Fully Funded Scholarships at Stanford University
Building upon the deep domain expertise that Knight-Hennessy Scholars develop in their home departments, scholars gain exposure to a wide range of disciplines and cultures in the Knight-Hennessy community, and participate in the King Global Leadership Program (KGLP), which is designed to develop transformational leadership capabilities. Within KGLP, scholars collaborate and begin to address important challenges facing the world, such as climate change, healthcare inequity, the future of education, and criminal justice reform.
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.
Criteria
Our criteria clarify what we seek in your application, help you assess your alignment with our values, and prepare you to demonstrate the criteria in your application.
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:
1. Independence of Thought
We seek visionary thinkers who are curious, open-minded, analytical, eager for cross-cultural perspective, and genuinely excited to boldly and creatively address our world’s important challenges.
- Demonstrates mental sharpness and intellectual ability
- Seeks out knowledge and new experiences
- Full of original ideas
- Makes sense of ambiguity
- Can hold a contrarian or dissenting point of view
2. Purposeful Leadership
We seek courageous leaders who are ethical, decisive, resilient, driven to achieve meaningful results, and motivated to inspire others to effect positive change at scale.
- Ambitious in service of a better world
- Driven to improve self and others
- Able to include and elevate others
- Self-aware and adaptable
- Persistent and resilient
3. Civic Mindset
We seek collaborative community members who are humble, empathetic, trustworthy, oriented to act in service of others, and deeply passionate about contributing to the greater good.
- Personally humble and kind
- Supportive and accountable
- Embraces difference
- Concerned for and helpful to others
We find evidence of these selection criteria throughout your application and, if you are selected as a finalist, at Immersion Weekend. We look forward to getting to know you, including what you have done, who you are now, and what you aspire to do in the future.