Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program – 2020

The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program 2020-2021 is available to men and women from developing countries to apply.

This is one of the biggest avenues which the Government of Japan and the World Bank uses to discharge their social responsibilities.

Qualified applicants from all over the world are applying to become successful. Why pay tuition fees again when you can get a Fully Funded Scholarship to Study Abroad in Japan.

Hurry now and apply!!

The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJWBGSP) is open to women and men from developing countries.

However, you need to have relevant professional experience and a history of supporting developing countries’ development efforts as well as be applying to a master’s degree program in a development-related topic.

About the Scholarship

The Joint Japan/World bank graduate scholarship program offers scholarships for over 200 Preferred Programs, spanning a wide array of development topics.

It also offers scholarships for 14 Partner Programs at universities in the U.S., Africa, and Japan in key areas of development, including economic policy management, tax policy, and infrastructure management. 

JJWBGSP scholarships for developing country nationals are not available for any other Master’s degree program asides the ones above.

The joint Japan/world bank graduate scholarship provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and travel allowance.

Scholarship Number

The Joint Japan/World Bank graduate scholarship program offers up to four scholarship awards for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Scholarship Eligibility

Developing Country nationals applying for the Joint Japan World Bank scholarships must:

• Be a national of a World Bank member developing country;
• Not hold dual citizenship of a developed country;
• Be in good health;
• Hold a Bachelor (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the application deadline date;
• Have 3 years or more of recent development-related experience after earning a Bachelor (or equivalent) degree;
• Be accepted unconditionally to enroll in the upcoming academic year in at least one of the JJWBGSP Preferred or Partner masters degree Programs;
• Not be an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of all types of appointments 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.
• Be employed in a paid and full-time position at the time of the Scholarship Application Deadline unless the applicant is from a country identified in the World Bank’s “Harmonized List of Fragile Situations”.
• Have, by  the time of  the Scholarship Application Deadline, at  least three（3) years of recent full time paid professional experience in the field of tax policy and administration at a public body (institution) after a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in the applicant’s home country or in another developing country; If the applicant is from a country identified in the World Bank’s “Harmonized List of Fragile Situations” at the time of the Scholarship Application Deadline, the recent professional experience does not have to be full time or paid.
• Demonstrate proficiency in the English language at the level of a TOEFL score of 79 (iBT) or better, or an IELTS score of 6.0 or better.
• Meet any other criteria for admission established by Keio University.
• Accepted to the University unconditionally or conditionally only upon securing financing.
• Not received any scholarship funding to earn a Graduate degree or its equivalent from any sources funded by the government of Japan.
• Applicants must not be permanent residents/nationals of industrialized countries.

Easy Ways to Apply for the Scholarship

Applicants can apply for scholarships to both Preferred and Partner Programs. The process to apply to a Preferred Program and to a Partner Program differs:

Partner Program Scholarship Application

Those seeking a JJ/WBGSP Partner Program scholarship must first apply for admission to one or more of the Partner Masters Degree Program(s). Inquiries on how to submit an admissions application to a partner program should be submitted to the respective university.

After reviewing submitted applications, each Partner Master Degree Program will identify a shortlist of eligible candidates who will then be invited by the joint Japan/world bank graduate scholarship program Secretariat to apply for a joint Japan/world bank graduate scholarship program.

Preferred Program Scholarship Application

Those seeking a JJWBGSP Preferred Program scholarship must, in parallel, apply for admissions to one or more of the Preferred Program(s). After that, they can then apply for a JJ/WBGSP scholarship through an open call typically announced within the first two months of a calendar year.

The next call for application for a JJWBGSP Scholarship to one of the World Bank’s Preferred Programs is scheduled to open in March 2019 and will close on 23rd April 2020. View the complete list of JJ/WBGSP Preferred Master Degrees currently offered.  

However, you must complete the scholarship application online and include two professional references. The application must also include an unconditional (except for secured funding) letter of admission from the preferred master’s degree program that you need JJ/WBGSP’s funding.

Note, also, that if you gain admission to several master’s degree programs, you must choose at the time of submitting the scholarship application which program you wish to attend with JJWBGSP funding.

The World Bank scholarship board has requested the preferred master’s degree programs to issue all letters of admission prior to the closing deadline for the JJWBGSP scholarship application. Any documents an applicant provides by email, post or any means other than the online application form will not be reviewed.

Note:

All students admitted to the Master’s Degree Program in Taxation Policy and Management at Keio University will receive a JJWBGS

Application Process

Applications for the Joint Japan World Bank scholarships have a process which has been outlined below;

• All applications will be accepted immediately after the completion of online registration and the submission of application documents.
• Online registration for this scholarship program must be completed by 23rd April 2020.
• All application documents must be submitted to Keio University by mail as of April 23rd, 2020, as applications sent by fax and email will not be accepted or considered.
• Only original copies of the application documents will be accepted.
• Photocopies of all application documents should be made for the sake of records as the World Bank can demand the submission of a copy in the selection process.
• Incomplete and late applications will not be accepted as notification of missing documents will not be done for applicants.
• Application documents can be downloaded from the homepage of the Master’s Degree Program in Taxation Policy and Management.
• Only applicants who applied for a program offered by Keio and passed the selection process will be asked to make a further online application by the World Bank who will make the admission decision.

Application Documents

The application documents required for the Joint Japan/World Bank graduate scholarship program includes;

• Application Checklist
• Application Form
• Two Letters of recommendation [this has to progress from two people with direct knowledge of your professional experience].
• Letter of recommendation from a University professor [optional]
• Medical certificate
• TOEFL or IELTS results [other certifications are NOT acceptable]
• Transcript records [Original or certified by the university]
• Diploma/ Certificate of graduation [Original or certified by the university]
• Birth certificate or any other OFFICIAL document bearing date of birth with a copy of a true passport.
• Proof of Employment

The application form and letters of recommendation must be typed in.
You’re advised to make a copy of all the above-required documents as they could be demanded.
You can also get access to the application form books by clicking the button below.

Application Address

Application documents should be sent to the address;
JJ/WBGSP Office
c/o International Center, Keio University
2-15-45 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8345 JAPAN

JJWBGSP 2020-2021 Requirements

With the aim of identifying the candidates with the highest potential, after completion of their graduate studies, to impact the development of their countries, the JJ/WBGSP uses the process below to review eligible scholarship applications from developing country nationals.

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.

These factors are:

1. Professional Experience Quality (30% weight)
2. Quality of Professional Recommendations (30% weight)
3. Quality of Commitment to your Home Country (30% weight)
4. Education Background Quality (10% weight)

JJWBGSP awards scholarships to applicants who have had at least 3 years of full-time paid employment in their home country or in other developing countries.

Applicants must acquire this experience after receiving the first Bachelor’s (or equivalent university) degree within the past 6 years. They must also be employed in a paid full-time position at the time of application.

The only exception to this criteria is for developing country nationals from a country on the list of Fragile and Conflict States noted in the Application Guidelines which will be posted during the call for applications.

In these exceptional cases, the World Bank does take into consideration the limited employment opportunities in those countries recently or currently in conflict.

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Selection Criteria

The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat uses the average score of the two reviewers and the following criteria to select the finalists:

• Maintaining a reasonably wide geographical distribution of awards, that takes into account the geographic distribution of eligible applications;
• Maintaining a reasonable distribution of awards across gender that takes into account the distribution of eligible applications across gender;
• Giving scholarships to those applicants who, other things being equal, appear to have limited financial resources
• Unusual circumstances/hardships, when assessing the employment experience and other aspects of an application.

Once all documentation is received, finalists for the preferred program scholarship are presented to the JJ/WBG Steering Committee. This committee is composed of members of the World Bank Board of Directors and WB management, and they are in charge of the final review and selection for a scholarship. The Secretariat then informs the scholarship winners in July.

Furthermore, finalists for partnership scholarship are presented to the World Bank’s Executive Director for Japan for approval on a rolling basis, matching the JJWBGSP Partner university’s admission cycle. The Secretariat then informs the scholarship winners to a partner master’s degree program soon after 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, you will also receive a US $500 travel allowance for each trip;
• Tuition for your graduate program and the cost of basic medical insurance usually obtained through the university.
• A monthly subsistence allowance to cover living expenses, including books. However, the amount of the allowance varies depending on the host country.

Please do NOTE that all JJ/WBGSP scholarships cover the duration of the graduate program or two years, whichever is less.

However, 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;
• 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.

Applicants must know that…

The JJ/WBGSP scholarship may only supplement and does not duplicate any other source of financial support/fellowship you might have. If selected as a finalist or if you are awarded a scholarship, you must inform the JJ/WBGSP if you have other sources of scholarship funds. The JJ/WBGSP stipend may be withdrawn completely or partially if during the scholarship period the Program has evidence of additional sources of support.

Application Deadline:

The deadline for application into the 2020 JJ/WBGSP is currently ongoing till 23rd April 2020. You’re advised to prepare all your necessary documents and start the registration.

The online registration link for the scholarship is denoted in the button below.

Conclusion

As a professional in the field of Taxation Policy, the Joint Japan World Scholarship program is a way to improve yourself and your society at large.
This process is engineered to give you the drive and knowledge you need to move to the next level in your career.
Opportunities like this are the catalysts of revolutionary changes that spur growth in all borders of society.
It’ll be one of your best decisions to apply for this scholarship opportunity before the stated deadline.

FAQ

Who can apply for the Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship Program?

All qualified applicants from developing countries with the requirements listed above can apply for this scholarship.

How long does the Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship award last?

The award spans for a period of two years in which the Master’s program is being undertaken.

Can I puruse a Ph.D program at Keio University immediately after My Master’s program?

No, you cannot pursue a Ph.D program immediately after undergoing the Master’s Program under the Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship bas you’ree expected to use your gained knowlegde to develop your home country.

Can I have other awards in addition to my Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship award?

No, you cannot have any other awards. However, you’ll be demanded to notify the World Bank of any other awards in your possession preceding it.

Can I deter my Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship Award?

No, you cannot deter your Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship award.

Is the Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship fully funded?

Yes, the Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship is a fully funded scholarship.