnard College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College
California Institute of Technology
Carleton College
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Duke University
Emory University
Georgetown University
Harvard University
Haverford College
Johns Hopkins University
Macalester College
Middlebury College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mount Holyoke College
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Pomona College
Princeton University
Rice University
Smith College
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Trinity College
Tufts University
UC Berkeley
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
University of Rochester
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Washington Univ. in St.Louis
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University

Download Full Lightcast Report