Founded by immigrants, The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans supports outstanding New Americans—immigrants and children of immigrants—pursuing graduate school in the United States. Each Fellowship lasts for one to two years. With the goal of highlighting the many ways that New Americans contribute to society and culture, the Fellowship supports 30 individuals every year with up to $90,000 in funding per Fellow. In terms of New American status, eligible applicants include individuals born in the United States who have two parents who were born abroad, and immigrants who are green card holders, naturalized citizens, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients, or individuals born abroad who graduated from both high school and college in the United States.
In addition to receiving funding for the graduate program of their choice, each new Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow joins the lifelong community of 805 past recipients. The active alumni network includes artists, designers, architects, directors, writers, composers, and musicians, in addition to doctors, lawyers, public health experts, professors, engineers, and entrepreneurs. “The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship liberated me from the traditional path I was expected to follow,” said 2009 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow Shantanu Gaur, the cofounder and CEO at Allurion Technologies. “Unburdened from debt and energized by peers who were taking the road less traveled, I have been able to thrive.”
Eligibility
Selection criteria focuses on accomplishments that show creativity, originality, and initiative in all fields. The application is open to college seniors, students applying to graduate school, and those who are in the early stages of graduate school. All applicants must be planning to be enrolled full-time in an accredited graduate program in the US in the 2025-26 academic year. In addition, applicants must be 30 or younger as of the application deadline.
How to Apply
The best way for applicants to learn more about the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships is to watch an information session by following this link. There are information sessions on that page that are focused on students in various fields so it’s best for applicants to watch the session that matches their academic or professional field. There are several guides to help applicants think through recommendations and essay writing here. Finally, applicants can sign up for the Fellowship’s e-mail list and connect with the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships on social media! Applicants can find the Fellowship on Twitter (@PDSoros), Instagram (@PDSoros), and LinkedIn (/PDSoros).
Application Deadline
The application for the 2025-26 academic year is now open and is due on October 31, 2024 at 2:00 pm Eastern Time (ET).
For more information: https://pdsoros.org/
This post was authored by Academic Affairs on 09/16/2024.