We believe inclusion and excellence are fundamental to education.

When we create the conditions that make every person feel included, we make it possible for all to excel. Each of our students deserves equity in how they are mentored, sponsored, supported, and empowered to experience Wellesley. We are dedicated to ensuring that they all thrive in Wellesley’s rich learning and living environment.

Faculty promote inclusive excellence in their classrooms by developing rigorous pedagogies that foster students’ ability to listen and learn across differences. Staff embrace this shared value as well—from the Office of Admission recruiting brilliant applicants who represent a vibrant mix of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences, to Student Life working to ensure that all students feel they belong here, to Career Education helping students explore professional goals or discover a new path.


Specialized offices and programs Help Advance our mission of inclusive excellence

  • Two students sitting at a classroom table watch intently as a professor talks to them with her back turned. There is a third student raising her hand in the background.

    The Associate Provost for Equity and Inclusion

    The associate provost supports the overarching pedagogical goals of inclusive excellence and promotes equity and belonging in our classrooms and among our faculty.

  • Two students talk in a small library while working off a laptop..

    The Pforzheimer Learning and Teaching Center (PLTC)

    Students at all levels realize their academic potential, receiving peer tutoring, supplemental instruction, and study skills instruction. The PLTC also supports pedagogical innovations for faculty and staff.

  • Team members from the Office for Student Success pose for a group picture.

    The Office of Student Success

    First-generation, underrepresented, and underserved students thrive through a range of services, including holistic advising and counseling, academic support, mentoring, and career development.

  • Students stand in a group on a ramp. One is sitting on the wall.

    Office of Accessibility and Disability Resources (ADR)

    Approaching each student as an individual with a unique set of strengths and abilities, ADR provides all students the access and support they need to achieve their academic potential and participate fully in Wellesley’s activities.

  • Professor Irene Mata talks with students around a table.

    Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program

    Founded to increase diversity among faculty in higher education, the Mellon-Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program (funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation) supports talented students through mentorship as well as funding for research in the humanities and social sciences, travel to conferences, professional development workshops, and networking events. Fellows develop their academic interests with the goal of completing doctoral training and pursuing faculty careers in higher education.

  • A diverse group of students pose in their graduation caps and gowns.

    The McNair Scholars Program

    First-generation students and students from low-income and historically underrepresented groups receive support, through involvement in research and other scholarly activities, as they prepare for and enter doctoral study in STEM disciplines. Eligible Wellesley students can apply for the McNair program during their sophomore and junior years. Among its benefits, the federally funded program sponsors scholars’ summer research as well as travel to conferences to present work.