The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program honors the contributions of immigrants to the United States. Every Year, the Foundation invests in the graduate education of 30 New Americans - immigrants and the children of immigrants - who are poised to make significant contributions to US society, culture or their academic fields.

Each Fellowship supports up to two years of graduate study - in any field and in any advanced degree-granting program - in the United States. Please note that the Fellowship does not cover tuition for executive programs, accelerated Bachelor's/Master's programs, or online degrees.

Each award is for up to a total of $90,000. Here is the break down: Each Fellow receives $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. The first year of Fellowship funding cannot be deferred.

New Fellows join a strong community of current and past Fellows who all share the New American experience.

The competition is merit-based. Selection criteria emphasize creativity, originality, initiative, and sustained accomplishment. The program values a commitment to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The program does not have any quotas for types of degrees, universities or programs, countries of origin, or gender, etc.

Unsuccessful applicants are welcome and encouraged to reapply in subsequent years if they are still eligible.

To be eligible for the 2023 Fellowship, you must meet the following requirements as of the October 27, 2022 application 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 October 27 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).

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 2023. 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 2023 Fellowship, you should be planning to be enrolled full-time in an eligible graduate degree program at a US university for the full 2023-24 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 27, 2022 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 2023-24 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.

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.

• senior
• graduate

• US Citizen
• Permanent Resident
• Undocumented

Apply online at https://www.pdsoros.org/apply/online-application. 

The application includes the following sections:

• A confirmation of your eligibility
• Your personal and contact information
• Your higher-education history
• The graduate program[s] for which you seek support
• Recommendations (3 required, up to 5 accepted)
• Required submissions: Resume, two essays, transcripts (college, graduate), scores of standardized tests (if they are or were required for admission to your graduate program)
• Optional exhibits

Documentation:

We have minimized the official documents required to confirm eligibility, educational, and test results. If you are asked to be a finalist, however, we will specify the official documents that we will need from you before we can invite you to the finalist interviews.

Returning Applicants:

If you have applied to, or been familiar with previous Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship competitions, please note that:

You will not be able to resubmit your previous application.

You will be required to upload your resume essays, transcripts, standardized test scores and optional test scores through the application system.

Recommendations must be submitted online, through the application system. We will not be able to re-use past recommendations. 

Essay Questions

Essay One - maximum length 1000 words

Tell us about your experiences as a New American. Whether as an immigrant yourself, or as a child of immigrants, how have your experiences as a New American informed and shaped who you are and your accomplishments?

Feel free to discuss how individual people (such as family or teachers), institutions, aspects of law, culture, society or American governance made an impact on your life as an immigrant or child of immigrants. The program is interested in understanding the context of your personal, professional, and academic accomplishments.

Essay Two – maximum length 1000 words

Tell us about your current and near-term career-related activities and goals, as well as why you decided to pursue the specific graduate program(s) and school(s) that you have. How do you see your current work and study informing your early career goals? If you have not been accepted into a program yet, please tell us about why you selected the programs to which you are applying.

Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans

11 West 42nd Street, 3rd Fl.

NYC, NY 10036

212-405-8234

PDSoros@pdsoros.org 

Website: www.pdsoros.org