Status: Closed. The Knight-Hennessy Scholars 2027 application — for the cohort starting at Stanford University in autumn 2027 — closed on 6 October 2026 at 1:00pm Pacific Time. The application to join the 2028 cohort will open in June 2027. This article describes the programme as published by Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University, including the funding, the eligibility rules and the two applications every candidate must make.
Knight-Hennessy Scholars is the largest fully-endowed scholarship programme in the world, and it is also a leadership programme. Since the first class enrolled in 2018, more than 630 scholars from 70 countries have been inducted into the programme, and the 2026 cohort alone had 87 scholars. It was announced in February 2016 and became fully endowed in 2024. The programme was made possible by a group of major benefactors, including Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, and Intuit’s Brad Smith and Amy Smith. Its purpose is stated plainly by the programme itself: to ensure that each scholar’s horizon expands and their ambitions grow. The programme’s text says that the world needs more people with the talent, vision and fortitude to commit to bold solutions, and that Knight-Hennessy Scholars is designed to produce them.
Summary
| Programme | Knight-Hennessy Scholars |
|---|---|
| Host university | Stanford University, California, USA |
| Funded by | Fully endowed through Knight-Hennessy Scholars and its benefactors |
| Study level | Any full-time graduate degree at Stanford (master’s, PhD, MD, JD, MBA, DMA and others) |
| Funding | Fully funded for up to 3 years of graduate study |
| KHS deadline (2027 cohort) | 6 October 2026, 1:00pm Pacific Time |
| Status | Closed (2028 cohort opens June 2027) |
What the fellowship covers
The fellowship provides funding for up to three years of any graduate degree at Stanford, and the package is published on the programme’s Funding page. It covers tuition and associated fees. It pays a stipend for living and academic expenses — room and board, books, academic supplies, instructional materials, local transportation and reasonable personal expenses. It pays a travel stipend for one annual economy-class trip to and from Stanford. Newly enrolling scholars receive a one-time relocation stipend, and supplemental funds are provided in years two and three to support academic enrichment, such as conferences, research travel, internships and service projects.
For degrees that run longer than three years, the funding is arranged differently. In years four and five for MD scholars, funding comes from the School of Medicine. For PhD and DMA scholars, funding in year four and beyond comes from the degree programme. For JD and MBA scholars, the programme says they may receive need-based financial aid for years four and beyond, if applicable. And because fellowship stipends are taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service, Knight-Hennessy Scholars advises scholars to consult a tax professional about their own situation.
What the programme is
Knight-Hennessy Scholars is not only a scholarship. It is a fully-endowed multidisciplinary leadership development program for graduate students, and it provides up to three years of programming alongside your graduate studies. All scholars are Stanford graduate students — there is no separate Knight-Hennessy degree. You study for your own graduate degree at Stanford, and at the same time you take part in the Knight-Hennessy programme: leadership development, community, mentoring and the Denning House, which is the programme’s home on the Stanford campus.
That dual structure is the point of the programme. It selects people from many fields — engineering, medicine, law, business, humanities, sciences and more — and brings them together so that they learn from each other as well as from their own departments. The programme’s own description puts it this way: calling the opportunity a mere scholarship — tuition, fees, a stipend and a home at Denning House — is a profound oversimplification. The leadership programme and the community matter as much as the money.
Who can apply
To be considered for admission to Knight-Hennessy Scholars, you must have a bachelor’s degree and you must apply to a full-time graduate degree programme at Stanford. There is no restriction on the field of study, the country you come from or the university where you earned your bachelor’s degree — scholars come from every part of the world. The programme also publishes rules about when you earned your bachelor’s degree and about current graduate enrolment and professional or military experience, and those rules differ between the 2027 and 2028 cohorts. Read the Admission page for the cohort you are applying to before you assume you are eligible.
The application process, and the selection criteria, are also published. The programme says its application is designed with two goals: to help you better know yourself, and to help the programme know whether you are a good fit. Applying to Knight-Hennessy Scholars is asking for a “yes” to two things at once: the Knight-Hennessy application and a Stanford graduate degree programme application. Both must be complete.
Deadlines: two applications, two dates
Every Knight-Hennessy candidate makes two applications, and that is the most important practical fact about the programme. The KHS application deadline for the 2027 cohort was 6 October 2026 at 1:00pm Pacific Time, and it was the same for all applicants — there is no exception for late applicants. You must also apply separately to the Stanford graduate degree programme or programmes you wish to attend, and you must always check the application deadline of the degree programme, because it varies by programme.
There is also a condition that links the two. For applicants whose degree programmes have deadlines after 1 December 2026, you must submit your graduate degree application by 1 December 2026 to remain eligible for admission to Knight-Hennessy Scholars. A complete KHS application includes the online application, transcript or transcripts, standardized test scores, a résumé, recommendation letters, two short-answer responses and an essay. After the deadline, there are invitation-only components in the evaluation, and the programme publishes what happens after you apply on its own pages.
How to prepare for the 2028 cohort
The 2028 cohort application opens in June 2027. The useful preparation is therefore long-term: the degree programme you choose, the tests its programme requires, the recommenders who know your work, and the evidence of leadership and purpose that the Knight-Hennessy application asks for. Because the KHS deadline is in October and the degree programme deadlines fall around the same period, you should be working on both applications through the summer, not starting in September.
Start by confirming which Stanford graduate degree programmes fit your background, and read their own application pages for their deadlines and test requirements. Then look at the Knight-Hennessy admission criteria, and think about what your application will say about leadership, independence of thought and civic intent — those are the qualities the programme says it looks for in its scholars. Sign up for the programme’s updates and invitations to admission events on its own website, so that the June opening of the 2028 application does not pass unnoticed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Knight-Hennessy fully funded?
Yes. The fellowship provides funding for up to three years of any graduate degree at Stanford, covering tuition and associated fees, a stipend for living and academic expenses, an annual travel stipend, a one-time relocation stipend, and supplemental funds in the second and third years.
Do I need to apply to Stanford separately?
Yes. You must apply to Knight-Hennessy Scholars and separately to a full-time Stanford graduate degree programme.
What is the deadline for the 2027 cohort?
6 October 2026, 1:00pm Pacific Time, for the KHS application. The 2027 cohort application is now closed.
When does the 2028 cohort application open?
In June 2027, according to Knight-Hennessy Scholars.
Is there an age or nationality limit?
The programme has no nationality restriction. It publishes rules about when you earned your bachelor’s degree and about current graduate enrolment; check the Admission page for your cohort.
Official source
All programme, funding and deadline details in this article were checked against the official Knight-Hennessy Scholars website on 13 November 2026.
Official website: Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University
Official page: Funding — Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Official page: Application Deadlines — Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Last checked: 13 November 2026. Dates and conditions can change; the official Knight-Hennessy Scholars website is the authority.