Wellesley College

Wellesley College, a private women's liberal arts institution in Wellesley, Massachusetts, receives federal research grants as a prime recipient across a broad portfolio of basic and applied science programs, with a secondary role as a subrecipient on collaborative research awards and as a subcontractor on federal service engagements. The college operates exclusively in a grant-recipient posture; it holds no federal contracts as a prime contractor and carries no set-aside designations.

Wellesley's federal grant work spans fundamental research in planetary science, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and ocean sciences, bundled with undergraduate research training and STEM outreach. Representative prime grants include a $707.584 thousand award from the National Institute of Mental Health (CFDA 93.242) on machine learning models for suicide prediction and prevention in ecological momentary assessment studies (period through May 31, 2031); a $453.266 thousand National Science Foundation Engineering grant (CFDA 47.041) developing AI-assisted programming tools for scientists using MATLAB and R, with college student participation (October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2027); a $595.535 thousand NSF Division of Ocean Sciences award on extracellular vesicles in marine microbial communities (May 15, 2023 through April 30, 2027); and a $384.431 thousand NSF Biological Sciences grant on NDR-family kinase localization during cell division (July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2028). Wellesley also holds a $228.759 thousand NASA Shared Services Center research grant on ice chemistry and ocean world exploration (award August 1, 2024, completion July 31, 2026) and a $370.608 thousand NASA grant archiving and developing tools for radio science occultation data at Saturn and Uranus (December 1, 2022 through November 30, 2025).

Customer concentration by award count heavily favors the National Science Foundation, which accounts for 83 of the college's 260 total awards and represents 53% of the active award footprint. NASA Shared Services Center places 19 awards with $3 million combined potential value, the Department of the Air Force 16 awards, and the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health 20 awards across all NIH component institutes (including 11 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development). The college serves 58 distinct federal agencies. Award activity shows modest volume: 12 awards in FY2022, 9 in FY2023, 15 in FY2024, 6 in FY2025, and 3 in FY2026 (year to date). Five awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and represent recompete opportunity for competing institutions.

As a subrecipient, Wellesley participates in collaborative research networks anchored by peer institutions. Teaming relationships include role as a subaward principal investigator on Tufts University grants conducting qualitative longitudinal interviews on youth mental health and social media effects (five subaward awards from Tufts since July 2022); collaboration with the University of Colorado on NSF-funded perovskite solar cell research (June 2023 through May 2026); participation in University of Georgia-led conservation education grants (multiple subawards, 2023–2025); data analysis and field work on Indiana University-led pollinator research (May 2024 onward); and ocean productivity research under Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (October 2023). Wellesley also subcontracts as the National Institute for Out-of-School Time (NIOST) to Education Development Center, Inc. on a Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families engagement supporting the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment (NCASE), delivering product development and technical assistance for afterschool and summer learning programs (November 2022 award).

The college's federal grant portfolio emphasizes research infrastructure for undergraduate learning, particularly in STEM disciplines. Grants fund student researchers across summer internships and academic-year programs, mentorship of underrepresented groups in computer science and mathematics, and development of active learning curricula integrating research outcomes. The McNair Scholars Program (October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2026) prepares first-generation and underrepresented undergraduates for graduate study. SCI-reportable service contract activity is minimal—two subcontractor records spanning FY2024 and FY2025 representing roughly 1.7 to 1.1 FTEs—and reflects Wellesley's limited federal services footprint outside grant-funded research delivery.