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 under this World Bank Scholarship program.

Subject to available funding, JJWBGSP offers scholarships for 26 Participating Programs at universities in U.S., Europe, Africa, Oceania and Japan in key areas of development, including economic policy management, tax policy, and infrastructure management. Please note that if you are not admitted to one of these 26 programs, you are not eligible to apply for a JJWBGSP Scholarship in 2022.

To accommodate the academic calendar of the JJWBGSP Participating Programs, the next application process will be organized in two rounds:

• Application Window#1
  From January 17, 2022 to February 28, 2022 at noon Washington time
  JJWBGSP Participating Programs accepting applications under Window #1

• Application Window #2
  From March 29, 2022 to May 27, 2022 at noon Washington time
  JJWBGSP Participating Programs accepting applications under Window #2

After earning their degree, developing country scholars commit to return to their home country to use their new skills and contribute to their countries’ social and economic development.

A JJ/WBGSP World Bank Scholarship provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and travel allowance. View a detailed list of benefits.

Who is Eligible to Apply?
How to Apply
Selection Process
Scholarship Benefits

Who is Eligible to Apply?

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 World Bank 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 World Bank 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.

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.

How to Apply

2022 Online Application Form (Window 1)

Read 2022 Online Application Form for Developing Country Nationals | Navigating the Online Application Form 2022 | Application Guidelines | FAQs.

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:

1. Quality of Professional Experience (30% weight)
2. Quality of Professional Recommendations (30% weight)
3. Quality of Commitment to your Home Country (30% weight)
4. 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.

Scholarship Benefits

The JJ/WBGSP World Bank 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 World Bank Scholarships cover the duration of the graduate program or two years, whichever is less.

The JJ/WBGSP World Bank 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

Note: The JJ/WBGSP scholarship may only supplement, and does not duplicate, any other source of financial support/fellowship you might have. If you are notified to be a semi-finalist or if you are awarded a scholarship, you must inform and document to the JJ/WBGSP at that time if you have other sources of World Bank Scholarship funds.

For apply and more official details click; https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/scholarships?fbclid=IwAR1U4WcOdRinOPPKLtByvLWtWdPSWoLhCJskrbLED3YuNmgBStiORZz_G8c#3

Annex 2: Suggested list of development-related topics
FINANCE, COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION
o Financial Stability & Integrity
o Financial Inclusion & Access
o Firms, Entrepreneurship & Innovation
o Markets, Technology & Digital Economy
o Long-Term Finance
o Climate & Risk Management
GOVERNANCE
o Strengthening Public Policy Processes
o Promoting Effective Resource Management
o Reinforcing Public Service Delivery
o Tax Administration and Tax Policy
o Strengthening the Public-Private Interface
o Understanding the Underlying Drivers and Enablers of Policy Effectiveness

MACROECONOMICS, TRADE AND INVESTMENT
o Designing and applying country-based diagnostics, development strategies, policy
analysis and other analytical products for decision-making by Ministries of Finance,
Trade, Economy and Production in their pursuit of reform agendas conducive to
strengthening inclusive growth led by the private sector
POVERTY REDUCTION AND EQUITY/SHARED PROSPERITY
o Identifying key constraints that limit opportunities for productive employment, capital
accumulation and investment in human capital by the poor and vulnerable households.
o Using data on poverty, equity and welfare for evidence-based public policy making and
implementation
o Designing and implementing fiscal and social policies that can enhance the capacity of
those at the bottom to contribute more actively to economic growth
o Developing and adopting effective risk management strategies and systems that
contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and shared prosperity

EDUCATION
o For primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education: devise practical solutions for
issues related to design of curricula, curriculum reform, instruction and pedagogy, and
learning/measurement of learning,
o Organize, strengthen and manage an education system, and the delivery of services,
o Designing and implementing cost-effective and sustainable Early Childhood
Development interventions
o Managing and developing an effective teacher workforce.
o Designing and applying emerging innovations in the education sector, including but not
limited to those enabled by the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs).
o Designing and implementing reforms aimed at improving the effectiveness, equity, and
efficiency of country education financing systems.
o Designing and implementing reforms aimed at issues of access related to disability
and/or Inclusive Education

GENDER

o Health Sector
o Education Sector
o Social Protection
o Employment
o Ownership and Control of Assets
o Agriculture and Rural Development
o Financial Inclusion
o Enhancing Women’s Voice and Agency and Engaging Men and Boys
o Gender-Based Violence
HEALTH, NUTRITION AND POPULATION
o Health Financing
o Public/Global Health
o Nutrition
o Population and Development
o Delivery of Health, Nutrition and Population services work for the poor

SOCIAL PROTECTION AND JOBS
o Skills Development
o Social Insurance and Pension
o Social Safety Nets
o Nexus with Gender
o Social Safety Net Programs’ Delivery Systems
AGRICULTURE AND FOOD
o Climate Smart Agriculture
o Food Quality
o Rural Livelihoods and Agriculture Employment
o Value Chains and Agribusiness competitiveness and commercialization.
CLIMATE CHANGE
o Energy
o Transport
o Climate-smart Land Use, Water and Food Security
o Finance
o Small Island States Resilience initiatives
ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES
o Environmental Economics
o Pollution Management and Environmental Health
o Environmental Standards
o Fisheries
o Forests, Landscapes and Ecosystems
o Watersheds
SOCIAL, URBAN, RURAL & RESILIENCE
o Community-Driven Development
o City Management, Governance and Finance
o Land / Geospatial
o Disaster Risk Management
o Social Inclusion
o Social Sustainability and Standards
o Labor Influx and Labor Management
o Stability, Peace and Security
o Sustainable Urban Infrastructure and Services
o Territorial Development and Productivity
o Urban Poverty and Housing

WATER
o Hydropower & Dams
o Water in Agriculture
o Urban Water Supply and Sanitation services delivery
o Rural Water Supply and Sanitation services delivery
o Water Security and Integrated Resource Management
o Water, Poverty and the Economy – policies, institutions, and governance – related to the
role of water in an economy
o Social Inclusion in Water
ENERGY & EXTRACTIVES
o Clean Energy
o Energy Access
o Energy Economics, Markets and Institutions
o Extractives Industries
o Hydropower & Dams
o Power Systems
INFRASTRUCTURE
o Infrastructure Management & Finance, including Public Private Partnerships &
Guarantees
o Development Corridors & Regional Integration
o Roads
o Air Transport
o Railways
o Transport & Digital Development
o Urban Transport
o Resilient Transport in context of Disaster Risk management
DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEXT OF FRAGILITY, CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE
o Development-Security Nexus
o Humanitarian-Development Nexus
o Design and implementation of development projects in FCV
o Innovative financing mechanisms

For more
information on the JJ/WBGSP application guidelines for Japanese nationals and other World Bank Scholarship
programs administered by the World Bank, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/scholarships