World Bank Scholarships Program

Scholarship Sponsored by World Bank Group

Overview
The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) supports professionals from eligible developing countries who have relevant work experience and a record of contributing to their country’s development. Scholarships are intended for applicants pursuing a master’s degree in development-related fields.

Scope and participating programs
Subject to available funding, JJ/WBGSP funds scholarships for 44 Participating Master’s Programs hosted by 24 universities across the United States, Europe, Africa, Oceania and Japan. These programs cover priority development topics such as economic policy management, tax policy, and infrastructure management. Applicants who are not admitted to one of these 44 designated programs are not eligible to apply for a JJ/WBGSP scholarship in 2026.

What the scholarship covers
A JJ/WBGSP award typically includes tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip economy airfare, health insurance, and a travel allowance. (See the full benefits list for details.)

Application schedule and process
To align with the academic calendars of the participating programs, the scholarship application process is split into two windows in 2026:
- Window 1: January 15 – February 27, 2026
- Window 2: March 30 – May 29, 2026

The JJ/WBGSP online application link will only be provided to candidates who meet two conditions: (1) they hold an unconditional admission offer (financial support may be pending) to one of the JJ/WBGSP Participating Master’s Programs, and (2) the participating university has shortlisted them as eligible JJ/WBGSP applicants. Candidates should contact the university offering their target program to confirm these requirements and the university’s shortlisting process. The admission letter must be uploaded prior to submitting the scholarship application.

Post-degree obligation
Recipients are expected to return to their home country after completing their master’s degree and apply their newly acquired skills to support national social and economic development.

Who may apply
Detailed eligibility requirements for each call are stated in that call’s Application Guidelines and are applied strictly. Requests for exceptions will not be accepted.

In general, eligible applicants must:
- Be nationals of a World Bank member developing country.
- Not hold dual citizenship of any developed country.
- Be in good health.
- Hold a bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) that was awarded at least three years before the application deadline.
- Be employed in development-related work in a paid, full‑time position when submitting the scholarship application, and have accumulated at least three years of paid, development-related employment since earning the bachelor’s degree. This three-year work experience must have been acquired within the six years prior to the application deadline. (See FAQs—Window 1 for guidance on how qualifying part‑time employment may be counted toward the three-year requirement. Annex 2 of the Application Guidelines provides examples of development-related fields.)
- Exception for fragile/conflict-affected countries: Applicants from countries listed as Fragile and Conflict States in Annex 3 of the Application Guidelines may be assessed with consideration for limited employment opportunities in their countries.
- By the scholarship application deadline, hold unconditional admission (except for funding) to at least one JJ/WBGSP Participating Master’s Program that is based outside the applicant’s country of citizenship and country of residence as listed when the call opens. The admission letter must be uploaded before scholarship submission—see “How to Apply” for details.
- Not be an Executive Director, an alternate Executive Director, or World Bank Group staff (of any type of appointment), nor be a close relative of any of the above. For these purposes, “close relative” includes: mother, father, sister, half‑sister, brother, half‑brother, son, daughter, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew.
- Not have previously declined an offered JJ/WBGSP scholarship, and not have previously been awarded a JJ/WBGSP scholarship without completing the degree; such applicants are ineligible to reapply.

Important notes
- All eligibility rules are strictly enforced. No exceptions are granted during an open call. Eligibility requirements may be updated between application cycles, but they will not change while a call is open.