Term Length: 1-2 Years
US Citizenship Not Required

To be eligible, 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 upcoming 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 application deadline.

1. NEW AMERICAN STATUS​​

• You are an immigrant or the child of immigrants.
• 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.
• Your parents’ current immigration status or location is not relevant. Some Fellows’ parents never immigrated, some have returned to their country of origin, others have naturalized or received their green cards in the US, and others are living in the United States but have not naturalized.
• If you are a US citizen by birth:
  • 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.
• If you were born abroad as a non-US citizen then one of the following must be 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

• You will have a bachelor’s degree as of the fall of the year when the Fellowship will begin. You can have a previous graduate degree.
• You are planning on starting or continuing an eligible fully-accredited graduate or professional degree program full-time in the United States in the academic year when the Fellowship will begin. Online programs are eligible for Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships funding.
  You can apply to graduate school at the same time that you are applying for the Fellowship. You do not need to have been admitted into a graduate program when you apply.
  If you are already in graduate school when you apply, you must not have started the third year of the program you are seeking funding for as of the application deadline.
• If you are already enrolled in a graduate or professional degree-granting program:
  • You cannot have started a third or subsequent year of that program as of the application deadline.
  • If you are in a joint- or dual-degree program, the program you are enrolled in must meet the eligibility requirements.

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.

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.

The 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.

A Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows class is made up of 30 outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants from all over the country and world who are pursuing graduate school here in the United States. Selected from more than 2,600 applicants, each of the recipients is chosen for their potential to make significant contributions to the United States and will receive up to $90,000 in funding over two years.

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