Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program

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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…)

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:

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: [email protected].

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