Application Deadline: May 23, 2025 at 12:00 noon EST
Applications are now open for the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program 2025 (Windows 2). The 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’s degree program in a development-related topic.
Subject to available funding, JJ/WBGSP offers scholarships for 41 Participating Master’s Programs in 24 universities in the U.S., Europe, Africa, Oceania and Japan in key areas of development, including economic policy management, tax policy, and infrastructure management.
The applicant must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Be a national of an eligible World Bank member country listed in Annex 1 of these Guidelines.
- Not be a dual citizen of any developed country.
- On or after the date of the call for scholarship applications opens, not be an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of any type of appointment (including temporary and consultant) of the World Bank Group (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and International Center for Settlements of Investment Disputes); or not be 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. • Hold a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent university degree) earned at least three years before the date of the Application Deadline.
- Be employed in development-related work in a paid full-time position at the time of submitting the scholarship application. Have at least three years of paid development related employment since earning a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent university degree) and acquired within the past six 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 for a suggested list of development-related topics. Nationals from a fragile and/or conflict-affected country are also requested to upload proofs of their successive employments but we do take into consideration the limited employment opportunities in FCS countries listed in Annex 3.
- On or before the scholarship application deadline date, have been admitted unconditionally (except for funding) for the upcoming academic year to at least one of the JJ/WBGSP Participating Programs (window 2) and located outside of the applicant’s country of citizenship and country of residence.
- Individuals who have previously been offered a JJ/WBGSP scholarship but declined it, or have previously received a JJ/WBGSP scholarship but did not graduate are not eligible to apply again
Benefits
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 $600 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.
Application Procedure:
An application will be accepted and reviewed if the applicant submits only one completed application electronically through the JJ/WBGSP application portal by the W2 application deadline: May 23, 2025 at 12:00 noon EST.
An application is considered complete if it includes:
- Two professional recommendation letters, submitted online, from people who have direct knowledge of the applicant’s professional work experience.
- One completed application form (which includes an applicant’s agreement to conditions stated on the signature page of the application form) that is written in either in English or the language of their master’s degree program. (For example, a completed application form written in French by an applicant who is seeking a scholarship to study at a university in the USA or the United Kingdom will not be reviewed).
- Among other information, completing the Application Form includes uploading scanned copies of:
(i) documentation that proves the applicant meets the eligibility requirement with regard to the number of years of recent development-related work. (See FAQs for details regarding the extent and type of documentation required to be uploaded)
(ii) the applicant’s bachelor’s degree diploma, and if applicable, also the diploma of the applicant’s most advanced graduate degree. (Do not include a transcript or upload a transcript as a substitute for a diploma).
(iii) C.V. using the format provided in Annex 4 and written in English (or French for the GPE program at FERDI only). If the work was not paid, do not include it in your CV. Instead, you can create a category “Volunteer Work” in your CV and list under that heading unpaid internships or other unpaid work.
(iv) unconditional (except for financing) Letter of Admission for the upcoming academic year to the JJ/WBGSP participating master’s program: • which is among those listed on the JJ/WBGSP website; • for which the applicant is seeking JJ/WBGSP funding; and • that is located outside of the applicant’s country of citizenship and country of residence.
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