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.
Applications are not reviewed on a rolling basis. All eligibility requirements apply to the status of the applicant ("you") as of October 28, 2021. If named a finalist, you will be required to provide documentation of your eligibility.
To be eligible for the Class of 2022, 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 2022-2023 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 28th deadline.
To be eligible for the 2022 Fellowship, you must meet the following requirements as of the October 28, 2021 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 October 28 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).
* If you were raised by only one of your birth parents, the following must be true:
- 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 2022. 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 2022 Fellowship, you should be planning to be enrolled full-time in an eligible graduate degree program at a US university for the full 2022-23 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 28, 2021 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 2022-23 academic year must meet the eligibility requirements.
Due to the unprecedented changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, many graduate programs have transitioned to an online-class format. While online programs, including most hybrid programs, are not typically eligible for Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships funding, any program that is intended to be an in-person program under regular circumstances is still eligible for Fellowship funding, regardless of whether it is fully online during the pandemic. If an academic program was always intended to be an online program and will continue to be an online program after the pandemic subsides, then it would not be eligible for Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships funding. If an academic program was intended to be an in-person program and will return to being an in-person program when the pandemic subsides, then it would be eligible for Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships funding.
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: Online programs (see above for further clarification), 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 2022 Fellowship, you must not have reached or passed your 31st birthday as of the application deadline. There is no minimum age requirement.
