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JOINT JAPAN/WORLD BANK GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Application Window #2 from March 30 to May 29, 2026

LOCATION: Japan

The JJ/WBGSP is open to citizens of certain developing countries with relevant professional experience and a history of supporting their countries’ development efforts who are applying to a master’s degree program in a development-related topic

ELIGIBILITY:

Subject to available funding, JJ/WBGSP offers scholarships for 44 participating master’s programs in 24 universities in the U.S., Europe, Africa, Oceania, and Japan in key areas of development, including economic policy management, tax policy, and infrastructure management.

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:

Be a national of a World Bank member developing country on this list;

Not hold dual citizenship of any developed country;

Be in good health;

Hold a bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the Application Deadline date;

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. Please see FAQs—Window 1 on how to count qualified part time employment toward this 3-year requirement. Please see Annex 2 of the Application Guidelines for a suggested list of development-related topics. The only exception to this criterion is for developing country nationals from a country that is on the list of Fragile and Conflict States featured in Annex 3 of the Application Guidelines. In such cases, we do take into consideration the limited employment opportunities in those countries.

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 participating master’s programs located outside of the applicant’s country of citizenship and country of residence listed at the time the call for scholarship applications opens. The letter of admission must be uploaded before submitting the scholarship application. For details, see “How to Apply”.

Not be an Executive Director, his/her alternate, and/or staff of any type of 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.

Individuals who have previously been offered a JJ/WBGSP scholarship but declined it, or have previously received a JJ/WBGSP scholarship but did not graduate, are not eligible to apply again.

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.

BENEFIT:

A JJ/WBGSP scholarship provides tuition, a monthly living stipend, round-trip airfare, health insurance, and a travel allowance. View a detailed list of benefits.

APPLY

QUEEN’S COMMONWEALTH WRITING COMPETITION

Application Deadline: 30 April, 2026

LOCATION: United Kingdom

THE QUEEN’S COMMONWEALTH WRITING COMPETITION

The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools, which has been proudly delivered by the Royal Commonwealth Society since 1883.
Each year, the theme is drawn from Commonwealth values and principles. It encourages young people to engage with pressing issues of the day, such as the environment, equality, and youth leadership, to foster an open-minded and empathetic worldview.

ELIGIBILITY:

You are eligible to enter the competition if you are 18 years or younger and are a national or resident of a Commonwealth country or territory. If you are 19 years old or older by 30 April 2026, we encourage you to enter the Commonwealth Short Story Prize – Commonwealth Short Story Prize – Commonwealth Foundation

The maximum word count is 1,000 words. Entrants should not feel any need to use up all available words. There is no minimum word count, and our judges mark based on the quality of the writing, so longer entries will not automatically score higher than shorter entries.

Wholly or partly AI generated work is not accepted in the Competition and the RCS has complete discretion in making the decision about the use of AI to disqualify an entry or recommend that an entry is marked down.

Entrants to the competition will have their certificates sent to their nominated email address at the end of the judging process in the later part of 2026

BENEFIT:

A winner will be selected from each region of the Commonwealth (the Americas, the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and Europe), and from these five, one overall winner will be chosen. All regional winners will be invited to London for a week of cultural and educational activities, culminating in an award ceremony. If you are not selected as a winner, you will still be awarded a certificate, and you have the chance of winning one of the below options. Gold Certificate Silver Certificate Bronze Certificate Certificate of Participation Local RCS branches often hold local and regional ceremonies or offer prizes, so if you were made aware of the competition by your local RCS branch, please contact them after the competition closes on 30 April 2026 to inquire about any activities they might have planned.

APPLY