Knight-Hennessy funds the student, not the degree. Up to 100 scholars a year across all seven Stanford schools, with no quotas by discipline, programme or world region, and no restrictions on age, previous university, field of study or career aspiration. Citizens and residents of all countries are invited.
It also asks for no endorsement. Many awards at this level require a university or government to nominate; this one does not.
Funding covers up to three years: tuition and associated fees paid directly, a living stipend spanning room and board, books, supplies, local transport and personal expenses, and a travel stipend for one economy return trip a year. New scholars get a one-time relocation stipend, and second- and third-year scholars can apply for academic enrichment funds.
How those three years land depends on the degree. Six academic quarters for most master's degrees, nine for the JD, up to 11 for the MD, and up to 12 including three summers for a PhD or DMA. Where a programme runs longer, the department's own standard funding takes over from year four, which varies by school.
The structural point most applicants miss is that this is two applications. Knight-Hennessy runs separately from and concurrently with the Stanford graduate application, and both have to succeed. An offer from one does not carry the other.
The eligibility window on the bachelor's degree is the quiet filter. For the 2027 cohort the first degree must have been earned in January 2020 or later, extended to January 2018 for military service. Within that window, how recent the degree is makes no difference.
Several Stanford programmes are excluded: the Honors Cooperative Program, the Master of Liberal Arts, the JSD and MLS, and an MA or MS added by a PhD student in their own discipline. Coterminal degrees are out too, unless the student applies externally to a new full-time degree.
Stipends are taxable and the programme does not reimburse tax, which for an international student from a country without a US tax treaty means withholding as well.
The funding and eligibility pages were checked on 22 September 2026. Stanford publishes no dollar figure for the stipend, so none is given here. The 2027 cohort application closes on 6 October 2026 at 1:00 pm Pacific.