Purpose
Paul and Daisy Soros, Hungarian immigrants and American philanthropists, established their fellowship program for New Americans in December 1997, with a charitable trust of 50 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 a critical point in their education was an unmet need. Finally, they wished to signal all Americans that the contributions of New Americans to the quality of life in this country has been manifold.

Since the founding of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, there have been seven rounds of competition with over 6,500 individuals taking part. As of February 2004, 172 Fellowships have been awarded; there are now 62 Fellows at 23 universities undertaking graduate study in 17 different fields. There are also 110 alumni. Almost 1,000 applications from 360 colleges and universities were received in 2004. They represented the whole spectrum of graduate fields 141 different national origins.

Details
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship Program defines a New American as one who (1) is a resident alien; i.e., holds a Green Card or, (2) has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen or (3) is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. The Program is open to individuals who retain loyalty and a sense of commitment to their country of origin as well as to the United States, but it is intended to support individuals who will continue to regard the United States as their principle residence and focus of national identity.

An applicant must be under 30 years of age as of November 1, 2004, and have a Bachelor's degree or be in her/his final year of undergraduate study. Those who have a bachelor's degree may already be pursuing a first or second year of graduate study and may receive Fellowship support to continue that study. Individuals who

Soros Fellows may pursue a graduate degree in any professional field (e.g., engineering, medicine, law, social work, etc.) or scholarly discipline in the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences. The Fine and Performing Arts are included. A Fellow may study at any accredited graduate program in the United States.

Each year a Soros Fellow receives a maintenance grant of $20,000 (paid in two installments) and a tuition grant of one-half the tuition cost of the U.S. graduate program attended. The Fellowship Program pays the tuition grant directly to the institution. The size of the tuition grant depends on the cost of tuition, and fees are not included in the calculation. If the program pursued is less than two years, the Fellow receives the amount to cover the period required for the degree. It is expected that the Fellow will complete the cost of tuition from other sources as summer employment, public and private grant and loan programs for advanced education, or matching funds from the graduate institution attended. The Fellow will be asked to inform the Program of other awards that she/he has been offered and may be asked to accept a total award package that does not exceed full tuition and required fees, plus $20,000 for maintenance from the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans. A Fellow may not work during the period of the Fellowship without the permission of the Director.

For more information on the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, visit the Paul & Daisy Soros Foundation website at:

http://www.pdsoros.org/.