Watson-Brown Foundation Scholarship Grant

The Watson-Brown Foundation Scholarship offers need and merit-based financial assistance to students from Georgia and South Carolina attending accredited four-year colleges. Established in 1970, the foundation aims to enhance educational opportunities for underprivileged youth, awarding over $2.4 million annually. Eligible students can receive up to $3,000 per semester to cover educational expenses, supporting their academic journey while encouraging responsible scholarship and historic preservation.

The Watson-Brown Foundation, through creativity, diligence and financial support, labors to improve education in the American South by funding its schools and students, preserving its history, encouraging responsible scholarship, and promoting the memory and values of our spiritual founders.
The primary mission of the Watson-Brown Foundation is providing need and merit-based scholarships to select Georgia and South Carolina students attending accredited four-year colleges and universities in the United States.
In 1970, Brown established the Watson-Brown Foundation primarily to provide “college opportunities for underprivileged boys and girls.” Named for Thomas E. Watson and J.J. Brown, the Foundation awards annually more than $2.4 million in merit and need-based college scholarships to students from a eighteen county region of Georgia and South Carolina. Walter Brown also set a precedent for preservation, especially as it related to the history of the South. Today, the Foundation owns and operates three historic sites in Georgia and explores history through the eyes of the men who created them. Finally, the Foundation operates a grant program that encourages responsible scholarship on the South and supports historic preservation.
Funding
Scholarship funds in the amount of $3,000 will be mailed to a recipient’s college or university of choice twice yearly: once in the Fall semester (July) and once in the Spring semester (January). Scholarship funds cannot be rolled over into subsequent semesters or pooled for future use. Each recipient will have up to $3,000 of funding available for each eligible semester.
Scholarship funds may only be used to cover approved cost of attendance expenses for a recipient’s first four eligible years of undergraduate study. The number of eligible funding semesters awarded to new recipients is determined based on the applicant’s total years of post-secondary education completed as of the initial semester of award eligibility, shown below:

• Zero years of post-secondary education completed: eight potential semesters of eligibility.
• One year of post-secondary education completed: six potential semesters of eligibility.
• Two years of post-secondary education completed: four potential semesters of eligibility.
• Three years of post-secondary education completed: two potential semesters of eligibility.

A recipient will have a period of five consecutive years to use all eligible semesters of funding. This period begins with the first semester of attendance following acceptance as a Watson-Brown Scholarship recipient. This period ends if one of the following criteria is met:

• A recipient attends college for the total number of eligible semesters awarded.
• A recipient exceeds the five consecutive year period available to use their scholarship funds.
• A recipient graduates from an undergraduate academic program.

Eligibility

Eligible students must be from one of the 23 counties listed below.A student's permanent address must be within the designated county region at the time of high school graduation.Georgia:Burke
McCormick
SpartanburgCurrent high school seniors or current undergraduate students may apply for the scholarship. Students must plan to attend a 4 year, regionally accredited, non-profit college. The Foundation recognizes colleges and universities accredited by one of the six regional accreditation agencies, such as SACS.To maintain eligibility of the Watson-Brown Foundation Scholarship a recipient must meet the following requirements each semester:Attend a four-year non-profit college or university accredited by one of the six regional accreditation agencies.Maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
Complete each semester (Fall/Spring) with at least 12 credit hours (or the institution’s equivalent). Recipients must receive a letter grade in each course to be considered as complete. A course will not be considered complete if any of the following occur:A student withdraws from a course prior to the end of the semester.
A student receives an Incomplete grade for a course.
Complete the Watson-Brown Foundation Scholarship Renewal Form at the end of each Fall and Spring semester. Notify the Foundation if they transfer colleges, plan to study abroad, plan on taking time off from school, or are considering dropping a course that will place them below full-time status.

Ineligibility

Scholarship funds cannot be used for any period of time in which a recipient attends an academic institution that does not meet eligibility requirements. This includes, but is not limited to:Community or technical colleges, with the exception of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, GA
Four-year academic institutions that are not accredited by the six regional accrediting bodies.
Bridge programs.Scholarship funds will not be made available for any period of time in which a recipient fails to maintain scholarship eligibility requirements. Semesters in which a recipient fails to meet eligibility requirements will still count towards their total awarded semesters of funding. Recipients will once again be eligible to receive funds after completing a semester in which all eligibility requirements are satisfied.
Scholarship funds cannot be rolled over into subsequent semesters or pooled for future use.