Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

Benefits & funding

• Stipend of up to $25,000 per year for up to two years, paid directly to the fellow and released by semester or quarter.
• Tuition support of up to $20,000 per year for up to two years, paid directly to the university ($10,000 per semester or $6,667 per quarter) and covering at most 50% of tuition and fees. Tuition support cannot be put toward health-insurance costs.
• Up to $90,000 in total — $50,000 stipend plus $40,000 tuition — spread over two academic years, meaning four semesters or six quarters.
• Two all-expenses-paid weekend conferences in New York City during the first two years, plus campus visits from the programme directors.
• Lifelong membership of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellows Association alumni network.
• Stipend cap: a fellow’s stipend is limited to whichever is higher, $50,000 or $10,000 above what they would have received without the fellowship. A university that cuts its own stipend support by more than $10,000 a year forfeits that fellow’s tuition support. The programme aims for every fellow to net at least $20,000 over the two years.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be 30 or younger on the application deadline. There is no minimum age.
• Applicants born abroad qualify as New Americans through one of five routes: naturalised as a US citizen, on their own or as a minor child; born outside the US or its territories and subsequently adopted by American parents; holding a valid green card; granted asylum or refugee status in the US; or, when none of the others apply, having graduated from both high school and college in the US — a route that covers current and past DACA recipients.
• US-born applicants qualify if both birth parents were born outside the US as non-citizens and neither was eligible for US citizenship at birth, or if they were raised by one immigrant parent with no contact from the other.
• Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree by fall 2027. A graduate or professional degree already earned is no bar to applying.
• The funded degree must be a full-time, fully accredited graduate or professional programme at a US institution, in any field. Online programmes are eligible; part-time study and programmes outside the US are not.
• An admission offer is not required at the time of applying — candidates may apply while they are still applying to graduate school.
• Applicants already enrolled must not have started the third year of the degree they are seeking funding for as of the deadline. For doctoral candidates, a master’s built into the PhD counts toward those years, as does an earlier master’s whose credits transfer into the PhD.
• Ineligible programme types: executive graduate programmes, joint bachelor’s/master’s programmes awarding both degrees simultaneously, certificate programmes, post-baccalaureate programmes, programmes outside the US, and programmes that are not fully accredited.
• The first year of the fellowship cannot be deferred; the second year of funding may be deferred by up to one calendar year.
• Fellows may not work full time while enrolled in the funded programme.

Application process

1. 1
   Check the eligibility rules and identify which New American category applies; separate guides cover PhD, MD/PhD and veteran applicants.
2. 2
   Create an account on the online application portal. The 2027 application opened on 15 April 2026.
3. 3
   Complete the eligibility and demographic questions and the sections on educational history, New American background and intended graduate programmes.
4. 4
   Upload a resume or CV, college and graduate transcripts, standardised test scores where the target programme requires them, two essays of at most 1,000 words each, and any optional exhibits.
5. 5
   Register three to five recommenders. At least three recommendations must have been submitted as of the deadline for the application to count as complete.
6. 6
   Submit by 29 October 2026, 2:00 pm ET; the programme states that no exceptions are made.
7. 7
   Interview virtually in late January or early February 2027 if selected as one of the 77 finalists.

Program timeline

1. 15 April 2026

   2027 application opens

2. Application deadline, including at least three recommendations

   29 October 2026, 2:00 pm ET

3. All applicants notified; 77 finalists named

   Mid-January 2027

4. Virtual finalist interviews

   Late January to early February 2027

5. The 30 fellows are notified

   March 2027

6. Fellows announced publicly

   Mid-April 2027

7. Funded study begins

   2027–2028 academic year