Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program 2017
The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program
(JJ/WBGSP) is open to women and men from 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.
JJWBGSP offers scholarships for over 200 Preferred Programs (.xlsx 49 KB) spanning a wide array of development topics and for 14 Partner Programs (.xlsx
15 KB) at universities in U.S., Africa and Japan in key areas of
development, including economic policy management, tax policy, and
infrastructure management. JJWBGSP scholarships for developing country
nationals are not available for any other master degree program.
A JJWBGSP scholarship provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and travel allowance.
View a detailed list of benefits. After earning their degree,
developing country scholars commit to return to home to use their new
skills to contribute to their countries’ social and economic
development.
Who is Eligible to Apply?
Details on eligibility criteria for each call for application are
provided in that call's application guidelines, and these detailed
eligibility criteria are strictly adhered to. no exception is made.
Broadly speaking, developing country nationals must:
- Be a national of a World Bank member developing country;
- Not hold dual citizenship of a developed country;
- Be in good health;
- Hold a Bachelor (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the Application Deadline date;
- Have 3 years or more of recent development-related experience after earning a Bachelor (or equivalent) degree;
- Be accepted unconditionally to enroll in the upcoming academic year
in at least one of the JJWBGSP Preferred or Partner masters degree
Programs;
- Not be an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of all
types of appointments 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;
*Please note: All eligibility criteria are strictly adhered to. No
exceptions are made. Eligibility criteria WILL NOT change during an open
call for applications. However, this information is subject to change
between the close of one application process and the opening of the
next.
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)
For a scholarship to a JJWBGSP Preferred master degree, the JJ/WBGSP
Secretariat uses the average score of the two assessors to identify the
list of semi-finalists. The semi-finalists will be required to provide
supplemental documentation outlined in the ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF
FINALIST FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP section of the Application Guidelines,
including a letter of acceptance from a JJWBGSP Preferred Masters Degree
Program noted in the submitted application that is either
unconditional, or conditional only upon the securing of financing.
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,
that takes into account the geographic distribution of eligible
applications;
- Maintaining a reasonable distribution of awards across gender that
takes into account the distribution of eligible applications across
gender;
- Giving scholarships to those applicants who, other things being equal, appear to have limited financial resources
- Unusual circumstances / hardships, when assessing the employment experience and other aspects of an application.
Once all documentation is received, the JJWBGSP Secretariat presents
the finalists for the preferred program scholarship to the JJ/WBG
Steering Committee (composed of members of the World Bank Board of
Directors and WB management) for final review and selection for a
scholarship. The Secretariat informs the scholarship winners in July.
The JJWBGSP Secretariat presents the finalists for partnership
scholarship to the World Bank’s Executive Director for Japan for
approval on a rolling basis, matching the JJWBGSP Partner university’s
admission cycle. The Secretariat informs the scholarship winners to a
partner master degree program soon after approval, and will require
further documentation, including medical certificate of good health,
before scholarship benefits can be disbursed.
Scholarship 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 $500 travel allowance for each trip;
- Tuition for your graduate program and the cost of basic medical insurance usually obtained through the university.
- A monthly subsistence allowance to cover living expenses, 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;
- 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.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should
Click Here to Apply
Note: The JJ/WBGSP scholarship may only supplement, and does not
duplicate, any other source of financial support/fellowship you might
have. If selected as a finalist or if you are awarded a scholarship, you
must inform the JJ/WBGSP if you have other sources of scholarship
funds. The JJ/WBGSP stipend may be withdrawn completely or partially if
during the scholarship period the Program has evidence of additional
sources of support.