The Open Society Scholarship Programs fund the participation of students, scholars, and professionals from the former Soviet Union, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East in rigorous, competitive academic programs outside of their home countries. Scholarship Programs work to revitalize and reform the teaching of the social sciences and humanities, provide professional training in fields unavailable or underrepresented at institutions in the countries served, and assist outstanding students from a range of backgrounds to pursue their studies in alternative academic and cultural environments.
The program has a long history of supporting innovative scholars who have made extraordinary contributions to their countries in fields ranging from education to human rights to economics, and beyond. Scholarship Programs also work to drive social change by helping participants stay connected and aware of developemts in their fields of interest through alumuni grants, spring conferences, program listservs, and a biannual newsletter.
Scholarship Programs operate on the basis of cost-sharing relationships with universities, private donors, and government programs and agencies from England, France, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Canada and the United States. Approximately 800 awards are offered in over 30 countries annually, with open, merit-based competitions administered via a network of OSF-supported educational advising centers, regional offices of partner organizations, and national Soros foundation offices. Since the late 1980s, over 15,000 individuals have benefited from the academic support channeled through the Scholarship Programs.
Recent scholarship recipients from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan completed graduate degree programs in communications and law and have worked on human rights issues and developing projects to advance inclusive education and rights for individuals with disabilities in Central Asia. Alumni grants projects have focused on developing social work curricula to build awareness of HIV and AIDS in Mongolia, and training workshops on public speaking and debate methodology for secondary school teachers and students in Belarus.
Over the years, some scholarships have been discontinued or have come under the purview of other institutions. The Soros Supplementary Grant Program assisted citizens of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Mongolia who were pursuing advanced study within this region but outside of their home countries. The Palestinian Faculty Development Program (PFDP) sought to increase capacity within the higher education sector in the West Bank/Gaza by supporting PhD, short-term visiting fellowships for faculty members and scholars pursuing MA studies in Education from Palestinian universities at U.S. host institutions.
Information about the Roma Memorial University Scholarship Program can now be found on the Roma Memorial University Scholarship Program website.
