The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is now open for application to citizens of certain developing countries with relevant professional experience. The program provides financing to undertake a master’s degree in a development-related topic.
The Joint Japan/ World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program provides funding for international students to continue their studies in one of 35 participating programs at universities in the United States, UK, Netherlands, Australia, Japan, and France in key development areas.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
LEVEL : Master.
DEADLINE (Window 1) : From January 16 to February 28, 2023
DEADLINE (Window 2) : From March 27 to May 26, 2023.
FUNDING : Fully funded (Travel + Tuition + Stipend…)
HOST COUNTRY: Candidate’s choice (USA, France, Japan…)
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COUNTRIES ELIGIBLE FOR THE JOINT JAPAN/WORLD BANK SCHOLARSHIP
The following countries are eligible for the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program for the 2023-2024 academic year:
Africa :
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Asia :
Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Honduras, Iraq, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Palestine, Pakistan, Philippines, Syrian Arab Republic, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen.
Europe :
Ukraine, Kosovo.
America:
Belize, Bolivia, Dominique, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Venezuela.
WHAT IS OFFERED?
The JJ/WBGSP provides the following benefits to the recipient:
- 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.
ELIGIBLE MASTER’S PROGRAMS
For the first application period (January 16 to February 28, 2023): only the following universities and programs are eligible for the World Bank scholarships:
| 1. JOHNS HOPKINS |
| Master of Public Health |
| 2. UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM |
| MSc Conflict, State Building and Development |
| 3. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY |
| Master of Development Practice |
| 4. UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG |
| Master of Urban Design (MUD) |
| 5. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON |
| Educational Policy Studies |
| 6. VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT – KIT |
| Health Systems Policy and Management |
For the second application period (March 27 to May 26, 2023): The following universities and programs are eligible:
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The applicant must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Be a national of a World Bank member country (listed above).
- Not be a dual national of a developed country.
- Not be a staff member of the World Bank and not be a close relative.
- Have an undergraduate degree (or equivalent university degree) obtained at least three years before the application deadline.
- Have at least three years of paid development-related employment. The only exception to this criterion is for nationals of developing countries that are on the list of Fragile and Conflict States (see list below). In these exceptional cases, limited employment opportunities in the listed countries will be taken into consideration.
- On or before the application deadline, have been unconditionally admitted to one of the participating master’s programs (listed above).
The applicant must have a degree or work related to one of the following areas:
- Finance, competitiveness, and innovation
- Governance
- Macroeconomics, trade, and investment
- Poverty reduction and equity/shared prosperity
- Education
- Health, nutrition, and population
- Social protection and employment
- Agriculture and food
- Climate change
- Environment and natural resources
- Social, urban, rural and resilience
- Water
- Energy and extractive
- Infrastructure
- Development in a context of fragility, conflict, and violence
The following countries are considered fragile and conflict states (and therefore exempt from point (5) of the eligibility criteria): Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Kiribati, Kosovo, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Venezuela, Palestine, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE WORLD BANK SCHOLARSHIPS?
Depending on your desired university, you choose to participate in either the first application window from January 16 to February 28, 2023, or the second window which will be from March 27 to May 26, 2023.
All applicants for the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program must have an unconditional offer of admission from a participating program to be eligible. Otherwise, you will not be able to participate.
The guide for the 2022 Call for Applications, including instructions and requirements for submitting an application, the eligibility criteria that applicants must meet, and the selection process are provided in the application guidelines and FAQs.
If the answer to your question is not in the FAQs or in the guidelines, you may submit your inquiry in English or French by email to: scholarshipapplicants@worldbank.org.
To accommodate the academic calendar of JJWBGSP Participating Programs, the next application process will be organized in two rounds:
- Application Window#1
From January 16 to February 28, 2023 at noon Washington time
JJWBGSP Participating Programs accepting applications under Window #1 - Application Widow #2
From March 27 to May 26, 2023 at noon Washington time
JJWBGSP Participating Programs accepting applications under Window #2
Please note that special application procedures will need to be followed for 3 Participating Programs in 2023.
The link to the online JJWBGSP Application Form is only communicated by JJWBGSP Participating Programs to the applicants they have shortlisted. Please contact directly the Participating Program you are targeting.
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 JJWBGSP scholarship provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and travel allowance. View a detailed list of benefits.
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—Window 1 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.
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)
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.
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
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 scholarship funds.
(Source: Web WorldBank + Mastere.tn + Aseanop.com )
