The Knight Hennesy Scholars program is a scholarship program offered by Stanford University to both national and international students.
This program spans all 7 schools at Stanford. Knight-Hennessy Scholars are talented individuals, and they are made up of a multidisciplinary community of scholars. The program offers a platform for purposeful leadership development, and empowers you to effect large-scale positive impact in the world.
It is an outstanding opportunity for those graduates who have visionary minds and are eager to learn the cross-cultural dimensions of the world. This scholarship aims to promote a culture of collaboration and community services.
The selected students will also get to become an integral part of the King Global Leadership Program (KGLP). In pursuing their studies, they will be getting an in-depth insight into leadership and technical skills. In addition, the scholars will be equipped enough to solve difficult problems through their creativity and will learn a unique decision-making technique under pressure and uncertain conditions.
The community of scholars gets a chance to polish their interpersonal and collaborative skills by interacting with others. Stanford University Dening House also serves as a hub where Knight-Hennessy Scholars share their ideas and experiences with other scholars while staying close to each other.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the scholarship the following criteria must be met:
- The applicant must be enrolled and accepted in a full-time Stanford graduate degree program.
- The applicant must be a newly enrolled student in a graduate program.
- The applicant must have earned a bachelor’s degree in January 2018 or later.
- In the case of applicants who are from the US military (active or veteran), their degree must be earned in January 2015 or later.
- The applicant must fulfill these three criteria: 1) Independence of thought 2) Purposeful leadership 3) Civic Mindset.
- TOEFL is accepted by all the Stanford graduate programs. However, the MBA program also accepts IELTS and PTE.
APPLICATION PROCESS
To apply the applicants have to apply separately for the scholarship and for the Stanford University graduate degree program. In the scholarship form, the applicant has to indicate the Stanford degree program to which the applicant will apply.
You must submit all Knight-Hennessy Scholars application materials in English via our online application as they do not accept materials sent via email or postal mail.
It is highly recommend that you apply using a current version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.
For reference only, here is a PDF sample of the application for the autumn 2025 intake.
AWARD BENEFITS
Knight-Hennessy scholars receive funding for up to three years for any graduate degree(s) at Stanford. During each of the first 3 years of graduate study, Knight-Hennessy Scholars receive:
• a fellowship applied directly to cover tuition and associated fees
• a stipend for living and academic expenses (such as room and board, books, academic supplies, instructional materials, local transportation, and reasonable personal expenses)
• a travel stipend intended to cover an economy-class ticket for one annual trip to and from Stanford.