A one-year project, designed by YOU, for travel outside the U.S., with $30,000 funded by the Watson Foundation.

Propose to do something that absolutely sets your soul on fire. Your passion for the subject and willingness to pursue it to the last crumb is everything. 

(Thomas Lakeman, C’86)

Who gets the Watson Fellowship …
  • Holistic assessment of “unusual promise”
  • Demonstrated leadership, resourcefulness, imagination/vision, independence, integrity, responsibility, emotional maturity, and courage
  • Not based on GPA
  • We seek future leaders and innovators, creative, independent thinkers
Project requirements …
  • Independent
  • We invest in people, not research
  • Personal passion & fit | We look for evidence of longstanding interest
  • Stretch & feasibility | New countries, languages, & contacts
  • "No return" rule (a semester study abroad eliminates that country while a short visit on family vacation would not)
  • No visits to countries on U.S. State Department travel warnings, CDC warning level 3, and Treasury embargoes

Review Fellow summaries from other Watson colleges to get a better sense of what a winning proposal looks like. And see what Watson Fellows at Sewanee have done over the years in this story from the Sewanee Magazine. The Watson Foundation site identifies rules of the award.

The Watson Application

Initial applications comprise:

no late applications will be accepted
The Watson Committee

Campus contact and liaison to the Watson Foundation

Other members of the Watson Committee

  • Manuel Chinchilla (Spanish)
  • Martin Knoll (Forestry & Geology)
  • Yuliya Ladygina (Russian)
  • Pradip Malde (Art & Art History)
  • Terry Papillon (Dean of the College, Classics)
Sewanee Watson Fellows

2022

Olivier Mbabazi, Kigali, Rwanda

Art and Human Resilience
Cape Verde, Mail, Mongolia, Bhutan, Papua New Guinea, France, Mexico

Angus Pritchard, Decatur, Georgia
Iconic Birds through the Eyes of Community Leaders
Peru, Paraguay, South Georgia Islands, Antarctica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia

2021

Bramwell Atkins, Colorado Springs, Colorado

How Can We Sing?: The Music of Displaced People
Canada, Russia, Laos, Vietnam, Greece, and Germany

Mandy Moe Pwint Tu, Yangon, Myanmar
Voices in Verse: Poetry in the Postcolonial State
Bahamas, Jamaica, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Nigeria, and the U.K.

2020

Wilder McCoy, Conway, Massachusetts
Blue Money: The Cultural Value of Water
Algeria, Australia, Bolivia, India, Peru

2019

David Johnson, Brownsville, Tennessee
Transitional Justice 
United Kingdom, Germany, Rwanda, South Africa, Chile, Peru

2017

Mark McAlister, Charlotte, North Carolina
Emergency Calls: A Community's Reply
Chile, Tanzania, Thailand, Denmark

2016

Lauren Lyons, Lakemont, Georgia
Freeing the Mind Behind Bars: Philosophy in Prisons
Norway, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa

2014

Rob Goeller, Rowayton, Connecticut
Bullying, Bigotry, and the Beautiful Game: Refereeing Soccer around the Globe
Brazil, South Africa, Qatar, Switzerland, and Great Britain

Kelsey Koontz, Towson, Maryland
Drawing Out and Giving Back: The Othermother, and Women Supporting Women
Belize, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines

2013

DeAndré Espree-Conaway, Houston, Texas
Taking down Tongues: The Culture of Language Documentation
French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Indonesia (West Papua),
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Solomon Islands, Bangladesh,
and Australia

2012

Blair Barrows, Atlanta, Georgia
Playing to Learn and Learning to Play: An Exploration of Play Utilized in Education
England, Germany, Italy, South Africa, India

Aaron Rutz, Cincinnati, Ohio
Constructing the Dramatic Spirit: Life and Creative Process in Ensemble Theatre
Denmark, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, Poland

2011

Jesse Schupack, Sewanee, Tennessee
Across the Board: Exploring International Board Game Culture
South Korea, Germany, Ghana, India, Hungary, Greece

2010

Allie O’Connell, Cleveland, Tennessee
Girls Who Boof
Canada, New Zealand, Corsica (France), Italy, Norway

2009

Emily Beeson, Greenwich, Connecticut
The Mennonite Experience with Cultural Identity and Adaptation Abroad
Mexico, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Peru, Paraguay, Tanzania, India

Laura Candler, Sharpsburg, Georgia
Land in Light of Clouds
Australia, Iceland, Norway

2007

Syeda Hamadani, Nashville, Tennessee
Discovering the Hispano-Muslim Identity: The Legacy of Muslim Influence
Morocco, Spain, Peru, Venezuela, and Argentina

Josh Harris
Riding on Blades and Rails: Ice Hockey and Train Travel in Slavic Europe
Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary

Luke Padgett, Apison, Tennessee
Tales of Deep Time: Profit, Science, Perception and the Global Fossil Trade
Morocco, Germany, Poland, Russia, Britain, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, China, Mongolia

2004

Katherine S. Cummings, Asheville, North Carolina
Compassionate Service as Religious Practice: Photographing Engaged Buddhism
Vietnam, India, New Zealand

2002

Kraemer Allen Lovelace, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The Actualization of the Western Myth on Large Cattle Ranches
Argentina, Australia, Brazil

2001

George Wilcox Brown, III, Portsmouth, Virginia
The Relevance of the Monastic Life in Contemporary Christian Culture
Egypt, Greece, Spain, England

Ian Mitchell Scott, Nashville, Tennessee
Discovering a Sense of Place: Anthropology and Art in the Landscape
Ireland, Switzerland, Senegal, Guadeloupe

Jason Lee Wilson, Monteagle, Tennessee
Automotive Design and Its Effects on Culture
UK, Germany, Sweden, Italy

2000

Elizabeth Anne Downey, Erie, Pennsylvania
Gregorian Chant: Music & Faith
UK, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria

Sylvester George Tan, Atlanta, Georgia
The Changing Faith of Catholicism
Kenya, Tanzania, India, Madagascar, Vietnam, Thailand

1999

Jonathan Morris, Berea, Kentucky
Athletics to Acting in Movement Theatre
France, UK, Bali, Canada

Kristina Steenson, Fort Worth, Texas
The Biomedical and Traditional Cultures of Childbirth
Ecuador, Argentina, Chile

1998

Abigail D. Mann, Atlanta, Georgia
An Historical, Anthropological & Ecological Study of Fox Hunting
UK, Ireland

Jason B. Price, Hoover, Alabama
The Environmental Impact of Mountaineering
France, Switzerland, Germany, Peru, Chile, Nepal

Christian J.B. Setzer, New Berlin, Wisconsin
“Way Enough” in a Study of Rowing
UK, South Africa, Australia

Samuel L. Whitt, Talbott, Tennessee
Student Political Activity in Eastern Europe
Germany, Poland, Czech Rep., Romania, Bulgaria

1997

Jonathan A. Meiburg, Roswell, Georgia
Going to the Ends of the Earth: Community Life in Remote Societies
Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Canada, China

Christopher S. Piromalli, Altamont Springs, Florida
Ayurvedic Medicine and Preventative Health Care
India

1996

Elizabeth H. Harris, Lynchburg, Virginia
Folk Music & Fiddling
Ireland, UK

1995

Jennifer A. Wood, Charlotte, North Carolina
Folk & Traditional Dances of the British Isles
England, Ireland and Scotland

1994

Kevin M. Watt, Columbia, South Carolina
Agriculture: Economic & Ecological Sustainability
Nepal

1993

Tammy Michelle Haston, Shelbyville, Tennessee
Access and Equality in Education
Australia

Jason William Forester, Columbia, Alabama
Political Participation of East Indians
England, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago

1992

Andrew D. Buchanan, Bishop, California
Oral Notation of Ancient Bagpipe Music
Scotland

1991

Walter Ray Parmer II, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Electric Thermal Storage: Manufacturers & Utility Companies
Gr. Britain, Germany

Kenneth W. Wood, Tullahoma, Tennessee
Bioelectromagnetic Research: Innovative Bone-Healing Techniques
Italy, Yugoslavia

1990

Suzanne L. Cahill, Stone Mountain, Georgia
Sociology of Age-Group Swimmers
England, Sweden, Germany, Trinidad, Australia

Sandy A. Guitar, London, United Kingdom
Comparative Business Management Methods
Japan, Australia, India

1989

Jordan Savage, Las Vegas, Nevada
Rights of Criminal Defendants
China, India, Argentina

1988

David L. Ariasingam, Kandy, Sri Lanka
A Comparison of Public Health Policies
China, India, Australia

Jennifer L. Bobo, Shelbyville, Tennessee
Societal Attitudes Toward the Teaching Profession
Japan, Sweden, England

1987

Joe M. Wiegand, Palatine, Illinois
National Legislators in Challenged Democracies
Mexico, Costa Rica, Italy, South Africa, the Philippines, South Korea

1986

Shelly R. Browning, Bloomfield, Michigan
Physicians’ Relations with Patients
China, Australia, England

Thomas P. Lakeman, Mobile, Alabama
Playwriting for Theater Companies
England, France, Austria, Germany, Poland

1985

Michele L. Bambling, Waverly Easton, Maryland
Living Masters of Japanese Art
Japan, Korea

Arnie Frishman, Meridian, Mississippi
Judaism in the Modern World
France, Israel, USSR, Romania, the Benelux Countries