Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP)
2024 APPLICATION GUIDELINES FOR JAPANESE NATIONALS*
Updated February 2024
*ATTENTION! These Guidelines are valid only for JJ/WBGSP scholarship applicants who are Japanesenationals. For information on the JJ/WBGSP application process for developing country nationals, please
visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/scholarships#3

I.

OVERVIEWThe JJ/WBGSP provides scholarships for no more than a two-year duration to a limited number of Japanese
mid-career professionals who are dedicated to the alleviation of poverty and enhanced shared prosperity indeveloping countries, and who have been admitted to or are currently enrolled full-time in a master’s or PhD
graduate degree program outside of Japan and in development-related fields. Please note applicants seeking
master’s degrees are encouraged (but not required) to seek admissions in graduate programs listed on thewebsite under Participating Programs. Online graduate degree, or graduate degrees related to Foreign Service,
Diplomacy, Business (including MBAs) and Law (including LLMs), Medicine (including MDs), or any joint
programs with a Japanese university are not eligible for financing by the JJ/WBGSP scholarship.
After earning their degree, JJ/WBGSP-funded Japanese national scholars are expected to advance theirprofessional career with a keen focus on the alleviation of poverty and enhanced shared prosperity indeveloping countries.
Benefits:
The scholarship is fully funded by the Government of Japan, and provides for each scholarship recipient thefollowing benefits during the scholarship period:• Economy class air travel from his/her home country to the host university, if the scholar is not yet enrolled
in the graduate program. If at the end of the scholarship period the scholar has completed all requirements toearn the graduate degree, the scholarship will also fund economy class air travel from the host university to
Japan or a developing country where the scholar has secured employment.
• For the duration of the scholarship period, tuition for his/her graduate program and the cost of basic
medical insurance that can be obtained through the university.
• While on campus during the scholarship period, a monthly subsistence allowance to cover living expenses,
including books. The amount of the allowance varies depending on the host country.

The JJ/WBGSP scholarship does not cover:• Family expenses, including costs to bring and support family members• Extra-curricular courses or training• Language training not provided by the graduate program• Additional travel during the scholarship period• Expenses related to research, supplementary educational materials, field trips, participation inworkshops/seminars, or internships; or• Educational equipment such as computers.
Note: The JJ/WBGSP scholarship may only supplement, and does not duplicate, any other source of financial
support (i.e. sponsorship, scholarship, fellowship, etc.) you might have. If selected as a finalist, and again if
awarded a scholarship, you must inform the JJ/WBGSP if there are other institutions funding you during yourstudies, the amount of funding, and the uses of the funds. The JJ/WBGSP stipend may be withdrawn
completely or partially if during the scholarship period the Program has evidence of undeclared institutions
funding you during your studies.
Selection Process: For those applicants who meet all application requirements (see requirements below), the
JJ/WBGSP Secretariat follows the following process and criteria to review completed applications, with the aimof identifying the candidates most likely to make significant contributions to the field of development after
completing their graduate studies.
Step 1: Two qualified assessors independently review each eligible application and score the application on ascale of 1 to 10, taking into account three main factors and the degree of cohesion among them:(i) Quality of Academic Experience and Recommendation (20% weight)(ii) Quality of Professional Experience and Recommendation (40% weight)(iii) Quality of the Completed Application Form (40% weight)
Note the relatively lower weight for academic excellence is because the eligibility criteria of admission to a
graduate program pre-screens for academic excellence.
The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat uses the average score of the two assessors, the requirement of unconditional(except for financing and/or medical certificate) to a development-related graduate program outside Japan andlisted in the submitted application form, and the following other aspects of JJ/WBGSP’s objectives to selectthe finalists:••

Maintaining a reasonable distribution of awards across gender, taking into account the distribution ofeligible applications across gender
Giving scholarships to those applicants who, other things being equal, appear to have limited financial
resources

Step 2: The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat presents the finalists to the JJ/WBGSP Steering Committee (composed ofmembers of the World Bank Board of Directors and WB management) for final review and selection of thewinners of the award. The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat informs the scholarship winners by June 2024.

Step 3: To receive scholarship benefits, winners will be required by JJ/WBGSP Secretariat to obtain andsubmit via email: (i) Within 3 business days of notification of winning the scholarships, a scanned copy of theidentification page of the winner’s Passport or other legal document (birth or marriage certificate) thatindicates nationality and date of birth, with the name IDENTICAL to the one submitted on the application
form.; and (ii) At least 17 business days before traveling to the university (or in the case the scholar is alreadystudying at least 17 business days before the scholarship period begins), a scanned copy of a certificate from a
medical doctor that is less than three months old from the start date of the program and states the scholar is ingood health. If the finalist is already enrolled in the graduate program, the scholarship will be contingent uponreceiving a medical certificate of good health that is dated not more than three months prior to the offer of thescholarship.

APPLICATION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS
To have a JJ/WBGSP application reviewed, applicants must fulfill the following two requirements:
1.
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Meet the following eligibility criteria:
Be a Japanese national
On or after the date the call for scholarship applications opens, not be an Executive Director,
his/her alternate, and/or staff of any type of appointment (including temporary and consultant) of
the World Bank Group (The World Bank, International Development Association, International
Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and International Center for
Settlements of Investment Disputes); or not be 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.
Hold a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent university degree) earned at least three years before the dateof the Application Deadline.
On or after the date the JJ/WBGSP scholarship application process opens, not be employed / staff or
any type of appointment (including temporary and consultant) by the Government of Japan or its
related agencies, including JICA, local governments and the Central Bank.
Have at least 3 years of paid development-related employment acquired since earning a bachelor’s
degree (or equivalent university degree) and acquired within the past 6 years from the date of the
Application Deadline. (See FAQs on how to count qualified part time employment toward this 3year requirement).
At the time of the application submission, be either admitted unconditionally (except for financing)or currently enrolled full-time in a graduate program (master’s or PhD) outside of Japan in an area ofstudy related to development or be currently employed full-time in development-related work
pertaining directly to developing countries.

2.

Submit One Online Application: An application will be accepted and reviewed if the applicant
submits only one completed application electronically through the JJ/WBGSP application portal by
the application deadline of April 19, 2024 at 12:00 noon EST.
An application is considered complete if it includes:a.

Two professional recommendation letters, submitted online, from people
who have direct knowledge of the applicant’s professional work experience.

b.

One academic recommendation letter, submitted online, from people who havedirect knowledge of the applicant’s academic work experienceandc.

One completed Application Form (which includes an applicant’s agreement toconditions stated on the signature page of the application form) that is written ineither in English or the language of their PhD or master’s program.
Among other information, completing the Application Form includes uploading
scanned copies of:(i) documentation that proves the applicant meets the eligibility requirementwith regard to the number of years of recent development-related work.
(See FAQs for details regarding the extent and type of documentation
required to be uploaded)(ii) the applicant’s bachelor’s degree diploma, and if applicable, also the diplomaof the applicant’s most advanced graduate degree. (Do not upload atranscript as a substitute for a diploma).
(iii) C.V. using the format provided in Annex 2 and written in English or the
language of the master’s degree program for which the applicant is seeking
JJ/WBGSP funding. If the work was not paid, do not include it in your CV.
Instead, you can create a category “Volunteer Work” in your CV and list
under that heading unpaid internships or other unpaid work.
(iv) unconditional (except for financing) Letter of Admission for the upcoming
academic year to a master or doctorate program:• for which the applicant is seeking JJ/WBGSP funding; and• that is located outside of the applicant’s country of citizenship andcountry of residence.

ATTENTION:•

You can draft but DO NOT SUBMIT a JJ/WBGSP Scholarship Application UNTIL YOUUPLOAD AN UNCONDITIONAL LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE from a PhD or master’s programon a development-related field and at a university located outside Japan.

•

For either (i) or (ii), if document(s) are not in English or the language of the PhD or master’s
degree program being applied to, they must be translated into English or the language of themaster’s degree program. Both the document in the original language and the translated
document must be uploaded into the Application Form. A required translation does not need
to be certified. Applicants and recommenders can use a free online tool to translate words into
English, without penalty for doing so. Paying for a certified translation is NOT required.
Notes:•The link to the online application form is published on the JJ/WBGSP website .

•DO NOT USE A CELL PHONE TO APPLY, AS THE SOFTWARE IS DESIGNED ONLY TO
BE ACCESSED BY A COMPUTER.

•

An applicant that delivers an application (or any component of an application) inperson, by fax, email or postal mail will be disqualified.

•

Individuals who submit more than one application will be disqualified.

•If an applicant is accepted unconditionally (except for financing) to more than one
PhD or master’s degree program, the applicant must decide before submitting his/herscholarship application which of the PhD or master’s degree he/she seeks JJ/WBGSP
funding for. If an applicant is selected for a JJ/WBGSP scholarship, he/she will not beable to transfer the scholarship to another PhD or master’s degree program.

•

It is up to the applicant to determine if she/he is eligible given her/his circumstances.
The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat will not make that determination for you.

Guidance on Professional Recommendation Process:The applicant can have only two professional recommendations – one is not sufficient andthree or more is not permitted.
The recommendations must be from people who can attest from direct observation to yourprofessional qualifications regarding development-related work that was demonstrated after
earning your bachelor’s degree. We suggest, but do not require, that professional
recommendations be from people who have recent (within the last six years) experience
with you in such a professional setting. We suggest, but do not require, that at least one of thetwo required professional recommendations be from a current or former supervisor.
Both professional recommendations must come from people you worked with during and in
the context of paid employment. For example, a recommendation from an applicant’s
volunteer work is not considered “professional” and hence would not fulfill this eligibility
criterion.
Guidance on Academic Recommendation Process:The applicant can have only one academic recommendation.
The recommendation must be from a professor you have collaborated with (or are
collaborating with) on a research project / paper. We suggest, but do not require, that theacademic recommendation be from people who have recent (within the last six years)
experience with you in such an academic / research setting.
To fulfill the required two professional recommendations and one academic
recommendation, complete and submit the Recommendation Request Form in the
online Application Form. We suggest you first get the agreement from your recommenderthat he/she is willing to provide a recommendation and confirm their email address.
The Recommendation Request Form requires the applicant to identify the name, email
address, and the recommender’s relationship to the applicant, for each of the threerecommenders. Use of personal email addresses, for example gmail, yahoo, and other similar
email addresses, is permissible if there is no available email address from the recommender’sinstitution. If a personal email is used, the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat may verify the professional
association of your recommender as part of our review process. It is the applicant’s sole
responsibility to make sure the email contact information provided in the Recommendation
Request Form is accurate.
Please Note:• Applicants can submit the Recommendation Request Form before submitting theApplication Form.

•The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat suggests that an applicant first confirms with each
recommender that she/he is willing to provide a recommendation and confirm her/his
email address.

•

The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat recommends that applicants submit the Recommendation
Request Form as early as possible in their application process to give enough time for
their recommenders to meet the application deadline. If the required recommenders do
not submit their recommendations following the instructions you provided to them andby the application deadline date, the application will not be reviewed. It is the
responsibility of the applicant to ensure his/her recommenders meet the application
deadline.

•

The applicant is not permitted to draft any part of a recommendation letter on behalf ofthe recommender.

The recommender will be notified by email that you have asked him/her to provide a
recommendation and will be instructed to submit the recommendation in English
electronically to the application platform by the application deadline.
The system-generated email is usually sent to the recommender within five minutes of
the applicant submitting the Recommendation Request Form. If the recommender does
not receive the email, please ask him/her to check his/her junk mail folders for an email
from Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program <noreply@webportalapp.com>
Please make sure your follow-up with your recommender(s) if any of your recommendations
hasn’t been received as we get closer to the deadline. If we do not receive the three required
recommendations by the application deadline, your application will be considered incomplete
and will not be reviewed.

I.

INQUIRIES FROM APPLICANTS

Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), written in English and available on the
JJ/WBGSP website, for any questions regarding the online application, the application process,and troubleshooting technical problems or other information presented on our website. On a
as needed basis, the FAQs will be updated regularly and posted on our website during the callfor applications.
If the answer to your question is not in the FAQs or in these Guidelines, you may submit yourinquiry in English by email to: scholarshipapplicants@worldbank.org and under these
conditions, you can expect a response within three business days. For technical problem
inquiries, if at all possible, please include in your email a screenshot of the technical problem
you encounter. Note: Do not send inquiries to the company hosting the application
software.

Under no circumstances will the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat reply to any email inquiries
pertaining to information already presented via our website, so please read all the
documentation carefully. If we do not reply to your inquiry within three business days, thatmeans we will not answer your email because the answer to your inquiry is available byreading information already posted on our website.
ATTENTION: We do not guarantee we will reply to ANY email received less than threebusiness days before the application deadline. Because the application process is lengthy,
the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat recommends that applications be submitted at least one week aheadof the deadline to avoid any last-minute issues.

II. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP
After you submit your completed application, it will go through a multi-step selection process,described in the “Selection Process” section of the JJ/WBGSP page on our website. For those
applicants notified in June 2024 by the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat of their status as a finalist, the
JJ/WBGSP will request and require the following additional information:
1. Identification: When the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat offers a scholarship, the finalist will be
requested to submit a scanned copy of the identification page of his/her Passport , or in casethe applicant lacks a valid Passport, he/she can provide another acceptable legal document(birth or marriage certificate), with the name IDENTICAL to the one submitted on the
Application Form to the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat within three business days from the time the
JJ/WBGSP Secretariat offers the scholarship.
2. Medical Certificate: After the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat offers a scholarship, and at least 21
days before traveling to the host university to commence the master program, the finalist
will be requested to submit a scanned copy of a health certificate. This certificate must be
less than three months old from the start date of their PhD or master’s program and must befrom a medical doctor stating the scholar is in good health to travel and study.
Please note: Failure to provide these two documents on time will result in disqualification.

ANNEX 1: Suggested list of development-related topics
FINANCE, COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATIONo Financial Stability & Integrityo Financial Inclusion & Accesso Firms, Entrepreneurship & Innovationo Markets, Technology & Digital Economy
o Long-Term Financeo Climate & Risk Management
GOVERNANCEo Strengthening Public Policy Processes
o Promoting Effective Resource Managemento Reinforcing Public Service Deliveryo Tax Administration and Tax Policy
o Strengthening the Public-Private Interfaceo Understanding the Underlying Drivers and Enablers of Policy Effectiveness
MACROECONOMICS, TRADE AND INVESTMENTo Designing and applying country-based diagnostics, development strategies, policy
analysis and other analytical products for decision-making by Ministries of Finance,
Trade, Economy and Production in their pursuit of reform agendas conducive tostrengthening inclusive growth led by the private sector
POVERTY REDUCTION AND EQUITY/SHARED PROSPERITYo Identifying key constraints that limit opportunities for productive employment, capital
accumulation and investment in human capital by the poor and vulnerable households.
o Using data on poverty, equity and welfare for evidence-based public policy making andimplementationo Designing and implementing fiscal and social policies that can enhance the capacity of
those at the bottom to contribute more actively to economic growtho Developing and adopting effective risk management strategies and systems that
contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and shared prosperity
EDUCATION
o For primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education: devise practical solutions for
issues related to design of curricula, curriculum reform, instruction and pedagogy, andlearning/measurement of learning,o Organize, strengthen and manage an education system, and the delivery of services,o Designing and implementing cost-effective and sustainable Early Childhood
Development interventionso Managing and developing an effective teacher workforce.
o Designing and applying emerging innovations in the education sector, including but notlimited to those enabled by the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs).
o Designing and implementing reforms aimed at improving the effectiveness, equity, andefficiency of country education financing systems.

oDesigning and implementing reforms aimed at issues of access related to disability
and/or Inclusive Education

GENDERo Health Sectoro Education Sectoro Social Protectiono Employmento Ownership and Control of Assetso Agriculture and Rural Development
o Financial Inclusiono Enhancing Women’s Voice and Agency and Engaging Men and Boyso Gender-Based Violence
HEALTH, NUTRITION AND POPULATIONo Health Financing
o Public/Global Healtho Nutritiono Population and Development
o Delivery of Health, Nutrition and Population services work for the poor
SOCIAL PROTECTION AND JOBSo Skills Developmento Social Insurance and Pensiono Social Safety Netso Nexus with Gendero Social Safety Net Programs’ Delivery Systems
AGRICULTURE AND FOODo Climate Smart Agriculture
o Food Quality
o Rural Livelihoods and Agriculture Employmento Value Chains and Agribusiness competitiveness and commercialization.
CLIMATE CHANGE
o Energyo Transporto Climate-smart Land Use, Water and Food Securityo Financeo Small Island States Resilience initiatives

ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES
o Environmental Economics
o Pollution Management and Environmental Healtho Environmental Standards
o Fisherieso Forests, Landscapes and Ecosystems
o Watersheds
SOCIAL, URBAN, RURAL & RESILIENCEo Community-Driven Development
o City Management, Governance and Financeo Land / GeoSpatial
o Disaster Risk Managemento Social Inclusiono Social Sustainability and Standardso Labor Influx and Labor Managemento Stability, Peace and Securityo Sustainable Urban Infrastructure and Services
o Territorial Development and Productivity
o Urban Poverty and Housing
WATER
o Hydropower & Damso Water in Agricultureo Urban Water Supply and Sanitation services delivery
o Rural Water Supply and Sanitation services delivery
o Water Security and Integrated Resource Management
o Water, Poverty and the Economy – policies, institutions, and governance – related to therole of water in an economy
o Social Inclusion in Water
ENERGY & EXTRACTIVESo Clean Energyo Energy Accesso Energy Economics, Markets and Institutionso Extractives Industries
o Hydropower & Damso Power Systems
INFRASTRUCTUREo Infrastructure Management & Finance, including Public Private Partnerships &Guarantees
o Development Corridors & Regional Integrationo Roadso Air Transporto RailwaysoooTransport & Digital Development
Urban Transport
Resilient Transport in context of Disaster Risk management

DEVELOPMENT IN CONTEXT OF FRAGILITY, CONFLICT AND VIOLENCEo Development-Security Nexuso Humanitarian-Development Nexuso Design and implementation of development projects in FCV

ANNEX 2: CV TEMPLATE
Instruction: To be completed by the applicant and uploaded In the DOCUMENT SECTION of the
Application Form.
NAME OF APPLICANT:SECTION ONE: EMPLOYMENT RECORD AFTER EARNING BACHELOR’S DEGREE OR EQUIVALENT(mandatory)
Instruction to JJ/WBGSP Applicant: Starting with the most recent first, fill in the following fields for EACH
department/unit in an organization that provided you paid employment (including paid internship(s))
since completing your bachelor’s degree.
a. NAME OF ORGANIZATION:
b. NAME OF DEPARTMENT/UNIT:
c. START DATE (MONTH/YEAR):
d. END DATE: (MONTH/YEAR):
e. JOB TITLE OF MOST RECENT POSITION:
f. ANSWER YES/NO: WAS THIS POSITION A PROMOTION FROM THE MOST RECENT POSITION YOU HELDAT THIS ORGANIZATION THAT EMPLOYED YOU?:g. IN BULLET FORMAT, LIST YOUR KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
h. IN BULLET FORMAT, DESCRIBE WHAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT

ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT CAN BE UNIQUELY AND DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTED TO YOUR EFFORTS:
i. DESCRIBE OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

SECTION TWO (optional):
Instruction to JJ/WBGSP Applicant: Below, you may provide any other types of information typicallyfound in CVs/Resumes (list of publications, skills, etc.) that you believe may be relevant to assess yourscholarship application, and have NOT been presented in other sections of this CV or in another sectionof the Application Form. Specifically:•••

Do NOT provide additional information on EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCES
Do NOT provide education details prior to earning your bachelor’s degree (or equivalent).
Do NOT provide additional information on education degrees that you present in the EDUCATIONSECTION of the application form.

SECTION THREE: EDUCATION (optional)
Instruction: You may describe your education background AFTER secondary school, but do so only if theinformation is not already presented in the EDUCATION Section of the application form