Watson Fellowship
Application period: May to November
First campus deadline: September 2025
Campus interviews for shortlisted applicants: Early October 2025 (on a Saturday or Sunday)
If you are nominated by the campus committee:
Final campus deadline: Mid-October 2025
National deadline: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 (9:00 a.m. PT)
Watson Foundation interview: betweeen November 2025 and February 2026
NOTE: To recieve a campus nomination, applicants are required to participate in the campus review process.
Eligibility requirements:
- Seniors only (December '25 or May '26 graduates)
- International students eligible
- Nomination by Watson campus committee (*Learn about the nomination process below)
Award summary and conditions: The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship program offers college graduates of unusual promise a year of independent, purposeful exploration and travel outside of the United States to enhance their capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership, and to foster humane and effective participation in the world community. The fellowship includes a $40,000 stipend, health insurance, and up to $10,000 for Personal Assistance Services or a spouse. The Foundation will also reimburse the equivalent of 12 months of payments on outstanding institutional and federally guaranteed (Perkins, Stafford) loans. Fellows are responsible for payments.
Applicants should seriously consider the following questions before beginning the application process:
- Do I want to carry out an independent project entirely on my own for a year?
- Do I want to be away from home and loved ones for a year?
- Do I have the self-reliance and focus to complete this project?
- Am I self-reflective?
- Am I flexible? Am I willing to leave behind familiar structures and cultures?
- Will my project allow me to delve into a culture other than my own?
- How will a Watson year challenge me?
- Is a Watson year realistic for me?
Application materials:
- Application form
- Project proposal
- Personal statement
- Unofficial Transcript(s)
- Budget
- Recommendations (2). Watson recommendations are not conventional letters but rather responses to prompts that are provided by the Watson Foundation. Recommendations are due by the campus deadline. At least one recommendation must come from a Whitman faculty or staff.
- Personal photo
Campus liaison: Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director for Fellowships and Grants (hernand2@whitman.edu)
To learn more, visit the Watson Fellowship website: http://watson.foundation/fellowships/tj
Applicants must participate in the campus review process to be considered for a nomination. The campus review committee can nominate up to four graduating seniors for the Watson Fellowship each year.
Steps of the campus review process:
- Meet with Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director for Fellowships and Grants, well in advance of the campus deadline, to discuss your interest in the Watson Fellowship. First years, sophomores, and juniors are highly encouraged to meet with Dr. Hernandez as soon as they learn of the fellowship opportunity. You can schedule an appointment with Dr. Hernandez on Handshake (select 'Fellowships and Grants', and any meeting with 'Jess Hernandez'), or via email.
- Complete your application on the Watson portal by the campus deadline. The campus committee will review all applications and invite 6-10 applicants to an interview.
- Participate in a 25-minute interview with the campus committee. Following the interviews, the committee will select the up to four nominees. Each nominee will be paired with a faculty committee member who will serve as their mentor and help each applicant refine their application materials.
- Finalize your application materials and upload them to the Watson portal. Dr. Hernandez and Jenny Stratton, Administrative Assistant in Fellowships & Grants, will conduct a final proofread of your application materials, then direct you to hit 'Submit' on the portal.
- Lastly, Dr. Hernandez will prepare a college endorsement letter that will be added to your application.
All nominees are interviewed in-person at Whitman by a member of the Watson national selection committee. Interviews are one hour in length and occur sometime between November and February.
Total Recipients = 54
- 2025 - Kenzie Bay '25
- 2023 - Katie Jose '23, Annie Means '22
- 2022 - Sylvia Adome '22
- 2021 - Liam Voorhees '21
- 2020 - Cameron Conner '20, Evangelos Sarantinos '20
- 2019 - Cello Lockwood '19
- 2018 - Zuhra Amini '18, Devin Reese '18
- 2017 - Nina Finley '17, Sam Perkins '17
- 2015 - Victoria (Tory) Davidson '15
- 2013 - Lian Caspi '13
- 2012 - Zach Duffy '12
- 2011 - Ross Eustis '11
- 2010 - Seth Bergeson '10, Nadim Damluji '10
- 2009 - Aisha Fukushima '09
- 2008 - Erik Andersen '08, Joseph Bornstein '08, Adrian (Teal) Greyhavens '08
- 2006 - Jena Griswold '06
- 2004 - Sarah Lawrence '04
- 2003 - Rachel Smith '03
- 2002 - Scott Whinfrey '03
- 2002 - Toby Campbell '02
- 2001 - Taha Ebrahimi '01
- 2000 - Erin Beery '00
- 1999 - Daniel Meyers '99, Haroon Ullah '99
- 1998 - Jill Winder '98
- 1997 - Kinoka Ogsbury '97, David Sprunger '97, Amanda Walker '97
- 1996 - Chris DeBenedetti '96, Katherine Deumling '96, Jon Lambert '96
- 1995 - Jayson Beaster-Jones '95
- 1981 - Markus Ursin '81
- 1980 - C. Grady Walker '80
- 1978 - Susan K. Wierenga '78, Charles Alexander '78
- 1977 - Patricia (Jorgenson) Troxel '77, Robert Winkler '77
- 1976 - Roberta S. Podbielancik '76, Mark Ralston '76, Andrew Dappen '76
- 1975 - Gordon Rubard '75
- 1974 - Betty Eidemiller '75
- 1972 - Clifford Brown '72, Wayne Tilson '72
- 1971 - Cleve Larson '71, Michael (Johnson) Sonnleitner '71