Knight-Hennessy Scholars
The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program cultivates and supports a highly-engaged, multidisciplinary and multicultural community of graduate students from across Stanford University, and delivers a diverse collection of educational experiences, preparing graduates to address complex challenges facing the world.
Eligibility
Our eligibility requirements help you determine if you may apply to be a Knight-Hennessy Scholar.
The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program is a multidisciplinary and multicultural community. There are 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.
First, in addition to applying to Knight-Hennessy Scholars, you must apply to, be accepted by, and enroll in a full-time Stanford graduate degree program. Each incoming Knight-Hennessy Scholar must be a newly enrolling student in a Stanford graduate program including, but not limited to, DMA, JD, MA, MBA, MD, MFA, MPP, MS, or PhD programs. 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.
Second, you must have earned, in January 2015 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:2022January 2015 or later2023January 2016 or later
For U.S. military (active or veteran) applicants, we extend the eligibility window by two years in acknowledgement of longer service commitments; you must have earned your degree in January 2013 or later to enroll in 2022. Current college students are eligible if you will earn your first degree by September 2022. Within the eligibility window, we do not give preference based on recency of the degree.
Please note that a small number of Stanford graduate degree programs are not eligible for Knight-Hennessy Scholars. Please see the Applying to Stanford Graduate Program page for examples.
If you are unsure about your eligibility, please use the questions below to determine your eligibility for the 2022 cohort.
Application 1: Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program
Please note important dates and deadlines for the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program application process. While we will continue to monitor the developments around COVID-19, as of now there is no process or deadline change in the application for the 2022 cohort. You may find more about Stanford’s statement on COVID-19 and graduate admissions here.
Application opensAugust 1, 2021Application closesOctober 6, 1:00 pm Pacific TimeFinalist notificationJanuary 26, 2022Immersion WeekendFebruary 25-26, 2022Decision notificationMarch 15, 2022 Materials Due by Deadlineby Invitation OnlyBackground InformationTranscriptsResumeRecommendation lettersShort answers and EssayVideo (by invitation on rolling basis)Immersion Weekend (by invitation only)
A note about test scores: The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program follows the practices of your graduate degree program: if your graduate degree program does not require standardized tests, then you do not need to submit any with your Knight-Hennessy Scholars program application.
If your graduate degree program requires test scores, you must report them to the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program by your graduate degree program’s application deadline or the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program’s application deadline, whichever is later.
Application 2: Stanford Graduate Program(s)
In addition to applying to Knight-Hennessy Scholars, you must apply to, be accepted by, and enroll in a full-time Stanford graduate degree program. Unless you have already deferred admission to a Stanford graduate program, you must apply to your respective Stanford graduate program(s) by the deadlines below:
Graduate Degree ProgramApplication OpensApplication DeadlineMS in Physician Assistant Studies, School of MedicineApril 2021August 1, 2021MBA Program, Graduate School of BusinessJune 2021Round 1 Deadline: September 9, 2021MD Program, School of MedicineJune 2021AMCAS Deadline:
October 1, 2021*Supplemental Deadline: October 21, 2021MA, MS and PhD in Education,
Graduate School of EducationOctober 2021November 15, 2021JD and advanced degrees,
Stanford Law SchoolSeptember 2021December 1, 2021*Any other Stanford graduate degree programOctober 2021Program’s standard deadline or
December 1, 2021, whichever is earlier*MD and JD/LLM/SPILS applicants: The deadline shown in this table corresponds to the date by when Stanford must receive your completed application materials. As it may take a couple of weeks for applications to be processed through AMCAS or LSAC, we strongly encourage you to submit your application well in advance of the posted deadline.The Stanford graduate program application may require a fee to apply. Please visit the graduate program website for details. There is no fee to apply to Knight-Hennessy Scholars.
