STANFORD UNIVERSITY Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program 2025 for High-Achieving Students

For the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, each year up to 90 high-achieving students who are independent thinkers, display purposeful leadership, and have a civic orientation will receive full funding to pursue a graduate education at Stanford.

Application Timeline: 9th October 2024

Offered Annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): Stanford University

About the Award: The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program will annually identify a group of 100 high-achieving students from around the world with demonstrated leadership and civic commitment to receive full funding to pursue a wide-ranging graduate education at Stanford, with the goal of developing a new generation of global leaders. The Knight-Hennessy Scholars is the largest fully endowed scholars program in the world.

Type: Masters

Eligibility: 

• The organisers encourage applications to Knight-Hennessy Scholars from citizens of all countries. That’s natural since we expect Knight-Hennessy Scholars to have global impact.
• Did you earn a degree at an institution outside the U.S.? To be eligible for graduate study, you must hold the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from a college or university of recognized standing.
• You are eligible to apply to the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program if you are applying to enroll in any full-time graduate degree program at Stanford (for example, but not limited to, DFA, Eng, JD, MA, MBA, MD, MFA, MS, or PhD) or if you plan on pursuing one of Stanford’s many joint- and dual- graduate degree options (for example, but not limited to, MD+PhD, JD+MA, MBA+MS).
• Also, if you earned your bachelor’s degree in 2014 or later, you are eligible to apply (2012 or later for US Military).

Selection Criteria:

Independence of Thought

• First-step mental sharpness
• Seeks out knowledge and new experiences
• Full of original ideas
• Makes sense of ambiguous situations
• Can hold a contrarian or dissenting point of view

2. Purposeful Leadership

• Ambitious, in the best sense of the word
• Driven to improve self
• Willing to take risks
• Self-aware
• Persists and bounces back from adversity

3. Civic Mindset

• Personally humble and kind
• Inclusive
• Respects differences
• Concerned for and helpful to others
• Low ego

Number of Awards: up to 100

Value of Program: The Stanford education of Knight-Hennessy Scholars is fully funded.

• Full funding includes tuition, stipend, graduate program and related academic expenses, with additional financial support available.
• Pursue any graduate degree at Stanford, from PhDs in arts, education, engineering, humanities, or social sciences to professional degrees in business, law, or medicine.
• Build skills in leadership and communication that will empower you to work across disciplines and to scale creative solutions for complex challenges.

Duration of Program: The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program funds up to the first three years of your graduate education, and if your degree program exceeds three years – such as an MD or PhD program, or a Stanford dual- or joint-degree program – then your Stanford home department will fund the remainder of your education to the extent consistent with its standard funding commitment for that program. (That is, e.g., six years for PhDs in engineering, five years for PhDs in humanities.)

How to Apply: Where we find evidence of these criteria is throughout your application materials and, if you are selected as a finalist, at Immersion Weekend. You may apply now. We look forward to getting to know you, what you have done, your influences, ideals, hopes and dreams.

Visit Program Webpage for details

Important Notes: Please note that We highly recommend that you apply using a current version of Google Chrome or Mozilla