The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program brings together a group of 100 high-achieving students each year (50 in the inaugural year) from around the world to receive full funding to pursue a wide-ranging graduate education at Stanford. The Knight-Hennessy Scholars will have demonstrated leadership and civic commitment.
The goal of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program is to develop a new generation of global leaders. It is designed to build a multidisciplinary community of Stanford graduate students dedicated to finding creative solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Tailored workshops and individual coaching and feedback will hone scholars’ capacity for collaborative leadership. Special mentors from the Distinguished Careers Institute are part of the program.
For further information and future events visit: Knight-Hennessy Scholars Online Events.
Eligibility
Columbia College, Columbia Engineering and School of General Studies students and alumni/ae who have graduated no more than five years before the application deadline are eligible to apply. For U.S. military (active or veteran) applicants, the eligibility window is extended by two years in acknowledgement of longer service commitments. Current college students are eligible if you will earn your first degree by September in the year you wish to join the Knight-Hennessy. Within the eligibility window, Knight-Hennessy does not give preference based on recency of the degree.
Candidates must also apply to a full-time graduate degree program at Stanford or to one of Stanford’s joint- and dual- graduate degree programs, and they must meet the eligibility requirements for their program. Priority is given to applicants who are pursuing graduate programs that last two years or longer. There are no citizenship requirements.
In fall 2022, Knight Hennessy will allow first-year PhD students at Stanford to apply to join the 2023 cohort and begin KHS in the second year of their PhD studies. Current Stanford graduate students had previously been ineligible to apply unless they were pursuing admission to a new degree program at the university.
Changes to the K-H Application!
Individual finalist interviews will be virtual this year. While pivoting to a virtual modality is new, the style of the interview will remain the same in terms of style of questions. In terms of timing, finalists will be invited to sign up for an interview time after receiving their finalist notification. Interviews will take place in mid-February. There will still be an in-person Immersion Weekend for finalist candidates (scheduled for March), where a group interview will take place.