Student Awarded Saint Andrew’s Fellowship

Josiah Durfee ’25 has been awarded a fellowship from the Saint Andrew’s Society of New York to pursue a Master of Letters (MLitt) in strategic studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. 

The award, given annually to promote cultural interchange and good will between Scotland and the United States, covers the cost of tuition, fees, and transportation for a year of graduate study in Scotland. Durfee, a political science major with a minor in geography, plans to study security strategy for two semesters starting in September 2025, followed by an independent dissertation over the summer.

“I will be able to study security strategy during a particularly unstable international environment with some of the best experts in a small town setting similar to Middlebury,” said Durfee. “I’m particularly excited to work with Professor Phillips O’Brien, an expert on the Ukraine war, which was the subject of my senior thesis.” 

Durfee said Scotland’s history provides a unique setting for studying strategy. “Its history is defined by years of conquest, religious conflict, ethnic turnover, and rebellion, many of which are physically reflected in the landscape,” he said. “Learning there can be supplemented by  visiting castles, battlefields, and other strategic sites dotting the country.” 

Before starting his graduate work, Durfee plans to work for a think tank conducting open-source intelligence research on the war in Ukraine. After studying at St Andrews, Scotland’s oldest university founded in 1413, he hopes to work in a federal or international policy position focusing on transatlantic security. 

Founded in 1756, the Saint Andrew’s Society of the State of New York provides charitable relief, academic opportunities, and fosters fellowship around a common Scottish heritage.