Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program

Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program 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.

I know you might be wondering, what joint japan/world graduate scholarship program is all about. Well, i will be telling you everything you need to hear.

The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is a fully funded scholarship program which goes a long way supporting mid-career professionals specifically from developing countries to pursue their master’s degrees in development-related fields.

It’s also a joint initiative between the Government of Japan and the World Bank with the sole aim of equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills to contribute to their home countries’ economic and social development.

Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program subjects to its funding, 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.

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 scholarship provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and travel allowance.

There are also lots of benefits attached to this program and i will be listing them in this article very soon. It is advised also that after learning, the candidates moves back to his country to contribute to the growth and development of his country. The application window is divided into 2 majorly.

Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program Benefits

Like i made mention of in the above statement, that there are lots of benefits to this program. I will now be sharing them in this very paragraph as to see what you stand a chance to gain after you get involved in this awesome Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program.

The JJ/WBGSP scholarship provides the recipient with the following benefits:,

• Tuition for your graduate program and the cost of basic medical insurance obtained through the university.
• 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;
• 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.

Also take note that there are other things that Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program does not cover and you need to know this.

The JJ/WBGSP scholarship does not cover:

1. Visa application(s) costs
2. Expenses to bring and/or support a scholar’s family members;
3. Extra-curricular courses or training;
4. Courses that do not meet the minimum credits required to earn the graduate degree;
5. Language training not provided by the graduate program;
6. Additional travel during the course of the study program;
7. Expenses related to research, supplementary educational materials, field trips, participation in workshops/seminars, or internships; or
8. Educational equipment such as computers.
9. 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 were awarded another scholarship or fellowship, you must send the documents pertaining to this other scholarship/fellowship to the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat. 

Eligibility:

There are eligibility for applications and you need to know that before you can be able to apply. The eligibility is the gateway for your application. I will be listing down the eligibilities, so you can check if you are qualified or not.

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.

The eligibility for the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program includes:

Broadly speaking, Developing Country nationals must:

1. Be a national of a World Bank member developing country.
2. 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.
3. Not hold dual citizenship of any developed country;
4. Be in good health;
5. Hold a bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the Application Deadline date;
6. 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 the scholarship application.
7. 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.
8. 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..

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 For Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program

The program uses the following process to review eligible scholarship applications from developing country nationals. This is with the aim of identifying any candidates with the highest potential, after he or she has completed their graduate studies and 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 which are:

• 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).

Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program Secretariat uses the average score of the two assessors and the following criteria to select the finalists:

1. Maintaining a reasonably wide geographical distribution of awards
2. Maintaining a reasonable distribution of awards across gender
3. Unusual circumstances/hardships, when assessing the employment experience and other aspects of an application;
4. Giving scholarships to those applicants who, other things being equal, have limited access to financial resources for graduate studies abroad.

Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program Application

How to apply to the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program will be discussed in this very paragraph. I will be telling you below;

To accommodate the academic calendar of JJ/WBGSP Participating Programs, the application process is organized in two rounds:

• Application window #1

• Application window #2

The link to the JJ/WBGSP application form will only be communicated to candidates admitted unconditionally (except for finance) to one of the JJ/WBGSP participating master’s programs, and shortlisted as eligible JJ/WBGSP applicants by the participating university. Potential candidates are invited to reach out to the university offering the JJ/WBGSP participating master program they are targeting to find out if they meet these two requirements.

How To Apply Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program

Before you can begin to apply, make sure you understand everything about the program and also abide by the regulations and be a member of the developing countries.

First of all,

1. Make sure you meet eligibility criteria’s,
2. Submit One Online Application: 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:

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• Two professional recommendation letters, submitted online, from people
  who have direct knowledge of the applicant’s professional work experience.
  and
• 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:

1. 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)
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
   (See Annex 5 for greater clarity with regard to what is meant by
   “unconditional”.).

ATTENTION:

• You can draft but DO NOT SUBMIT a JJ/WBGSP scholarship application UNTIL YOU
  UPLOAD AN UNCONDITIONAL LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE from a participating master’s
  degree program.
• For either (i) or (ii), if document(s) are not in English or the language of the master’s degree
  program being applied to, they must be translated into English or the language of the master’s
  degree program. Both the document in the original language and the translated document
  must be uploaded into the Application Form. A required translation does not need to be
  certified. Applicants and recommenders can use a free online translation tool without penalty
  for doing so. Paying for a certified translation is NOT required.

Key Important Notes:

• The link to the online application form will only be communicated by JJ/WBGSP
  Participating Programs to the applicants they have shortlisted as eligible.
• DO NOT USE A CELL PHONE TO APPLY, AS THE SOFTWARE IS DESIGNED ONLY TO
  BE ACCESSED BY A COMPUTER.
• An applicant that delivers an application (or any component of an application) in person, by fax, email or postal mail, or starts an online application before the call for
  applications opens will be disqualified.
• Individuals who submit more than one application will be disqualified.
• If an applicant is accepted unconditionally (except for financing) to more than one
  JJ/WBGSP participating master’s program, the applicant must decide before submitting
  his/her scholarship application which of the master’s program he/she seeks JJ/WBGSP
  funding for. If an applicant is selected for a JJ/WBGSP scholarship, he/she will not be
  able to transfer the scholarship to another master’s program.

Having followed all of these steps and guidelines, your journey to Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program will be a very successful and easy one. Make sure also you hit the comment section sharing your views and opinion in this very article.

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