Participate in Career Education Internship Programs

Partner with Wellesley by creating exclusive opportunities for Wellesley students

Signature Internship Program

Time frame: Summer, 300-hour minimum over 8–10 weeks

Students at Wellesley College are a diverse group of intellectually curious undergraduates, steeped in a liberal arts curriculum, who bring a multitude of strengths, skills, and unique abilities to your organization. Ranked #7 in National Liberal Arts Colleges by the US News & World Report, Wellesley is a women’s college with a population of roughly 2,500 students hailing from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. While Wellesley is located about 20 miles outside Boston, students pursue internship and employment opportunities across the country and globe, and graduates have gone on to be leaders across all industries and fields.

About the Program

The summer internship program offered by Wellesley is a nationally recognized experiential learning model that provides full-scale predepature training and preparation, degree-bearing units, and supportive guidance throughout the summer from advisors. Today, Wellesley partners with over 200 organizations across 30 countries each summer.

Partnership Types

Employer-Funded: Partners agree to hire at least one Wellesley student offering a minimum of $5,000 for 300 hours of work experience.

Wellesley-Grants: For employers in select industries such as non-profit and cultural organizations, funds may be available to supplement unpaid opportunities on a limited basis.

Recruiting Periods

Wellesley offers two hiring periods for summer internships.

Fall: Employers must sign up by September 15. Students apply for summer internships from October 1 to November 1.
Spring: Employers must sign up by January 15. Students apply for summer internships from February 1 to March 1.

Career Education will send all applications for employers to review shortly after the application closes.

Employers return year after year as internship partners due to the host of benefits offered. Especially beneficial for small to mid-size organizations and startups, the partnership allows employers to break through the noise of thousands of brand-name internship postings to reach talented students.

As part of the partnership, Wellesley will:
• Promote your opportunity as a highlighted internship and build your brand on campus
• Create a formal listing within the College experiential learning browser
• Manage all aspects of the application process within our internal system
• Prepare applicants to support strong student materials
• Award students with degree-bearing experiential units
• Provide summer support and guidance for students during the internship experience

Short Internships Program (SHIPs)

Time frame: Summer, 60–80 hours total, the deadline for posting a project is in April.

SHIPs are short-term, virtual internship projects completed by first-year Wellesley students during the summer. The SHIPs program allows students to gain professional experience by working on a real-world project for an alumna, employer, parent, or campus partner while organizations benefit from student support. Projects should consist of work that complements, rather than replaces, responsibilities typically completed by paid staff while providing significant educational benefits to the student. Educational benefits might include building or refining skills, gaining industry insights or project focus, and practicing professional competencies such as teamwork and communication.

Projects should align reasonably with the skills of early college students and have a concrete goal that can be completed in the set timeframe. In addition to completing a professional task, SHIPs are learning opportunities for students, supported through guided mentorship, and should be designed to ensure adequate time for mentorship. Projects are submitted in April and should consist of 60–80 hours of work completed virtually between June and August. The specific schedule for the student’s work within that time can be determined by what works best for the project sponsor, the student, and the nature of the project.

Learn more about the SHIPs program at: https://www1.wellesley.edu/careereducation/ships_projectsponsors.

Share Internship Postings with Wellesley Students

Post internship opportunities via The Wellesley Hive or Handshake.

Post on The Wellesley Hive as an alumna

Alumnae can post job and internship opportunities for students and other alumnae on The Hive, Wellesley’s networking and mentoring platform. To access your Hive account, you must use your Wellesley-issued email and login information. If you do not know your password, you can reset or change it by visiting portal.wellesley.edu/content/alumnae-login-information or calling the Wellesley College Computing Help Desk at 781.283. 3333. Once you have obtained your password information, you can log in to The Wellesley Hive at hive.wellesley.edu.

Direct the employer to post on Handshake and engage with Wellesley Career Education recruiting

The Career Education Employer Engagement team can work with an alum’s employer to create a customized recruiting plan tailored to the company’s or organization’s goals. This can include posting in Handshake, participating in industry-specific career fairs, or facilitating employer-specific recruiting events.

To participate in recruiting activities, contact recruiting@wellesley.edu and connect with Wellesley on Handshake, Wellesley’s career management platform for posting internship and employment opportunities and submitting requests to engage with students.