Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships

Paul and Daisy Soros, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, established their Fellowship program for New Americans—immigrants and children of immigrants—in December of 1997 with a charitable trust of fifty million dollars. They created the program as a way to give back to the country that had afforded their family such great opportunities.

The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is a $90,000 merit-based fellowship exclusively for immigrants and children of immigrants who are pursuing graduate school in the United States. The program draws more than 1,800 applications annually for just 30 fellowships.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

1. NEW AMERICAN STATUS​​ 

• 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 October 26 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).

2. ACADEMIC STANDING

The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program is intended for immigrants and children of immigrants who are pursuing full-time graduate degrees at United States institutions. To be eligible, you will have a bachelor’s degree as of the fall of 2024. You may be applying to graduate school at the same time that you are applying to the Fellowship, or you may already be enrolled in the graduate program that you are seeking funding for as of the application deadline. The Fellowship is open to all fields of study and fully accredited full-time graduate and professional degree programs. To be eligible for the 2024 Fellowship, you should be planning to be enrolled full-time in an eligible graduate degree program at a US university for the full 2024-25 academic year. To be eligible, you must not have begun the third year of the program that you are seeking funding for as of the October 26, 2023 deadline. Individuals who have a previous graduate degree are eligible. For individuals in a joint- or dual-degree program, the program you are enrolled in for the 2024-25 academic year must meet the eligibility requirements.

Beginning this cycle, online programs, including hybrid programs, are eligible for Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships funding. Online programs must meet the eligibility requirements detailed above. 

During the academic year, Fellows are not permitted to work full-time; part-time work—up to 20 hours—is permitted with approval of the Fellowship director. 

Ineligible programs: Executive graduate programs, joint bachelors/master's programs in which both degrees are awarded simultaneously, certificate programs, post-baccalaureate programs, graduate programs that are not in the United States, and graduate programs that are not fully accredited.

3. 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 2024 Fellowship, you must not have reached or passed your 31st birthday as of the application deadline. There is no minimum age requirement.

Selection Criteria

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.

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, we take those differences into account in assessing applicants' success in meeting the selection criteria.

We program looks at applicants holistically and has never had a preferred GPA or test score range. The program is interested in applicants who do the most with what they have, challenge themselves, and work hard to overcome obstacles.