Deadline: 27-Oct-22
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program is seeking applications from the 30 most promising New Americans who will go on to make distinctive contributions to American society, culture or their field. Each Fellow serves as an example of the richness that refugees and immigrants bring to America.
The program seeks to create “a level playing field” for the consideration of applicants from different backgrounds, in different fields, at different stages in their educational development, and of different ages. Because New Americans and their families have had very different immigration experiences, They take those differences into account in assessing applicants’ success in meeting the selection criteria.
Funding Information
Fellows receive up to $90,000 in financial support toward their graduate education. The award is divided into tuition support ($40,000) and stipend support ($50,000). Tuition is paid directly to the university and stipends are paid to the Fellow. Fellowship support is spread out over two academic years (four semesters or six quarters).
- Stipends
- Each Fellow receives up to $25,000 per year in stipend support for up to two years and can be divided into two semester payments or three quarter payments. Stipends are paid directly to the Fellows. There is a cap on a Fellows stipend support from all sources.
- Year one stipend cap, whichever is higher:
- $50,000 or $10,000 above the stipend they would have received without PD Soros support
- Year two stipend cap:
- $50,000
- Tuition
- Each Fellow receives up to $20,000 per year in tuition support for up to two years: $10,000 per semester or $6,667 per quarter. Tuition covers a maximum of 50% of tuition and fees. The total tuition support a Fellow receives (PD Soros and other funding) cannot exceed the total charges on their tuition statement. Tuition is paid directly to the university.
- Fellows Receiving Financial Support from their University or Other Fellowships
- PD Soros’s financial goal is to provide each PD Soros Fellow with $25,000 in stipend support a year (all stipend awards are capped at $50,000 per year), as well as 50 percent of required tuition and fees, up to $20,000 per year, for one to two years.
Eligibility Criteria
- To be eligible for the Class of 2023, you must be a New American who is 30 or younger as of the application deadline, and who is planning on starting or continuing an eligible graduate degree program full-time in the United States in the 2023-2024 academic year.
- You may apply to the Fellowship while you are applying to graduate school, or after you are already enrolled in graduate school. However, if you are in a graduate program for which you are seeking support, then you cannot have started a third or subsequent year of that program as of the October 27th deadline.
- New American Status
- The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program is intended for immigrants and children of immigrants in the United States.
- To be eligible, your birth parents must have both been born outside of the US as non-US citizens, and both parents must not have been eligible for US citizenship at the time of their births. In addition, one of the following must be true of you as of the application deadline:
- US Citizen by Birth: You are a US citizen by birth and one of the following is true:
- Both of your birth parents were born abroad as non-US citizens and were not eligible for US citizenship at the time of their births.
- You were raised by only one of your birth parents, the parent that raised you was born abroad as a non-US citizen, and your second birth parent was not a part of your life growing up and you have no contact with them.
- Born abroad: You were born abroad as a non-US citizen and one of the following is true:
- Naturalized Citizen: You have been naturalized as a US citizen either on your own or as a minor child under the application of one of your parents.
- Adopted: You were born outside of the US or one of its territories and were subsequently adopted by American parents and were awarded US citizenship because of your adoption.
- Green Card: You are in possession of a valid green card.
- Refugee & Asylees: You have been granted asylum or refugee status in the US.
- If None of the Other Categories Above Apply: Graduated from High School and College in the US: If none of the other categories apply to you and you were born abroad, you must have graduated from both high school and college in the US (this includes current and past DACA recipients).
- US Citizen by Birth: You are a US citizen by birth and one of the following is true:
- Age
- The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program is intended for students who are early in their careers. All students must be 30 or younger as of the application deadline. To be eligible for the 2023 Fellowship, you must not have reached or passed your 31st birthday as of the application deadline. There is no minimum age requirement.
- The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program uses three primary criteria for selection of Fellows:
- The candidate has demonstrated creativity, originality and initiative in one or more aspects of her/his life.
- The candidate has demonstrated a commitment to and capacity for accomplishment that has required drive and sustained effort.
- The candidate has demonstrated a commitment to the values expressed in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This would include, but not be limited to, support of human rights and the rule of law, opposition to unwarranted encroachment on personal liberty, and advancing the responsibilities of citizenship in a free society.
- In addition, the program considers two further criteria:
- The candidate gives promise of continued significant contributions. Those contributions are likely to reflect distinctive creativity, originality and initiative and will mark the candidate as a leading and influential figure within her/his fields of endeavor.
- The candidate’s graduate training is relevant to her/his long-term career goals and is of potential value in enhancing her/his future creativity and accomplishment.
For more information, visit Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships.
For more information, visit https://www.pdsoros.org/apply/eligibility