P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans

CALLING IMMIGRANTS & CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS

The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is proud to honor the contributions of continuing generations of immigrants and refugees to the United States. 

The following are eligibility requirements for the 2020 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship.

The application for the 2020 Fellowships is available April 11, 2019 through the deadline on November 1, 2019 at 2:00 pm ET. Applications are not reviewed on a rolling basis. All eligibility requirements apply to the status of the applicant ("you") as of November 1, 2019. If named a finalist, you will be required to provide documentation of your eligibility.

To be eligible for the Class of 2020, 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 2020-2021 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, you must not have started or passed the third year of the graduate program that you are seeking funding for in the 2020-21 academic year as of the November 1, 2019 application deadline. 

To be eligible for the 2020 Fellowship, you must meet the following requirements as of the November 1, 2019 application deadline:

1. 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 November 1 application deadline:

• Born in the US: You are a US citizen by birth and both of your parents were born abroad as non-US citizens.
• Born abroad:
  • 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 but graduated from both high school and college in the US (this includes current and past DACA recipients).

• The parent who raised you must have been born abroad as a non-US citizen.
• Your second birth parent was not part of your life growing up and you have no contact with them.

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 2020. 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 degree programs. To be eligible for the 2020 Fellowship, you should be planning to be enrolled full-time in an eligible graduate degree program at a US university for the full 2020-21 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 November 1, 2019 deadline. If you have a previous graduate degree or are in a joint-degree program, you may still be eligible.

Ineligible programs: Online 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 2020 Fellowship, you must not have reached or passed your 31st birthday as of the application deadline. There is no minimum age requirement.