Deadline: February 28, 2023
Applications are open for the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Programme 2023-2025. The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Programme (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 programme in a development-related topic.
Subject to available funding, JJWBGSP offers scholarships for 45 Participating Master’s Programmes in 27 universities in U.S., Europe, Africa, Oceania and Japan in key areas of development, including economic policy management, tax policy, and infrastructure management.
Scholarship
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 programme 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 programme 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.
Eligibility
Applicant 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.
- 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 programmes 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.
- 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.
Selection Process
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
Application
For more information, visit JJ/WBGSP.