The World Bank Scholarships Program contributes to the World Bank Group’s mission of forging new dynamic approaches to capacity development and knowledge sharing in the developing world.
It is an important component of the Bank Group’s efforts to promote economic development and shared prosperity through investing in education and developing human resources in the developing world.
Since 1982, the Program has helped to form a pool of over 6,000 well-trained and experienced development professionals, transforming their countries and positively impacting future generations.
Currently, the World Bank Scholarships Program offers two sources of funding for graduate studies in development-related fields for mid-career professionals and researchers:
Inactive Program
Japan Indonesia Presidential Scholarship Program (JIPS)
This Program is no longer accepting applications. With a one-time $10 million grant from the Government of Japan, this scholarship supported three cohorts (2008–2010) of 43 Indonesian PhD students to study abroad under the sponsorship of one of the program’s ten partner Indonesian universities. This window is now closed to new applicants.
The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (RSMFP) provides support to developing country nationals who are PhD candidates in developing countries and working in academic and research institutions in a developing country. RSMFP offers 6–10 months of funding up to $25,000 to conduct PhD research in a World Bank member country other than the Fellow's home country or country of residence. RSMFP was established in 1982 with $2.8 million in funding from the World Bank and the governments of Bangladesh, China, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and former Yugoslavia.
The most recent Call for Applications closed December 14, 2016. Winning RSMFP Fellows will be informed at the end of January 2017. The next Call for Applications is expected to open in Fall 2017.
What can an applicant do before the next call?
Who is Eligible to Apply?
How to Apply?
What are the RSMFP Benefits?
What is the Selection Process?
What can an applicant do before the next call?
Please note that application guidelines that provide detailed application instructions will be posted on this website during the open call.
Applicants Must:
*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.
When the call for applications is open, the application guidelines, online application, and a final list of eligibility criteria will be available on this site.
The RSMFP application must be completed online by the Application Deadline date and include:
All required documents must be uploaded online. Any documents an applicant provides by email, post or any means other than the online application form will not be reviewed.
RSMFP provides up to $25,000 (U.S.) for developing country nationals to travel abroad to conduct development-related PhD research under the supervision of a host advisor at a university, research or development institution in a World Bank member country. The Scholarship covers a 6 to 10 month period. Details on eligible expenditures are provided in the Application Guidelines.
What is the Selection Process?
The RSMFP uses the following process to review completed applications, with the aim to identify eligible candidates with the most innovative and relevant research proposals in the area of development.
Two qualified reviewers independently review each eligible application to assess the following:
Information provided by your PhD thesis supervisor and your host institution research advisor are particularly important elements of your application.
The World Bank Robert S. McNamara Secretariat uses the average score of the two reviewers and the following other aspects to select the finalists:
The finalists are presented to the World Bank Robert S. McNamara Steering Committee (composed of some members of the World Bank Board of Directors and WB management) for final review and selection of the winners of the award. The RSMFP Secretariat notifies the public on this website that the selection is made and individually informs the winners of the Fellowship.
The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) is open to women and men from developing countries with relevant professional experience and a history of supporting their countries’ development efforts who are applying to a master degree program in a development-related topic.
JJWBGSP offers scholarships for over 200 Preferred Programs (.xlsx 49 KB) spanning a wide array of development topics and for 14 Partner Programs (.xlsx 15 KB) at universities in 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 degree program.
A JJWBGSP scholarship provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and travel allowance.
View a detailed list of benefits. After earning their degree, developing country scholars commit to return to home to use their new skills to contribute to their countries’ social and economic development.
What can an applicant do before the call?
Who is Eligible to Apply?
How to Apply
Selection Process
Scholarship Benefits
What can an applicant do before the call?
Please note that application guidelines that provide detailed application instructions will be posted on this website during the open call.
Details on Eligibility Criteria for each call for applications are provided in that call’s Application Guidelines, and these detailed eligibility criteria are strictly adhered to. No exceptions are made.
Broadly speaking, Developing Country nationals must:
*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.
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:
Those seeking a JJ/WBGSP Partner Program scholarship (.xlsx 15 KB) 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 short list of eligible candidates who will then be invited by the JJWBGSP Secretariat to apply for a JJ/WBGSP scholarship. View the complete list of JJ/WBGSP Partner (.xlsx 15 KB) master degrees offered.
Those seeking a JJ/WBGSP Preferred Program scholarship (.xlsx 49 KB) must, in parallel, apply for admissions to one or more of the Preferred Program(s) and apply for a JJWBGSP scholarship through an open call typically announced within the first two months of a calendar year. The next call for applications for a JJWBGSP Scholarship to one of our Preferred Programs is scheduled to open February 2018. View the complete list of JJ/WBGSP Preferred (.xlsx 49 KB) Master Degrees currently offered.
When the scholarship applications for the Preferred Program is open, the finalized list of preferred programs, the application guidelines, online application, and a finalized list of eligibility criteria will be available on this site. The scholarship application must be completed online and include two professional references. The scholarship application must also include an unconditional (except for secured funding) letter of admission from the preferred master degree program that the applicant wants JJWBGSP funding. Note that if the applicant is admitted to several master degree programs, he/she must choose at the time of submitted the scholarship application which program to attend with JJWBGSP funding. We have requested our preferred master degree programs to issue all letters of admission prior to the closing deadline for our scholarship application. Any documents an applicant provides by email, post or any means other than the online application form will not be reviewed. Applicants who submit more than one scholarship application are disqualified.
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:
JJ/WBGSP awards scholarships to applicants who have had at least 3 years of full-time paid employment in the applicant’s home country or in other developing countries acquired after receiving the first Bachelors (or equivalent university) degree within the past 6 years; and are 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 that are posted during the call for applications. In these exceptional cases, we do take into consideration the limited employment opportunities in those countries recently or currently in conflict.
For a scholarship to a JJWBGSP Preferred Program master degree, the JJ/WBGSP Secretariat uses the average score of the two assessors to identify the list of semi-finalists. The semi-finalists will be required during the review process to provide supplemental documentation, including a letter of acceptance from a JJWBGSP Preferred Masters Degree Program noted in the submitted application that is either unconditional, or conditional only upon the securing of financing.
The JJ/WBGSP Secretariat uses the average score of the two assessors and the following criteria to select the finalists:
The JJWBGSP Secretariat presents the finalists for the preferred program scholarship to the JJ/WBG Steering Committee (composed of members of the World Bank Board of Directors and WB management) for final review and selection for a scholarship. The Secretariat informs the scholarship winners in July.
The JJWBGSP Secretariat presents the finalists for partnership scholarship 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 informs the scholarship winners to a partner master degree program soon after approval.
The JJ/WBGSP scholarship provides the recipient with the following benefits:
Please note all JJ/WBGSP scholarships cover the duration of the graduate program or two years, whichever is less.
The JJ/WBGSP scholarship does not cover:
Note: 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.
The Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (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 in developing countries, and who have been admitted to or are currently enrolled in a master’s or PhD graduate degree program outside of Japan and in development-related fields.
Applicants seeking master degrees are encouraged (but not required) to seek admissions in institutions participating in our Preferred (.xlsx 49 KB) and Partnership (.xlsx 15 KB) Programs. Graduate degrees related to Foreign Service, Diplomacy, Business (including MBAs) and Law (including LLMs), Medicine (including MDs) are not eligible for financing by the JJWBGSP scholarship.
After earning their degree, Japanese national scholars are expected to advance their professional career with a keen focus on the alleviation of poverty and enhanced shared prosperity in developing countries.
The next call for applications for a JJWBGSP Scholarship will open February 2018.
The JJ/WBGSP scholarship provides the recipient with the following benefits:
Please note all JJ/WBGSP scholarships cover the duration of the graduate program or two years, whichever is less.
The JJ/WBGSP scholarship does not cover:
Note: 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.
"At that time, Myanmar ranked as the last 10 countries in the human development index. We were facing many problems. I hoped that I would contribute in health systems reforms as an advocate to save thousands of lives."
