Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
The
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a grant that enables graduating seniors to pursue a year of independent study outside the United States. 1968 was the Fellowship's first year, providing graduates with a year to "explore with thoroughness a particular interest, test their aspirations and abilities, view their lives and American society in greater perspective and, concomitantly, develop a more informed sense of international concern." Unlike those programs, only undergraduates in their senior year at 41 colleges are eligible to apply.
Background The fellowship grants awarded fellows a stipend to spend one year traveling in pursuit of their projects. Recipients are forbidden from reentering the United States and their home country for one year. Projects are not academically oriented, as the fellowship is intended to encourage exploration and new experiences rather than formal research. Currently the award is $40,000 per fellow or $50,000 for a fellow traveling with a spouse or dependent. The stipend also provides student loan repayment for the duration of the fellowship. The Watson Foundation emphasizes that the grant is an investment in a person rather than a project. During their travels the Fellows remain unaffiliated with a college or university, instead planning and administering their projects themselves. They are barred from working on a paying job, and are discouraged from joining organized volunteer projects for substantial periods of time.
Selection criteria Qualities sought in fellows include: Leadership, Imagination, Independence, Emotional Maturity, Courage, Integrity, Resourcefulness, and Responsibility. Institutions eligible to nominate Watson Fellows are 41 select small liberal arts colleges with an undergraduate population of fewer than 3,000 students.
Notable Watson Fellows •
Layla AbdelRahim, comparatist anthropologist and author •
David Abram, cultural ecologist and philosopher •
Jay Allison, independent public radio producer •
Nancy Bekavac, former president of Scripps College •
Iram Parveen Bilal, filmmaker and entrepreneur •
Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and columnist •
Lynn J. Bush, American federal
senior judge •
Gloria Borger, CNN political commentator •
Ian Boyden, painter •
Roberto Castillo, novelist, short fiction writer, translator and essayist •
Peter Child, professor of music at
MIT and composer in residence with the New England Philharmonic •
Tom Cole, U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma •
Darron Collins, President, College of the Atlantic •
Nicolas Collins, composer of mostly electronic music •
Howard Fineman, Huffington Post and MSNBC political analyst •
John Garang, late Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army and Vice-President of Sudan •
Yishay Garbasz, artist and activist. •
David Grann, American journalist and best-selling author •
Aracelis Girmay, American poet •
Alia Gurtov, American
paleoanthropologist •
Dan Hammer, environmental economist and winner of the inaugural Pritzker Award •
Tori Haring-Smith, former president of Washington & Jefferson College •
Corey Harris, blues and reggae musician and
MacArthur Fellow. •
Garrett Hongo, Pulitzer-nominated poet and academic •
Barbara Higbie, jazz and traditional musician •
Edward Hirsch, poet, president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation •
Jackie Diamond Hyman, American novelist and reporter •
Pat Irwin, composer, musician, and former member of the
B-52s •
Cleveland Johnson, director, National Music Museum •
Mat Johnson, writer •
Ian Kerner,
New York Times bestselling author •
Raffi Khatchadourian, American journalist •
Verlyn Klinkenborg, author and
Guggenheim Fellow •
Jimmy J. Kolker, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda (2002-5) and Burkina Faso (1999-2002) •
Chris Kratt, host of
Wild Kratts and other educational nature shows •
Edwin M. Lee, mayor of San Francisco •
Joe Lewis, former dean of
UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts •
Jason Mantzoukas, actor and writer •
Ed Martin, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia •
Mark Stephen Meadows, American artist and entrepreneur •
Jonathan Meiburg, lead singer and principal songwriter for the band Shearwater • Michael Noer, executive news editor at
Forbes •
Dan O'Brien, playwright and poet •
John Payton, civil rights attorney •
Peggy Pettitt, American actor, dancer, and storyteller •
Steve Raichlen, BBQ chef, author, and
PBS cooking show host •
Eric Rosengren, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston • Suzanne Seriff, folklorist, cultural anthropologist, museum curator •
Caroline Shaw, 2013 Pulitzer Prize for music •
David Shipley,
The New York Times Op-Ed Editor •
John Siceloff, American television producer •
Alan Solomont, U.S. Ambassador to Spain (2009 - 2013) •
Julie Taymor, Oscar-nominated, Emmy- and Tony Award-winning director •
Francisco Valero-Cuevas, engineer and scientist •
Reetika Vazirani, American/Indian poet •
Madhuri Vijay, novelist, author of
The Far Field •
Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran, former president of Kalamazoo College
Directors of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship •
Chris Kasabach, 2011-Present •
Cleveland Johnson, 2008-2011 • Rosemary Macedo, 2006-2008 • Beverly J. Larson, 2003-2006 • Norv Brasch, 2001-2003 •
Tori Haring-Smith, 1999-2001 • Noreen C. Tuross, 1997-1999 • William F. L. Moses, 1995-1997 • James A. Lehman, 1993-1995 • Mary E. Brooner, 1991-1993 • Steven V. Licata, 1989-1991 • Martin A. Brody, 1987-1989 •
Nancy Y. Bekavac, 1985-1987 • Joseph V. Long III, 1883-1985 • Jeanne C. Olivier, 1981-1983 • David C. Summers, 1979-1981 • John C. Elder, 1977-1979 • Daniel L. Arnaud, 1972-1977 • Robert O. Schulze, Founding Director, 1968-1972 == Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship ==