Wellesley Signature Internships offers 8-10 week college-funded summer internship opportunities specifically for Wellesley students. Internship opportunities are available across all industries and career communities. Students are required to work a minimum of 300 hours during their internship.
Please note: While we hope all Signature Internships for Summer 2022 will be in person, the final decision will be made in Spring 2022 and will depend on global health conditions.
Application Opens: Friday, October 1, 2021
Recorded Information Session: Click here for a 12 minute video webinar.
Optional Application Preliminary Reviews: Tuesday, October 12 - Friday, October 29, 2021. Sign up in Handshake.
Final Application Deadline: Monday, November 1, 2021 at 11:30 pm EST
Career Education Nomination Decisions: Wednesday, December 1, 2021
Employer Intern Selection: January 15, 2022 but can vary
Click on these links to learn more about
Wellesley Signature Internships and how to apply:
For email reminders and application tips throughout this application period, please sign up for our Signature Internships Mailing List.
Signature Internship opportunities are exclusively available for sophomores and juniors. When applying, please carefully read the internship eligibility criteria on this List of Signature Internships as some employers specify preferences for class year, language/academic skills, or current place of residency.
Most Signature Internship awards are $4,000 and distributed in two separate installments via Workday: $3,750 in mid-June and $250 in September. International students may have to pay taxes on this funding — please check our FAQ for more information.
For placements in which Wellesley covers the cost of housing, interns receive a reduced stipend of $2,500, distributed in two separate installments via Workday: $2,250 in mid-June and $250 in September. These placements include Observer Research Foundation (Mumbai, India), Center for Cross-Cultural Learning (Rabat, Morocco), Vieques Conservation & Historical Trust (Puerto Rico); Asian Rural Institute (Nasushiobara, Japan), and all placements in the Lumpkin Program.
We have dozens of Signature Internships available in four different areas. To explore the opportunities in each area, please click on each link below. (To view all the available internships in one document, use this List of Signature Internships.)
Pro Tip: As you explore the internship opportunities, take notes about the most compelling job(s) so you can use that information later to effectively tailor your application materials.
To apply for a Signature Internship, ALL students must submit 3 required PDF documents—Short-Answer Questions, Cover Letter, Resume—tailored to the targeted Signature Internship. Guidelines for each required document are listed below or use this Signature Internships Application Checklist.
Some employers also require supplemental materials (e.g., transcript, writing sample), so please carefully check the special application requirements included in the internship description or listed on our Signature Internship List.
Pro Tip: Save your final versions of these materials as PDFs before you start to submit your application in the Workday platform.
RESUME
Build a current, high-quality resume that adheres to the professional standards outlined in the Signature Internship Application Checklist.
Consult Wellesley’s Resume Guidelines, Resume Videos (Building a Resume from Scratch and How to Write a Resume), and four sample resumes for more resume guidance.
COVER LETTER
Create a professional cover letter tailored to the internship position and addressed to the appropriate Signature Internship employer using this Signature Internship List. We will not send any cover letters to employers that are not formatted properly and addressed to the appropriate contact!
For more cover letter guidance, review the Signature Internship Application Checklist and explore Wellesley Career Education’s Cover Letter Samples and Guidelines or video on Mastering the Art of the Cover Letter.
SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
Respond to the two short-answer questions below to explain how the Signature Internship will help you achieve your personal, professional, and/or academic goals. Please follow these guidelines or consult this Signature Internships Application Checklist:
Your responses to these two questions will NOT be sent to the employers but will be formally reviewed by the Career Education team when nominating candidates. Each question will be scored separately and used as part of your final application score, so please answer each question in a thoughtful and professional manner.
Which Signature Internship opportunity will you be pursuing and why? How will this opportunity align with your interests and career goals to help you grow? How do you envision contributing to your proposed opportunity?
Tips: This means we want you to clearly explain your motivation for pursuing this opportunity. Give us specific details that directly connect your interests/future career goals to this possible opportunity and explain what you can contribute and hope to learn in the process.
What have you learned already that you can build on and apply to this opportunity? While your answer should focus on academic preparation, you are welcome to mention other relevant extracurricular or volunteer experiences.
Tips: This means we want you to discuss specific academic pursuits (and any other applicable experiences) that have prepared you for this possible internship (e.g., courses, research, class projects). Do not solely list classes but provide us with clear details about the knowledge, skills, experiences you’ve gained that have prepared you for the position.
Once your application documents are complete, save your application documents as PDFs (e.g., Short-Answer Questions, Cover Letter, Resume, Reference, and other supplemental materials) before starting your Workday application so you can upload them when prompted in the application system.
The entire application needs to be completed in one sitting as Workday does not allow you to save an application to work on at a later time.
We strongly recommend that you submit your application well in advance of the deadline to ensure successful submission. Please email internships@wellesley.edu immediately if you have any technical difficulties so that we can help resolve the issue and ensure your materials are received before the deadline.
Applications cannot be edited after they are submitted, so please check (and double check!) before clicking on the orange “Submit” button at the end of the application. If the application deadline has not yet passed and you need to make changes to your application, please contact internships@wellesley.edu.
Once you’ve finalized ALL the required PDF documents outlined in this Signature Internship List, please follow these instructions to submit your application:
Select “Find a Summer Internship” in the View section.
Select the appropriate application: “Signature Internships Application” for your first or only internship or “Signature Internships Application (for second application)” if applying for a second Second Internship.
Read the internship description then click on the orange “Apply” button and follow the specific instructions for each section.
Once you’ve answered all questions and uploaded ALL required materials, please click on the orange “Submit” button.
Remember, applications cannot be edited after they are submitted, so please check (and double check!) before clicking “Submit.” If the application deadline has not yet passed and you need to make changes to your application, please contact internships@wellesley.edu. For information about how to confirm or withdraw your application in Workday, please click here.
Signature Internships award nominations are based on the quality of a student’s application materials and the needs of our Signature Internship employers, not on a student’s financial need. Our nomination process also prioritizes students who have not previously received summer funding from the College.
Students may apply for up to two Signature Internships but must submit the application twice, one for each distinct internship.
Questions about the Wellesley Signature Internships?
You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Review our FAQs to learn the answers to commonly asked questions about Wellesley Signature Internships.
Explore the specific internship opportunities in each section below, taking notes about the most compelling job(s) so you can use that information later to effectively tailor your application materials.
