Closing Date: 6 October 2026
Applications are now open for the fully funded 2027 Cohort of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program at Stanford University in USA
About
Knight-Hennessy Scholars is a fully-endowed, multidisciplinary leadership development program for graduate students at Stanford University. Scholars, who come from around the globe, receive up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at any of Stanford’s seven schools while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders capable of taking on the world’s most difficult challenges.
All Knight-Hennessy scholars apply and are selected for admission. Applying to Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS) is not simply checking off a list of requirements. There is no formula for admission, and there are no scores, achievements, or stories that automatically qualify you for admission. Instead, the KHS application is an invitation to show how you demonstrate the criteria in ways that are unique and distinct to you..
Why Knight-Hennessy Scholars?
Join a multidisciplinary, multicultural community of graduate students united by independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and civic mindset.
Eligibility
Knight-Hennessy Scholars has no restrictions based on age, college or university, field of study, or career aspiration. Stanford University. encourages citizens and residents of all countries to apply. Stanford University. do not require applicants to seek endorsements from colleges, universities, or other institutions. Additionally, Stanford University has no quotas by discipline, program, or world region.
There are two baseline eligibility requirements.
Please note the eligibility requirements below are for those applying to join the 2027 Cohort of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program and may change for future cohorts.
Requirement 1: Admission to Stanford
First, in addition to applying to Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS), you must apply to, be accepted by, and enroll in a full-time Stanford graduate degree program including, but not limited to, DMA, JD, MA, MBA, MD, MFA, MPP, MS, or PhD programs. You must meet at least one of the following four conditions to be eligible for Knight-Hennessy Scholars:
- You are applying separately but concurrently to KHS and a full-time Stanford graduate degree program such that you will start both in the same year.
- You have already been offered and deferred admission to a full-time Stanford graduate degree program, and will apply to KHS such that you will start both in the same year.
- You are a current Stanford graduate student who will apply to add a new full-time Stanford graduate degree program, such that you will start both KHS and the new program in the same year.
- You are a current Stanford PhD student in your first year of enrollment, and will apply to KHS such that you will start KHS in your second year of PhD enrollment.
Please note that the following Stanford graduate degree programs are not eligible for Knight-Hennessy Scholars:
- Honors Cooperative Program
- Master of Liberal Arts
- Doctor of Science of Law (JSD) and the Master of Legal Studies (MLS)
- Current Stanford PhD students adding an MA or MS degree in their PhD discipline
- Coterminal degrees (current Stanford coterminal students are eligible for Knight-Hennessy Scholars if they apply to a new full-time Stanford degree program through the external application process and will begin both the new degree program and Knight-Hennessy Scholars in the same year)
Requirement 2: Undergraduate Degree Date
Second, you must have earned, in January 2020 or later, a U.S. bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a college or university of recognized standing.
| To apply to join the cohort in: | You must have earned your first bachelor’s degree by: |
|---|---|
| 2027 | January 2020 or later |
For applicants who served in the military, Stanford University. extends the eligibility window by two years in acknowledgement of longer service commitments; you must have earned your degree in January 2018 or later to enroll in 2027. Current college students are eligible if you will earn your first degree by September 2027. Within the eligibility window, Stanford University does not give preference based on recency of the degree.
Selection Criteria
Stanford University criteria clarify what they seek in your application, help you assess your alignment with its values, and prepare you to demonstrate the criteria in your application.
There is neither a typical nor a prototypical Knight-Hennessy scholar. Each cohort is diverse by design; no two candidates are equally strong across all criteria, and you may demonstrate different strengths in different ways. As Stanford University evaluates and select Knight-Hennessy scholars, they look for evidence of three criteria:
1. Independence of Thought
Stanford University seeks visionary thinkers who are curious, open-minded, analytical, eager for cross-cultural perspective, and genuinely excited to boldly and creatively address the world’s important challenges.
- Demonstrates intellectual ability and clear thinking
- Communicates clearly based on reflection and introspection
- Seeks out new knowledge, perspectives, and experiences
- Makes sense of ambiguous circumstances
- Generates ideas to solve problems
2. Purposeful Leadership
Stanford University seeks courageous leaders who are ethical, decisive, resilient, driven to achieve meaningful results, and motivated to inspire others to effect positive change at scale.
- Achieves impactful results
- Confronts challenges with courage, persistence, and resilience
- Includes and inspires others to effect change
- Makes decisions in accordance with values
3. Civic Mindset
Stanford University seeks collaborative community members who are humble, empathetic, trustworthy, oriented to act in service of others, and deeply passionate about contributing to the greater good.
- Demonstrates humility, integrity, and accountability
- Makes a habit of serving and helping others
- Thoughtful and considerate of others’ perspectives
- Embraces difference and celebrates varying opinions and experiences
- Strives to make the world a better place
