Knight-Hennessy Scholarship at Stanford University

Nearly 3,000 graduate students enroll at Stanford annually. Next year, more than 80 (growing to 100 over time) will be Knight-Hennessy scholars. Knight-Hennessy scholars span all seven schools at the university and bring a wide array of diverse academic experiences prior to enrolling at Stanford. Knight-Hennessy scholars are surrounded by fellow Stanford graduate students solving complex problems from different disciplinary approaches.

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Eligibility

Knight-Hennessy Scholars has no restrictions based on age, college or university, field of study, or career aspiration. We encourage citizens and residents of all countries to apply. We do not require applicants to seek endorsements from colleges, universities, or other institutions.

There are two baseline eligibility requirements.

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:

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 second 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 Ph.D. student in your first year of enrollment and will apply to KHS such that you will start KHS in your second year of Ph.D. enrollment.

There are no quotas by discipline or program. Note that we will give priority consideration to those who will spend at least two years studying at Stanford.

Requirement 2: Undergraduate Degree Date

Second, you must have earned, in January 2016 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:
2023	January 2016 or later
2024	January 2017 or later

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 we evaluate and select Knight-Hennessy scholars, we look for evidence of three criteria: