Paul and Daisy Soros, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, established their fellowship program for New Americans in December 1997 with a charitable trust of fifty million dollars. Their reasons for doing so were several. They wished to "give back" to the country that had afforded them and their children such great opportunities and felt a fellowship program was an appropriate vehicle. They also felt that assisting young New Americans at critical points in their educations was an unmet need. Finally, they wished to call attention of all Americans to the extensive and diverse contributions of New Americans to the quality of life in this country.

The fellowship honors and supports the graduate educations of New Americans and is intended for United States immigrants and children of immigrants. To be eligible, an applicant's 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:

• 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.
  • 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 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.

Applicants must be 30 or younger as of the application deadline and planning on starting or continuing an eligible graduate degree program full-time in the United States. Applicants may apply to the Fellowship while applying to graduate school, or while enrolled in graduate school. However, they must not have started or passed the third year of the graduate program that they are seeking funding for as of the application deadline. More information on eligibility can be found on the the Paul & Daisy Soros website.

Fellows are selected on the basis of merit – the specific criteria emphasize creativity, originality, initiative and sustained accomplishment. Candidates apply directly. The program does not depend on recommendations from universities or regional screening. Neither financial need nor distributive considerations are taken into account in the selection process.

Last updated: April, 2019