Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship has announced its opening date for the 2026 scholarship program for developing countries.
The 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's degree program in a development-related topic.
Joint Japan/World Bank offers scholarships for 44 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.
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With 189 member countries, staff from more than 170 countries, and offices in over 130 locations, the World Bank Group is a unique global partnership: five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries. Together, IBRD and IDA form the World Bank, which provides financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments of developing countries. IDA focuses on the world�s poorest countries, while IBRD assists middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries. While our five institutions have their own country m...... continue reading
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Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate (JJ/WBGSP) Scholarship
Aim and Benefits of Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate (JJ/WBGSP) Scholarship
The JJ/WBGSP scholarship provides:
- Tuition
- Monthly living stipend
- Round-trip airfare
- Health insurance
- Travel allowance
Requirements for Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate (JJ/WBGSP) Scholarship Qualification
- 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;
- 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 such cases, we do take into consideration the limited employment opportunities in those countries.
- 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. 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 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.
Interview date, Process and Venue for Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate (JJ/WBGSP) Scholarship
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 JJ/WBGSP Secretariat presents the list of finalists to the JJ/WBGSP Steering Committee (composed of members of the World Bank Board of Directors and WB management) for approval. Winners are notified soon after the JJ/WBGSP Steering Committee approval.
Check also:
Tony Elumelu Foundation African Entrepreneurship Programme 2026
Application Deadline
February 17, 2026How to Apply
For more information, kindly visit Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program(JJ/WBGSP) webpage.
