World Bank Scholarship Program, 2025-2026

Application for the 2025-2026 Japan and World Bank Scholarship Program for Developing Countries is now open. The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is open to citizens of developing countries with relevant professional experience and a history of supporting their countries’ development efforts who are applying for a Master’s degree program in a development-related topic.

Subject to available funding, JJWBGSP offers scholarships for Participating Programs at universities in U.S., Europe, Africa, Oceania and Japan in key areas of development, including economic policy management, tax policy, and infrastructure management.

After earning their degree, developing countries scholars commit to return to their home countries to use their new skills and contribute to their countries social and economic development. Only those who applied (or are applying) and get admitted to one of the eligible programs for a JJWBGSP Scholarship in 2025.

Program Details

• Host institution: Partner universities. Please check the full list below
• Fields of study: Eligible Master Degree. Please check the full list below
• Number of awards: Not specified.
• Duration: Applicants program duration.
• Target group: Open for candidates of eligible countries. Please check the full list below.

World Bank Scholarship Program Benefits

The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship will provide selected applicants 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 $600 travel allowance for each trip;
• Tuition for your graduate program and the cost of basic medical insurance obtained through the university;
• 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 Countries for the World Bank Scholarship

The 2025 Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is open to citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo Rep., Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt Arab Rep., Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo,

Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, St Vincent, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Japan and World Bank Scholarship Eligible Programs

*** Below is the complete list of JJWBGSP Participating Programs accepting applications under Window #1.

1. Columbia University – School of International and Public Affairs: MPA in Economic Policy Management
2. Columbia University – School of International and Public Affairs: MPA in Global Leadership
3. Johns Hopkins University – Bloomberg School of Public Health: Master of Public Health
4. KIT (Royal Tropical Institute) – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam: MS in Public Health and Health Equity
5. University of California-Berkeley – Goldman School of Public Policy: Master of Development Practice
6. University of Tokyo – Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP): Master of Public Policy, International Program
7. University of Tsukuba: Master’s Program in Economic and Public Policy
8. Williams College – Center for Development Economics: Master of Art in Policy Economics
9. Yale University – School of Management: Master in Systemic Risk.

*** The following is the list of JJWBGSP Participating Programs accepting applications under Window #2.

1. Australian National University
   • Master of Climate Change
   • Master of Environmental and Resource Economics
   • Master of Environmental Management and Development
   • Master of Public Policy
2. Brandeis University – The Heller School for Social Policy and Management
   • Master of Arts in Global Sustainability Policy and Management
   • Master in Global Health Policy and Management
3. Columbia University – School of International and Public Affairs
   • Master of Public Administration
   • MPA in Development Practice
4. Erasmus University Rotterdam-IHS
   • MSc in Urban Management and Development – Urban Digital Transformation & Innovation: Governance and Economics of Cities
   • MSc in Urban Management and Development – Urban Housing & Land Justice: Equitable Access to Sustainable Land, Housing & Services
   • MSc in Urban Management and Development – Urban Environment, Sustainability & Climate Change: Integrated Management of Land, Water and Air
   • MSc in Urban Management and Development – Strategic Urban Planning & Policies: Managing Socio-Spatial Dynamics for Sustainable Cities
5. Harvard University – Kennedy School of Government : Master of Public Administration in International Development
6. IHE Delft Institute
   • MSc in Water and Sustainable Development – Water, Food and Energy Track
   • MSc in Water and Sustainable Development – Water Hazards, Risks and Climate Track
   • MSc in Water and Sustainable Development – Water and Health Track
   • MSc in Water and Sustainable Development – Water Resources and Ecosystem Health Track
7. Keio University : Master in Taxation Policy and Management
8. London School of Economics
   • MSc Development Management
   • MSc Development Studies
   • MSc Global Health Policy
   • MSc International Social and Public Policy
9. National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) : Tax Course of the Public Finance Program
10. Saitama University : International Graduate Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering
11. SOAS University of London
    • MSc Development Economics
    • MSc Economics
12. Stanford University : Master in International Policy
13. Université Clermont-Auvergne – FERDI : Master in Economic Policy Management
14. University of Hong Kong : Master of Urban Design (MUD)
15. University of Leeds
    • Master of Public Health (International)
    • MSc Sustainable Cities
    • MSc Water Sanitation and Health Engineering
    • MSc Sustainable Food Systems and Food Security
16. University of Oxford
    • Blavatnik School of Government: Master of Public Policy
    • Department of International Development: MSc in Refugees and Forced Migration Studies
17. University of Tokyo: Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Science: International Program on Agricultural Development Studies
18. Yokohama National University : Infrastructure Management Program (IMP)｜Institute of Urban Innovation, Yokohama National University (ynu.ac.jp).

World Bank Scholarship Program Eligibility

To be considered for the Joint Japan/World Bank Scholarship (JJ/WBGSP), applicants must:

1. Be a national of a World Bank member developing country (check the list above);
2. Not hold dual citizenship of any developed country;
3. Be in good health;
4. Hold a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the application deadline;
5. 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. The only exception to this criterion is for developing country nationals from a country that is on the list of Fragile and Conflict States;
6. 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 preferred university master’s programs located outside the applicant’s country of citizenship and country of residence. The letter of admission must be uploaded before submitting your application.
7. Not being an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of any 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.

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How to Apply for the World Bank Scholarship Program