The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is open to citizens of certain developing countries with relevant professional experience and a history of supporting their countries’ development efforts who are applying to a master degree program in a development-related topic.
About World Bank
With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries. Together, IBRD and IDA form the World Bank, which provides financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments of developing countries. IDA focuses on the world�s poorest countries, while IBRD assists middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries. While our five institutions have their own country m...... read more
Graduate Scholarship Program
| Application Deadline | 27 May 2022 |
| Type | Postgraduate |
| Sponsor | World Bank |
| Gender | Men and Women |
Aim and Benefits of Graduate Scholarship Program
The JJ/WBGSP scholarship provides the recipient with the following benefits:
- Economy class air travel between your home country and the host university at the start of your study program and immediately following the end of the scholarship period. In addition to the two-way air travel, scholars will receive a US $500 travel allowance for each trip;
- Tuition for your graduate program and the cost of basic medical insurance obtained through the university.
- While on campus during the scholarship period, a monthly subsistence allowance to cover all living expenses (accommodations, food, etc., including books). The amount of the allowance varies depending on the host country.
Please note all JJ/WBGSP scholarships cover the duration of the graduate program or two years, whichever is less.
The JJ/WBGSP scholarship does not cover:
- VISA application(s) costs
- Expenses to bring and/or support a scholar's family members;
- Extra-curricular courses or training;
- Courses that do not meet the minimum credits required to earn the graduate degree;
- Language training not provided by the graduate program;
- Additional travel during the course of the study program;
- Expenses related to research, supplementary educational materials, field trips, participation in workshops/seminars, or internships; or
- Educational equipment such as computers.
- Resident permit fee
Requirements for Graduate Scholarship Program Qualification
Details on Eligibility Criteria for each call for applications are provided in that call’s Application Guidelines, and these detailed eligibility criteria are strictly adhered to. No exceptions are made.
Broadly speaking, Developing Country nationals must:
- Be a national of a World Bank member developing country on this list;
- Not hold dual citizenship of any developed country;
- Be in good health;
- Hold a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the Application Deadline date;
- Have 3 years or more of recent development-related work experience after earning a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree;
- Be employed in development-related work in a paid full- time position at the time of submitting the scholarship application. Have at least 3 years of paid development-related employment since earning a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent university degree) and acquired within the past 6 years from the date of the Application Deadline. Please see FAQs on how to count qualified part time employment toward this 3-year requirement. Please see Annex 2 of the Application Guidelines for a suggested list of development-related topics. The only exception to this criterion is for developing country nationals from a country that is on the list of Fragile and Conflict States featured in Annex 3 of the Application Guidelines. In these exceptional cases, we do take into consideration the limited employment opportunities in those countries listed in Annex 3.
- On or before the Scholarship Application Deadline date, be admitted unconditionally (except for funding) for the upcoming academic year to at least one of the JJ/WBGSP participating master’s programs located outside of the applicant’s country of citizenship and country of residence listed at the time the call for scholarship applications opens. The letter of admission must be uploaded before submitting your application. For details, see “How to Apply”.
- Not be an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of any type of appointment of the World Bank Group or a close relative of the aforementioned by blood or adoption with the term "close relative" defined as: Mother, Father, Sister, Half-sister, Brother, Half-brother, Son, Daughter, Aunt, Uncle, Niece, or Nephew.
Interview date, Process and Venue for Graduate Scholarship Program
The JJ/WBGSP uses the following process to review eligible scholarship applications from developing country nationals, with the aim of identifying the candidates with the highest potential, after completion of their graduate studies, to impact the development of their countries.
Two qualified assessors independently review each eligible application and score the application on a scale of 1 to 10, taking into account four main factors and the degree of cohesion among them:
- Quality of Professional Experience (30% weight)
- Quality of Professional Recommendations (30% weight)
- Quality of Commitment to your Home Country (30% weight)
- Quality of Education Background (10% weight)
The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat uses the average score of the two assessors and the following criteria to select the finalists:
- Maintaining a reasonably wide geographical distribution of awards
- Maintaining a reasonable distribution of awards across gender
- Unusual circumstances/hardships, when assessing the employment experience and other aspects of an application;
- Giving scholarships to those applicants who, other things being equal, have limited access to financial resources for graduate studies abroad.
The JJWBGSP Secretariat presents the finalists for the Participating Program scholarship to the JJ/WBG Steering Committee (composed of members of the World Bank Board of Directors and WB management) for approval. Winners are notified soon after the JJWBG Steering Committee approval.
Application Deadline
May 27, 2022How to Apply
- Application Form for Window 2
- Navigating the Online Application Form 2022
- Application Guidelines
- FAQs
For more details, visit World Bank website.
