This dissertation seeks to explore the different factors that influence the extent to which adolescent Syrian refugees in Egypt and in Switzerland are able to aspire to a future that they value, or their capacity to aspire, by identify the factors that promote it and those that restrict it. The research also tries to understand how the capacity to aspire influences the agency of young Syrians and their ability to change their life circumstances. Given that Syrian refugees numbering 6.3 million, half of whom are children, are now the largest group of refugees worldwide (UNHCR, 2018c), the experiences, perspectives and aspirations of adolescents are worthy of being studied.