3. Knight-Hennessy Scholars (Stanford University)
Full funding · Any graduate field, including STEM · ~100 scholars/year
Knight-Hennessy is the largest fully endowed scholars program in the world, and it takes a different approach from most scholarships on this list: rather than being tied to a single field or nationality, it’s built around assembling a multidisciplinary cohort of roughly 100 students a year from across every world region, with no restriction on what they study. Engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences are consistently well represented among scholars, alongside law, medicine, business, and the humanities.
Who it’s for
- Citizens and residents of any country, with no citizenship restrictions at all
- Applicants who will separately apply to, be accepted by, and enroll in a full-time Stanford graduate degree program, spanning all seven of Stanford’s schools
- Candidates who earned their first (bachelor’s) degree no more than seven years before their Stanford program begins, with a two-year extension for military service
- Students demonstrating independence of thought and purposeful leadership, alongside strong academics
What it covers
Full funding for up to three years of graduate study at Stanford, including tuition, fees, room and board, books, and a stipend for living and academic expenses. A travel stipend covers one annual round-trip flight to and from Stanford, and additional funding is available for summer opportunities and social entrepreneurship projects.
How selection works
This is one of the most competitive programs on this list, with an acceptance rate cited around 2 percent in recent cycles. Being a competitive candidate for your chosen Stanford graduate program is treated as the baseline, not the differentiator, selection weighs demonstrated leadership and civic commitment just as heavily as academic strength.
How to apply
- Apply to a full-time graduate, joint-degree, or dual-degree program at Stanford as your first step, since Knight-Hennessy admission is contingent on Stanford program admission
- Submit the separate Knight-Hennessy application alongside or shortly after your Stanford graduate application
- Prepare for a possible finalist interview stage if shortlisted, historically conducted virtually
- Check current deadlines directly on the Knight-Hennessy site, since they can shift from year to year and differ from Stanford’s general graduate admissions deadlines