Graduate Scholarships for Refugees, Immigrants, and Asylum-seekers

Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

This prestigious fellowship program provides substantial funding support to the most promising of new U.S. immigrants and the children of immigrants seeking to make “significant contributions to U.S. culture, society, and academia.”

This scholarship is open to students in professional and graduate programs of all types. Applicants must be 30 years of age or younger and enrolled in, or planning to enroll in, a graduate or professional degree program. Non-U.S. citizen applicants must possess a valid green card, have been granted asylum or refugee status in the U.S., or have graduated from both high school and college in the U.S.

Byron Hanke Fellowship

Sponsored through the Foundation for Community Association Research, the Byron Hanke Fellowship provides financial support to graduate and law students in the preparation of a research project concerning community associations or common-interest communities in one of several specific topics (see fellowship website for current topic list). The fellowship is open to applicants from all disciplines. Awards are based strictly on merit with no regard given to gender, race, ethnicity, age, religious beliefs, or disabilities.

Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund

The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund provides need-based grants to students who are “active and emerging organizers in progressive movements for liberation, self-determination and social and economic justice in their communities.” Awards are available to students in accredited post-secondary education programs on all levels, including master’s and doctorate programs. Non-U.S. citizen applicants must have participated in required activities in the United States; preference is given to applicants who plan to remain in the U.S.

iVein Health & Wellness Scholarship

Open to all undergraduate and graduate students — regardless of immigration status — with an average GPA of 3.7 or higher who are currently enrolled full-time at an accredited U.S. college or university. Selections are made solely on the evaluation of the applicant’s written essay (800 to 1,000 words) on the subject of “promoting a practical approach to healthy lifestyle during college years and how these habits can be sustained over a lifetime.”

Overcoming Adversity Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded based on a 500- to 1,000-word essay, in which the applicant is asked to describe how they overcame adversity by detailing a specific roadblock through which they “fought and emerged victoriously.” Immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers who entered the U.S. due to adverse circumstances may find that their journey provides the perfect essay topic.

Graduate student applicants must be currently enrolled in college and demonstrate good academic standing through a 3.0 or higher GPA. Open to all otherwise-qualifying applicants regardless of immigration status.

Chester Burger Scholarship for Excellence in Public Relations

Offered through the PRSA Foundation — a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting diversity among public relations companies and professionals — this scholarship was created to encourage graduate students in the public relations field to pursue careers in corporate public relations.

The Chester Burger Scholarship is available to all students, regardless of immigration status, enrolled in a graduate degree program in public relations or related field at a U.S. college or university. Applicants must possess an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) Honor Scholarship in Memory of Joe Lalli

This award is available to landscape architecture students currently attending a master’s degree program in the United States or Canada and accredited by the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Council or the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board.

Applicants are evaluated on the basis of leadership, character/integrity, design ability, and service to others. Financial need is also considered. This scholarship is open to all qualifying applicants, regardless of immigration status.

PDK International Scholarship Program (Education)

The PDK International Scholarship Program offers more than 100 scholarship opportunities to PDK International members pursuing a degree/career in education. Eligibility requirements vary by specific scholarship; however, they are all open to students who meet their application requirements, regardless of citizenship/immigration status. Applicants submit a single application and are considered for all scholarship opportunities for which they qualify.

The fact is that there simply aren’t a lot of scholarship, grant, or fellowship programs out there exclusively (or even specifically) for immigrant, refugee, and/or asylum-seeking graduate students. However, there are numerous nonexclusive programs that are open to these students and others. So, start early and put the necessary time into your search. And be sure to make use of any and all resources available to help in your search (such as this List of Scholarships and Fellowships from Immigrants Rising or the Illinois Database of Grants and Fellowships for Graduate Students, which includes opportunities at a variety of schools). Most importantly, stay in close touch with your school’s financial aid office.

Another great reason to start your scholarship/grant/fellowship search early is that you’re going to need a lot of time to complete all application requirements and submit them on time. Applications typically require a lot of information and supplemental documentation, including transcripts, letters of recommendation, essays and personal statements, and more. And every individual program has its own unique application requirements. All of this adds up to a real time commitment from you, particularly if you’ll need to obtain any documentation from your native country or will require additional help in completing written materials in English. So, get to work on those applications as soon as possible.

Every scholarship program has its own unique set of eligibility and application requirements, and it’s critical that you understand and meet each and every one of them fully and specifically. As a non-native English speaker, if you aren’t completely certain you understand the specifics of a scholarship’s application, seek out someone who will help make sure you do. Finally, don’t be shy about having someone review your application form and submittals before you send them in. Mistakes on your application can lead to disqualification, so ensure you don’t make them.

If you’re not completely confident in your English skills, you might be tempted to have someone ghost-write – or worse – plagiarize your application essays and personal statements. Absolutely do not do this! Plagiarizing is an obvious huge no-no for anyone in any situation. As for having someone else write your essays and statements, remember that it’s through those writings that scholarship committees get to know you for who you really are.

To be safe, you’ll want to review and edit your writing (probably several times) and use spellcheck or even a writing assistant app like Grammarly before submitting your essays and statements. And you’re strongly encouraged to have an English major or instructor go over them, too. But expressing your personality and honesty is what scholarship essays and personal statements are all about, and that may not come across if yours are written by someone else.

Essays and personal statements for scholarships aren’t exactly the same as those you may have written when you applied to graduate school, however the basics apply. Review our tips for essays and tips for personal statements to ensure that your writing shines.

It’s very simple: Missing a deadline for submitting your scholarship application or supplemental documentation will totally kill any chance you have of winning that scholarship. And pleading your case won’t save you — as an immigrant, you’re held to the same standards as all other students, so language issues, delays in obtaining documents from your home country, etc., will not be seen as a valid excuse. So again, start your application process early, keep a calendar with all application-related due dates highlighted on it, and do whatever else you need to do to ensure that you don’t miss any deadlines.