The 2025 cohort of Knight-Hennessy scholars represents 25 countries and 46 graduate degree programs across Stanford University.
STANFORD, Calif., May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University today announced its 2025 cohort of 84 new scholars. This eighth cohort comprises students from 25 countries who will pursue degrees in 46 graduate programs across all seven graduate schools at Stanford. For the first time ever, the cohort includes scholars with citizenship from Cameroon, Haiti, Kazakhstan, Spain, Sudan, and Tunisia.
Knight-Hennessy Scholars is a multidisciplinary, multicultural graduate fellowship program across all seven schools at Stanford University. Knight-Hennessy scholars receive up to three years of financial support to pursue graduate studies at Stanford while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world. Scholars are selected based on their demonstration of independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and a civic mindset.
“Our world has never been in greater need of leaders to address a wide range of challenges,” said John L. Hennessy, Stanford University president emeritus and the Shriram Family Director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars. “Our scholars are ready to think boldly, act wisely and humbly, and lead with purpose, helping build a better future for all of us.”
Knight-Hennessy scholars grow as emerging leaders who have a commitment to the greater good and the tools needed to drive meaningful change. The King Global Leadership Program is a core part of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars experience, offering a wide range of workshops, lectures, projects, and experiences that complement scholars’ graduate school education, helping them reach their leadership objectives.
Among the 2025 scholars, 48 percent hold a non-U.S. passport. Fifty-three percent of U.S. scholars identify as a person of color, and 11 percent have served in the U.S. military. The scholars earned undergraduate degrees at 58 different institutions, including 20 international institutions and 20 institutions represented for the first time. Eighteen percent are the first in their family to graduate from college. The eighth cohort brings the total scholar count to 597 to date, beginning with the inaugural cohort enrolled in 2018.
“Our community is enriched by the distinct experiences and insights each new scholar offers,” said Tina Seelig, executive director of Knight-Hennessy Scholars. “It’s inspiring to see the scholars build connections across disciplines, cultures, and ways of thinking, strengthening their capacity to take on the world’s most urgent challenges.”
The application for the 2026 cohort of Knight-Hennessy Scholars will open June 1, 2025, and is due October 8, 2025. Prospective scholars can attend information sessions to learn about the community, the leadership development program, and the admission process. Knight-Hennessy Scholars has no quotas or restrictions based on region, college or university, field of study, or career aspiration.
Announced in 2016, Knight-Hennessy Scholars is named for Phil Knight, MBA ’62, philanthropist and co-founder of Nike Inc., and John Hennessy, chairman of Alphabet Inc. and president emeritus of Stanford (2000-2016). Knight-Hennessy Scholars is the largest, university-wide, fully endowed graduate fellowship in the world. Learn more at kh.stanford.edu.
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