Staff at the Wellesley Centers for Women conduct research on issues that affect women and girls, families and communities. However, we do not provide direct care, legal advice, advocacy, or referrals. If you are in need of mental health, domestic violence, or sexual assault services, please refer to this list of resources:
National Alliance on Mental Illness
1 (800) 950-NAMI (6264)
NAMI offers an array of support and education programs that help build better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255
The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator
Sponsored by the U.S. DHHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
1-800-662-HELP (4357)
1-800-487-4889 (TDD)
Use the Locator to find alcohol and drug abuse treatment or mental health treatment facilities and programs around the country.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
The staff at the National Domestic Violence Hotline believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. They believe that every family deserves to live in a world free from violence. They believe that safe homes and safe families are the foundation of a safe society.
National Network to End Domestic Violence a social change organization, is dedicated to creating a social, political, and economic environment in which violence against women no longer exists.
Feminist Majority Foundation has a list of domestic violence hotlines and resources.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
Call 1-888-373-7888 ( TTY: 711) | Text 233733 | Live Chat
ECPAT-USA
ECPAT-USA is the leading anti-trafficking policy organization in the United States. ECPAT-USA belongs to an international network of organizations in 73 countries, all working to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
1.800.656.HOPE
The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline and carries out programs to prevent sexual assault, help victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.
The National Center for Transgender Equality advocates to change policies and society to increase understanding and acceptance of transgender people; all persons have the right to access help as a survivor regardless of gender, transgender status, or gender expression.
WomensLaw.org provides resources to help women to learn their rights and to find information about teen dating violence, domestic abuse, and sexual assault.
Each year, the Wellesley Centers for Women offers five to six paid internships to Wellesley College students through the Class of 1967 Internship Program. Throughout the academic year, students who participate in the program:
The program is open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Throughout the academic year, interns are expected to work an average of 8-10 hours per week. Interns are asked to submit a final report.
Apply in Workday. Log into the “My Wellesley” portal and select “Workday”. Go to the Career worklet in your Workday main menu. You can then search by the requisition number to locate the role and apply for the position. The requisition number for each internship is noted below.
Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.
Subject of Intern's Project: Adolescent mental wellbeing on social media
Dr. Charmaraman leads several research projects within the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab pertaining to the risks and benefits of using social technologies in adolescence. These projects include a) survey and interview studies of middle school students and their parents on how they manage social technology use, b) co-designing digital wellbeing workshops with and for middle school youth, c) collecting and analyzing survey data related to online civic engagement and identity (e.g., race, gender, sexual orientation, political). Depending on funding at the time of the internship, the intern may be involved in projects related to Asian American conversations about racism within families, how pets can help with wellbeing and coping skills, helping neurodivergent youth use social media in healthy ways, and/or understanding the impact of cell phone regulation within K-12 schools. Because disseminating our research findings is key to making positive changes in our communities, our intern will actively engage in disseminating our upcoming events and research findings such as maintaining a strong Instagram presence for our lab @youthmediawellbeing. Dr. Charmaraman crafts a tailored program of mentored research depending on the intern’s interests and academic/career goals (e.g., grad school, nonprofit work). In addition, there is a possibility of co-publishing a peer-reviewed article depending on the motivation and dedication level of the intern.
Responsibilities:
Skills required:
Requisition number: R0006151
Subject of the Intern’s Project: This research-focused internship is an opportunity for students passionate about community development, humanitarian response, and sustainable social change—particularly in conflict zones such as Afghanistan. Under the mentorship of Pashtana Dorani, a globally recognized education advocate and Wellesley’s International Scholar-in-Residence, the intern will contribute to research projects examining grassroots interventions, gender-focused advocacy, and crisis response strategies.
The role is designed for students seeking meaningful experience in qualitative research, literature reviews, and data synthesis related to international development and women’s rights in conflict-affected regions.
This is a research-centered internship that emphasizes applied learning in an academic context, providing students with a chance to deepen their understanding of grassroots development in crisis zones, with a special focus on the role of Afghan women and girls in shaping community resilience.
Responsibilities:
Skills Required:
Requisition Number: R0006304
Subject of Intern's Project: Analyze, interpret and write up findings from interviews about how teens and their fathers talk about sex and relationships
Responsibilities:
The intern will work with the project director to code, analyze, interpret, and write up interview data for conference presentations and/or publication. The intern will have opportunities to learn about adolescent development, family relationships, and teen sexual health as well as how to conduct qualitative research.
Skills required:
Interest in adolescent development, teen sexuality, or teen-family relationships. Strong organization, analytic and writing skills. Familiarity with or willingness to learn qualitative coding and data analysis.
Experience intern can expect to gain: Qualitative coding, collaborative research, critical thinking about data interpretation, writing for conference proposals and peer-reviewed papers.
Requisition number: R0006174
Subject of Intern's Project: Leveraging multiple social science methods, Dr. Hernandez works alongside Dr. Charmaraman, Director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing (YMW) Research Lab, to explore the risks and benefits of using social technologies among diverse communities of adolescents and champions of adolescents (i.e., parents, educators). Dr. Hernandez co-leads and supports multiple data-driven projects including (1) investigating trends of psychosocial development and social technology use with a longitudinal dataset (NIH-funded) of nearly 2,000 teens and parents, (2) analyzing longitudinal survey data related to media, identity and civic engagement, and (3) writing grant proposals for new upcoming projects. The YMW research lab takes a youth-centered and action-based approach to research, so you will also have opportunities to engage with youth across the nation to disseminate research-based educational tools, explore impacts of research on policy, and co-facilitate programming. Additionally, there may be opportunities to disseminate research at conferences, publications, and on public forums such as social media (IG: @youthmediawellbeing) to extend the reach and accessibility of our research.
Dr. Hernandez hopes to mentor someone passionate and motivated about the wellbeing of future generations by way of research careers, graduate school, or non-profit work.
Responsibilities:
Skills Required:
Requisition number: R0006170
Subject of Intern's Project: As part of WCW’s Justice and Gender Based Violence Research Initiative, Dr. Price is launching a mixed methods research study on familial commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), particularly child sex trafficking and child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This project aims to learn from adult FC-CSEC lived experience experts, perpetrators (i.e., traffickers and sex offenders), non-offending family members, criminal legal system agents, and service providers to advance our understanding of FC-CSEC to inform commercial sexual exploitation theory, policy, and practice, with an emphasis on greater inclusion of familial CSEC lived experience experts. In addition to being a researcher and advocate, Dr. Price is a familial CSEC survivor, and many members of the study’s research team and advisors are also familial and non-familial CSEC lived experience experts. Next, Dr. Price is also publishing her memoir, This Happened to Me: A Reckoning, this August with Simon & Schuster. This personal and theoretical work embodies WCW’s mission of combining research and action. Last but not least, Dr. Price is a consultant for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and serves on anti-human trafficking tasks forces and policy working groups. As an intern, you will engage in various tasks related to each of these projects.
Responsibilities:
Skills Required:
Requisition number: R0006248
Currently, several research projects are being conducted under the umbrella of Work, Families and Children at the Wellesley Centers for Women. Much of our work is on child development (birth to age 8) and early education and care. I am willing to supervise any research project a student wishes to complete on any topic in human development, early education and care as well as on any topic that includes children, women, families or work.
The intern will develop an independent project that will be completed over the academic year. Projects may include data collection through surveys, observations or interviews. They may also be more academic in nature and delve deeper into a current problem or concern of interest to the student. Often our interns have done both and use surveys, observations and interviews to supplement and support their research. Supervision and mentoring will be provided to help guide the intern.
Intern's Responsibilities: Develop a topic of exploration and accompanying research questions, complete a literature review, design a study, collect data, do analyses, write a paper, and present at the Ruhlman conference. Weekly meetings with Dr. Robeson will take place.
Skills Required: The intern must be able to work well independently. Having prior psychology classes in child development or education classes is a plus. Prior work in conducting analyses is also a plus but not a requirement.
Requisition number: R0006161
Apply in Workday. Log into the “My Wellesley” portal and select “Workday”. Go to the Career worklet in your Workday main menu. You can then search by the requisition number to locate the role and apply for the position. The requisition number for each internship is noted under the description.
Any registered Wellesley College student with a GPA of at least 3.0 may apply for the Class of 1967 Internship Program. Students must be registered at the College during the year of the internship. Interested students should become acquainted with the mission of WCW and the work of their desired mentor.
If there are any questions about WCW’s internships, please email wcw@wellesley.edu. If there are questions about the application process in Workday, please contact Wellesley College Student Employment at studentemployment@wellesley.edu.
I am a first year student and only have shadow grades. Can I apply?
Yes. There is a way of showing your actual grades on your transcript. Please send your transcript in a way that displays those grades.
I will graduate in December during the internship year. Can I apply?
Yes, you can apply provided you meet the other qualifications. Note: it is ultimately up to the mentor whether or not a December graduation will be okay in their situation.
I am going to be abroad for a semester next year. Can I apply?
Yes, you can apply. Note: it is ultimately up to the mentors whether or not a semester abroad will be okay in their situation.
Thanks to the generous donors who make these internships possible:
The Wellesley Centers for Women benefits from the support of a Council of Advisors, comprised of dynamic professionals with a broad range of expertise. Members are each change agents in their own right, committed to improving the lives of women and girls, families and communities, in the U.S. and across the globe.
Vice President, Research
The Wallace Foundation
New York
President and CEO
Global Fund for Women
Florida
Head of Sustainable Investing
Putnam Investments
Massachusetts
Executive Officer in Residence
Retired President and CEO
Northside Center for Child Development
New York
Diabetes Educator
Charles River Community Health
Massachusetts
Department Chair and Professor of Psychology
Wellesley College
Massachusetts
Interim Executive Director
Wellesley Centers for Women
Director
National Institute on Out-of-School Time
Massachusetts
Retired Minister for Clergy
Health & Wellness
United Church of Christ
Psychologist
Social Worker
Arizona
Wellesley College Trustee Emerita
Community Volunteer
Retired Psychotherapist
Massachusetts
Retired CEO, Riverside Community Care, Inc.
Board of Trustees, Lesley University
Massachusetts
Co-Anchor
PBS News Hour
Virginia
President and CEO
Pippins Strategies Group LLC
New York
President
The Ritrievi Group LLC
Florida
Retired MD of Internal Medicine
Board of Advisors of the Huntington Theatre
Former Alumnae Board Wellesley College
Massachusetts
Professor and Chair
Department of Applied Psychology
Bouvé College of Health Sciences
Northeastern University
Massachusetts
You can reach the Wellesley Centers for Women, including Media Relations and Speaker Requests, at wcw@wellesley[dot]edu or 781.283.2500. Search the Wellesley College directory for contact information for specific research scientists, project directors, or other WCW staff.
The Wellesley Centers for Women has offices in two Wellesley College buildings: Simpson Cottage and Waban House (click on links for driving directions). Do not use our mailing address for driving directions.
Wellesley Centers for Women
Wellesley College
106 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02481-8203 USA
Subscribe to our email list to receive our free Research & Action Report and other updates.
The Wellesley Centers for Women will use the information you provide on this form to send periodic emails about our work. You can unsubscribe from emails at any time by clicking unsubscribe or contacting us at wcw@wellesley[dot]edu. Learn how we manage your privacy.
We believe in our motto -- A world that is good for women is good for everyone.™
The Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) is an academic research and action institute at Wellesley College that is focused on women and gender and driven by social change.
We envision a world of justice, peace, and wellbeing for women and girls, children and youth, families and communities, in all their diversity around the world.
Our mission is to advance gender equality, social justice, and human wellbeing through high-quality research, theory, and action programs.
Former executive director Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., explains WCW’s theory of change.
WCW received NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council for the United Nations in 2001. This standing allows WCW to designate official representatives to a wide range of UN meetings held around the globe, including the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Our work is sustained by funding from federal, state, and local government agencies, private foundations, the Centers’ endowment (managed by Wellesley College), and the generosity of individual donors committed to social change. WCW receives essential infrastructure, facility, and governance support from Wellesley College.
Along with the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs and the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center for Citizenship, Leadership, and Democracy, WCW is part of Wellesley College’s Wagner Centers for Wellesley in the World. The Wagner Centers are a hub and catalyst for research and global solutions, especially on critical issues related to women, democracy, and gender equity.
WCW provides meaningful research experiences for Wellesley College students through paid internships and research assistant positions. WCW also employs Wellesley students in administrative support roles, and some research scientists and project directors at WCW teach courses at Wellesley College.
WCW offices are a part of the Wellesley College campus. We recognize the many Indigenous peoples who have rich histories on this land, and we acknowledge the many Indigenous people who live, work, and study at Wellesley and in Massachusetts. Read the official Wellesley College Land Acknowledgment.