Career Development

Wesleyan Summer Grants

by


Wesleyan Summer Grants provide up to $5,000 to fund summer opportunities such as internships, faculty-mentored research, entrepreneurial ventures, volunteer work, field study, creative projects, or an academic program related to your career interests and aspirations.

The first 2024 application window is open from Thursday, February 1st until Thursday, March 28th. This window is only open for studentson need-based financial aid.

The second 2024 application window will be open from Monday, April 1st until Friday, April 26th. This window will be open for all Wesleyan students.

To apply for the 2024 Wesleyan Summer Grant, you must have an approved resume on Handshake and a confirmed summer experience. If you don’t have a summer experience by the end of the first window, you are still eligible to apply in the second window. Applications not selected for funding in the first window will be considered in the second application window (you cannot reapply.)

For complete program information, including eligibility, application components, and timelines, visit the WSG webpage.

Wesleyan Black Alumni Council Memorial Prize Summer Stipend

Important to note that this grant is part of the Wesleyan Summer Grants Program and NOT additional funds. 
If a student would like to be considered, they will select this grant on the application and upload their essay. 

Essay: The Wesleyan Black Alumni Council (WBAC) honors the memory and spirit of alumni Bruce D. Hall ’77, James “Donnie” Rochester ’74, and Dwight L. Greene ’70 through a summer experience grant to support projects or research pertaining to the African American experience. Please share how your proposal aligns with this intention. (750 words maximum)

Internship & Career Opportunities

by

Greetings, Class of 2025!

I hope you are well and enjoying the first few days of the Spring semester. I write to share a few programs and initiatives that may be of interest to you:

  • WesConnect (online): Looking to connect with Alumni? Register for Wesleyan’s updated alumni directory WesConnect today! The updated directory allows you to find Wesleyan alumni who are actively engaging with the Wesleyan community. Use this tool to contact alumni and schedule connections.  
  • Cover Letter Competition(Friday 1/2): According to Forbes, 83% of hiring managers say cover letters impact hiring decisions. Whether you’re applying for an internship or a full-time job, writing a good cover letter strengthens your application
  • Research-a-Palooza (Saturday 1/3): Research-a-Palooza is an annual student-run event sponsored by the College of Integrative Sciences. Any and all students interested in getting started with scientific research at Wesleyan, including through the CIS Research in Sciences Summer Program and affiliated research programs (COE, QAC, McNair, etc.), are encouraged to attend.

A couple academic reminders:

Have questions? Please feel free to schedule an appointment with me: calendly.com/deankellydunn.

Take care,

Dean Dunn

Updated Alumni Directory (Now Live!)

by

Looking to connect with Alumni? Register for Wesleyan’s updated alumni directory WesConnect today! The updated directory allows you to:

  • Find Wesleyan alumni who are actively engaging with the Wesleyan community
  • Filter registered users by occupation, location, and more
  • Contact alumni through the platform and schedule connections
  • Explore career opportunities posted by alumni

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at careercenter@wesleyan.edu. Join WesConnect to strengthen the Wesleyan community today!

Beinecke Scholarship Program

by

Are you interested in completing a graduate degree in the arts, humanities, or social sciences? Wesleyan can nominate one student each year to apply to the national competition for the Beinecke Scholarship. Those selected as Beinecke scholars receive $5,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. Scholars are encouraged to begin graduate study as soon as possible following graduation from college, and must utilize all of the funding within five years of completion of undergraduate studies. 

To be eligible for a Beinecke Scholarship, a student must:

  • Demonstrate superior standards of intellectual ability, scholastic achievement, and personal promise during their undergraduate career.
  • Be a college junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree during the 2023-2024 academic year. “Junior” means a student who plans to continue full-time undergraduate study and who expects to receive a baccalaureate degree between December 2024 and August 2025.
  • Plan to enter a research- or creative-focused master’s or doctoral program in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. NOTE: Students in the social sciences who plan to pursue graduate study in neuroscience or clinical psychology should not apply for a Beinecke Scholarship.
  • Be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
  • Have a documented history of being eligible to receive need-based financial aid during their undergraduate years, with a slight preference for Pell Grant recipients. Other evidence of meeting this criterion is a student’s history of receiving need-based institutional, state, or federal grants-in-aid.

The program seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to pursue opportunities available to them and to be courageous in the selection of a graduate course of study (there are no geographic restrictions on the use of the scholarship and recipients are allowed to supplement the award with other scholarships, assistantships and research grants). 

Because Wesleyan can nominate only one Beinecke applicant per year, nominations are competitive.

Read more about the Beinecke Scholarship and Wesleyan’s campus process for nominating students to the national competition at the link, and if you’d like to apply contact fellowships@wesleyan.edu by January 11, 2024 at the latest.

$$ & mentorship in the humanities + social sciences: MMUF application now open!

by

Sophomores and juniors! The MMUF application is now open! Due February 4!
 

MELLON MAYS UNDERGRADUATE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The MMUF is designed to increase the presence of historically underrepresented perspectives and groups in institutions of higher education. MMUF achieves this by supporting students who are working toward applying to graduate school in a range of fields in the humanities and social sciences. The program provides summer and academic year funding, mentorship, and a community of students all exploring the possibility of earning a Ph.D.

To learn more…

  • Check out the slides from our October info session (link)
  • Read more details on the MMUF national website (link)
  • Connect with MMUF Faculty Coordinator, Prof. Tushar Irani (tirani@wesleyan.edu) 
  • Connect with MMUF Administrative Coordinator, Dean April Ruiz (aruiz01@wesleyan.edu)


Applications include:

  1. An application form (link below, this is where you’ll upload the statements described in #2 and #3, and respond to item #4)
  2. Please write a statement (no more than 1000 words) describing your academic and
    research interests. In this statement, please address the following:
    How have you selected your major, and which courses or academic activities have served as a foundation for your interests?
    Which topic(s) or question(s) might you want to pursue through a research project? And what early ideas do you have about how you might develop your research plan? (You do not need to have a fully formed research proposal!)
    Please also share something about your future goals for graduate study and an academic career.
  3. A central goal of the MMUF’s mission is to uplift perspectives, voices, experiences, and histories that have been underrepresented in academia. In a statement of no more than 500 words, please describe what this goal means to you personally or as an emerging scholar.
  4. As you can see in the program expectations (see link to info session slides here), Fellows are expected to spend a significant part of each summer engaged in an activity that supports their academic growth or the progress of their project. Activities might include attending a MMUF summer institute at another university (e.g., at UCLA or UChicago), taking coursework relevant to their field of study, or pursuing independent work.
    Fellows receive $4500 to support their costs for the summer, and Fellows with project/program costs higher than this are encouraged to explore the Wesleyan Summer Grants (link, deadline for proposals typically in February).
    Applicants do not need to confirm their plans at time of application, but they will be asked to confirm their commitment to spending the summer in this way and to share their early ideas about the sort of activity they might wish to pursue.
  5. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member who can speak to your academic work and interests, and your possible pathway to graduate school. (Additional letters are not required.)
  6. An interview. (Students will be invited to interview after the application deadline.)

A note about eligibility:
The MMUF program is a national program sponsored by The Mellon Foundation, and there are eligibility considerations around citizenship. International students who are studying in the USA on a visa are not eligible.
If you have questions about whether this limitation applies to you, or if you’d like information about scholarships and opportunities without this limitation, please email Dean April Ruiz (aruiz01@wesleyan.edu).
 

APPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ARE DUE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH

  • The student application form can be found here: link 
  • The recommender form can be found here: link

Applying for Fullbright Q&A on 5/3

by

 
What is the Fulbright US Student Program?
 
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the US government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. In partnership with more than 140 countries worldwide, the Fulbright US Student Program offers unparalleled opportunities in all academic disciplines to passionate and accomplished graduating college seniors, graduate students, and young professionals from all backgrounds. Program participants pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English abroad.
 
During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, individuals will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.
 
To learn more about Fulbright and Wesleyan’s campus process, watch this 30 minute introductory video. Contact fellowships@wesleyan.edu with interest and/or questions.

Wesleyan Student Ombuds

by

** This is a paid student job open to all students regardless of work study eligibility **

POSITION DESCRIPTION
Student Ombuds Position Description  The Wesleyan Student Ombuds Program (link) was informed and inspired by student voices and began in Fall 2021. Student Ombuds are available to talk with students about their concerns related to experiences in the classroom, with their athletic team, or within other parts of their academic and campus life at Wesleyan. Each Ombud serves as a neutral and confidential* peer resource focused on empowering students to successfully navigate the institution and advocate for themselves in moments of conflict, particularly when there are power dynamic considerations. Although separate from the University’s Ombudsperson (link) for staff and faculty, these Student Ombuds are trained to use similar conflict resolution and restorative justice practices. Student Ombuds will provide information about resources, offer perspective, and advise students as they explore and navigate their options for resolving concerns. Student Ombuds will be selected to represent various academic areas of the institution (i.e., each academic division and Athletics) and will be compensated $16/hour for their work, with between 3 and 6 hours of work each week. As 2023-2024 will be the third year of this program, the next cohort of Student Ombuds will play a role in continuing to shape the program and its future. 

TO APPLY: Submit the basic application in Handshake (Job # 6240334) by Sunday, April 16th at 11:59pm (link). The 2022-2023 Student Ombuds are listed here: https://www.wesleyan.edu/inclusion/student-ombuds.html