--- title: "Knight-Hennessy Scholars" description: "Funding for up to three years of graduate study in any degree programme at Stanford, combined with a leadership development programme. Scholars must also be admitted separately to a Stanford graduate degree. The 2027 cohort application closed on 6 October 2026." url: "https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/knight-hennessy-scholars/" type: "website" --- [All scholarships](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/) Stanford University # Knight-Hennessy Scholars Funding for up to three years of graduate study in any degree programme at Stanford, combined with a leadership development programme. Scholars must also be admitted separately to a Stanford graduate degree. The 2027 cohort application closed on 6 October 2026. Checked 7 Oct 2026 [See the official page](https://knight-hennessy.stanford.edu/admission/preparing-your-applications/application-deadlines) - **Deadline:** Closed for this cycle · 6 October 2026 - **Study in:** United States - **Level:** Master's, PhD - **Covers:** Tuition fees, Living costs, Travel +1 more [Add this deadline to your calendar](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/deadlines.ics) What you get A fellowship applied directly to cover tuition and associated fees; a stipend for living and academic expenses including room, board, books, supplies, local transport and reasonable personal expenses; a travel stipend intended to cover an economy-class ticket for one annual trip to and from Stanford; and a one-time relocation stipend for newly enrolling scholars. Funding runs for up to three years. Covers - Tuition fees - Living costs - Travel - Other costs ## Who can apply - Apply to, be accepted by, and enrol in a full-time Stanford graduate degree programme, starting both in the same year - Have earned a US bachelor's degree or its equivalent in January 2020 or later, for the 2027 cohort - Applicants who served in the military have the window extended by two years, to January 2018 or later - Current students are eligible if they will earn their first degree by September 2027 - No endorsement from a university or other institution is required, and there are no quotas by discipline, programme or world region - Certain Stanford programmes are excluded, including the Honors Cooperative Program, Master of Liberal Arts, JSD, MLS and coterminal degrees ### Two applications, and the second one is what catches people out The application for the 2027 cohort closed on 6 October 2026 at 1:00pm Pacific Time, and Stanford shows no extension. This is really two applications, and the second one is what catches people out. If you applied, the Knight-Hennessy deadline was fixed for everyone, but you also have to apply to a Stanford graduate programme, and that application must be in by 1 December 2026 at the latest. If your department’s own deadline falls in January, submitting in January keeps you in the running for the degree and takes you out of the running for Knight-Hennessy. Applicants to the Stanford MBA must use the Round 1 deadline for the same reason. One genuine exception: if you already hold deferred admission to a Stanford graduate programme starting in 2027, or you’re a Stanford PhD student starting in 2026 who begins your second year in 2027, you submit only the Knight-Hennessy application and skip the second one entirely. ### The seven-year rule is a hard cut The seven-year rule is a hard cut. For the 2027 cohort you need a first bachelor’s degree earned in January 2020 or later. A more recent master’s does not reset the clock. Military service adds two years. There is no age limit written into that, but the effect is that this programme is aimed at people fairly early in their careers, which is the opposite of [Chevening](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/scholarships/chevening-scholarships/). ### No nomination, no quotas, but no deferrals either Nothing here requires a nomination from your university or government, and there are no regional quotas, so the field is genuinely open. Offers cannot be deferred. If you are selected and cannot enrol, you apply again from the start in the year you actually intend to go. ### Founded in 2016 with the largest gift of its kind Knight-Hennessy Scholars was founded in 2016 by Phil Knight, the Nike co-founder and a Stanford MBA graduate, together with John Hennessy, Stanford’s tenth president from 2000 to 2016. Knight and other benefactors gave founding gifts totalling more than $750 million, which Stanford states makes this the largest fully-endowed, university-wide graduate fellowship in the world. That scale is part of why the programme can fund any Stanford graduate degree in any field rather than being tied to a single school or discipline the way most named fellowships are. ### The mission is leadership training, not just funding a degree Stanford’s own framing of the programme goes beyond paying for a degree: the stated goal is to build a multicultural, multidisciplinary cohort and prepare them for leadership across academia, industry, government, nonprofits and civic life, on the reasoning that the world’s biggest problems are usually both global and cross-disciplinary. In practice that means the leadership development programming and cohort community, centred on Knight-Hennessy’s own Denning House, are treated as core to the award rather than an optional add-on layered onto ordinary Stanford funding. Where this comes from Every fact above was read on **knight-hennessy.stanford.edu**, the awarding body's own website, and last confirmed on **7 October 2026**. Nothing here is taken from another directory. Funding bodies change deadlines and eligibility rules without notice, and we are not affiliated with Stanford University. Always confirm on the official site before you apply. Reviewed by the [Worldwide Scholarships editorial team](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/about/) [Apply on the official site](https://knight-hennessy.stanford.edu/admission/preparing-your-applications/application-deadlines) ## Related guides - [Scholarships](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/topics/scholarships/) ### [Major Fully Funded Scholarships for International Students](https://worldwide-scholarships.com/the-top-10-fully-funded-scholarships-for-international-students-2026-update/) Chevening, Fulbright, Gates, Erasmus Mundus, MEXT and more: what each one selects for, what it really covers, how you apply, and the next deadline. 27 Feb 2026 · 7 min read · 5 sources ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MonetaryGrant","name":"Knight-Hennessy Scholars","description":"Funding for up to three years of graduate study in any degree programme at Stanford, combined with a leadership development programme. 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