Jusoor-IIE Partnership Brings 18 Syrian Women to American and Canadian Universities

Eighteen university women from Syria were awarded scholarships to resume their studies through the new "100 Syrian Women, 10,000 Syrian Lives" scholarship program, launched by IIE and the non-profit organization Jusoor. "100 Syrian Women, 10,000 Syrian Lives" was implemented in partnership with Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and with support for educational advising from the EducationUSA network of international student advising centers. The scholarships are expected to bring 100 Syrian women to study at U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities over the next four academic years. IIE and the University of California Davis estimate that between 100,000 and 200,000 Syrian youth are currently displaced from higher education. Pre-war, men and women in Syria attended university in roughly equal numbers. However, Syrian men are three times more likely than women to resume their studies in exile. Selected for their potential to serve as global leaders, the first cohort of students will attend universities including Brown University, Harvard University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Northeastern University, New York University, Syracuse University, the University of New Mexico, and Valparaiso University. In Canada, participating institutions include Ryerson University, Wilfrid Laurier University, and York University.