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| Image Credit: Worldbank.org |
World Bank Scholarships Program
The
World Bank’s Development
Economics Vice Presidency (DEC) provides scholarships to students and
young researchers, contributing to the World Bank’s mission of forging new
dynamic approaches to capacity development and knowledge sharing in the
developing world.
It
is an important component of the World Bank’s efforts to promote economic
development and shared prosperity through investing in education, capacity
building, and developing human resources in the developing world.
Since
1982, the DEC’s scholarship programs have helped to form a pool of over 6,000
well-trained and experienced development professionals and scholars,
transforming their countries and positively impacting future generations.
Active
Programs
Joint Japan/World
Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJWBGSP): Since 1987, JJWBGSP has
enabled more than 6,000 mid-career professionals from 160 developing countries
and Japan to complete graduate degrees in development-related fields. On an
annual basis, the Government of Japan solely funds the JJWBGSP.
Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (RSMFP): Since 1982,
RSMFP has provided support to young researchers on a wide variety of topics in
development-related fields. Currently, the program connects promising young
researchers to World Bank research, data resources, and technical expertise.
Selected fellows are hosted as a cohort at the World Bank in Washington D.C.
and work on DEC research projects, receiving formal training and participating
in policy relevant research.
Inactive
Program
Japan
Indonesia Presidential Scholarship Program (JIPS): This Program is no
longer accepting applications. With a one-time $10 million grant from the
Government of Japan, this scholarship supported three cohorts (2008–2010) of 43
Indonesian PhD students to study abroad under the sponsorship of one
of the program’s ten partner Indonesian universities. This window is now closed
to new applicants.
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.
Subject
to available funding, JJWBGSP offers scholarships for 45 Participating
Master’s Programs in 27 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 45 Participating Master’s
Programs, you are not eligible to apply for a JJWBGSP Scholarship in 2023.
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 Window#1 is closed. Names of selected applicants will be announced
by end of March 2023
Application Window #2
From March 27 to May 26, 2023 at noon Washington time
JJWBGSP Participating Programs accepting applications under
Window #2
**
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.
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 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.
Individuals
who have already been offered a previous JJWBGSP scholarship but declined it,
or have received a previous JJWBGSP 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
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.
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 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.