Wellesley, Mass. — In an era in which the value of a liberal arts education is under increasing scrutiny, new research demonstrates that Wellesley College graduates have an outsized impact as leaders at work and excel in fields where women are traditionally underrepresented.
The research, conducted by labor market analytics firm Lightcast, in conjunction with Wellesley’s Lulu Chow Wang ’66 Center for Career Education, revealed three key findings:
- Wellesley alums excel in fields where women are traditionally underrepresented, including business, STEM, and politics.
- Wellesley grads lead in employment at Fortune 500 companies.
- More than 500 Wellesley alums have launched startups.
- Wellesley grads earn Ph.D.s in science and engineering at higher rates than women grads of any other liberal arts college, according to the National Science Foundation.
- Wellesley grads are 17% better represented in executive, legislative, and other government roles than alumnae of other selective colleges and universities.
- Major doesn’t matter. A Wellesley education leads to career success, regardless of a student’s major.
- Ten percent of all alums are serving in executive-level positions in their careers; humanities grads are as well represented as grads from other majors in STEM and the social sciences.
- For new grads, Wellesley has ranked first or second among selective colleges and universities for career outcomes since 2016, when the “first-destination” metric became a national standard. Six months after commencement, 97% of the class of 2024 were employed, attending graduate school, or participating in military or service programs.
- Wellesley grads succeed and lead at a level that exceeds many of Wellesley’s peers.
- Within 15 years of graduating, more than 40% of alums have ascended to management roles. The most common titles are CEO, president, and executive director.
- Wellesley ranks fourth among other selective colleges and universities for women graduates serving on corporate and nonprofit boards.
“These findings show what we have always known about the power of a women’s college and a liberal arts education,” said Wellesley College President Paula Johnson. “They demonstrate that Wellesley graduates lead in positions and fields where women continue to be underrepresented—and that our graduates move into those positions more rapidly than their peers from other institutions, regardless of major. Looking forward, we are ever more committed to ensuring that our students and alumnae can reach their highest professional aspirations while making the difference they want to make in the world.”
Jen Pollard, the Lulu Chow Wang ’66 Executive Director and Associate Provost for Career Education and Experiential Learning at Wellesley, says Wellesley’s success in career outcomes is due to the College’s outstanding academic program, which is regularly ranked among the best in the world; the generous resources and long-standing leadership of Wellesley’s Career Education office; and the incomparable breadth and reach of the Wellesley alumnae network.
Established in 2016 with a transformative gift, Wellesley’s Career Education program has long been a leader and continues to innovate. In 2024, the program launched a newly integrated career education model that ensures students navigate career exploration early on through unique experiences such as the Embark! first-year retreat program.
That same year, Wellesley became one of the first highly selective liberal arts colleges in the nation to establish experiential learning as a graduation requirement—with credit awarded for internships, research, study abroad, select courses, and more. Two units are required to receive a Wellesley degree, though students are encouraged to complete as many units of experiential learning as they wish. Career Education offers $1.5 million in summer internship funding to support the new experiential learning requirement; that funding includes the opportunity for a $5,000 grant in the junior year for any previously unfunded student; access to thousands of active alumnae mentors; and dedicated industry advisors and skill-building opportunities.
Also in 2024, Wellesley launched its innovative BEAM initiative, which supports future business leaders and entrepreneurs, and ensures that all students are empowered to pursue future careers as financially savvy graduates. Founded with a gift from Lois D. Juliber ’71, the program’s portfolio covers business, entrepreneurship, and money management (BEAM), offering students opportunities to work closely with alumnae-in-residence, develop and implement entrepreneurial business plans, and strengthen their financial literacy and training.
The unique strength of the College’s Career Ed program has allowed Wellesley to develop groundbreaking new initiatives like Upskill, a program that offers one-week immersive experiences during which students build industry skills and earn experiential degree-bearing units during Wintersession. In 2026, students will be able to “upskill” in areas of AI, entrepreneurship, journalism, and medical professions, among others.
The formal resources of Wellesley’s Career Ed program are bolstered, Pollard notes, by the outsized strength of Wellesley’s alumnae network.
“Our alumnae aren’t just getting jobs; they’re launching into meaningful careers faster than graduates from other top schools and advancing more rapidly into management and leadership positions,” Pollard says. “Along the way, Wellesley alums never stop answering the call to usher in the next generation, creating a network unlike any other.”
Methodology
In conjunction with the College’s 150th anniversary, Wellesley commissioned Lightcast, a labor market analytics firm, to conduct research into alumnae outcomes. In collaboration with Wellesley, Lightcast matched and supplemented Wellesley’s internal employment dataset and National Student Clearinghouse graduate school records with information about more than 18,500 professional profiles in Lightcast’s database, comparing Wellesley graduates’ records to the same publicly available profile information from a defined list of peer institutions. 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. Read the full Lightcast report.