World Bank

Pre-enrollment Scholarships

Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP)


ATTENTION: The application period for 2019 enrollment has ended. Please check this site regularly from mid-January 2020 onwards to catch information for the application window for 2020 enrollment.


Below are instructions for prospective applicants interested in applying for admissions to certain Ritsumeikan University Master’s programs who also intend to apply separately to the World Bank for their JJ/WBGSP scholarship. Please read through all information on this page, in the Application Guidelines and Application Forms linked below, and on the World Bank’s scholarship homepage first to confirm your application eligibility before applying.


1. Eligibility Requirements

To apply for a JJ/WBGSP scholarship, an applicant must:

  • Meet all eligibility criteria for the scholarship as determined by Ritsumeikan University and listed on the JJ/WBGSP Application Guidelines below.
  • Meet all eligibility criteria for the scholarship as established by the World Bank and listed on the World Bank's JJ/WBGSP website, including but not limited to holding a "Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree earned at least 3 years prior to the Application Deadline date", having "3 years or more of recent development-related work experience after earning a Bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree", and so on. *Visit the above-linked World Bank homepage directly for all details.

2. Scholarship Details

Please refer to the Scholarship Benefits page on the JJ/WBGSP website.

3. Application

In order to apply for Ritsumeikan University JJ/WBGSP admissions, you must complete an application to Ritsumeikan University according to the guidelines, using the application forms found below. Please read through the documents carefully before completing your application. Additionally, before sending us your application via post, please send a completed copy of the Application Questionnaire linked below to us at cger-bkc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp. Once we have received and reviewed your Application Questionnaire, we will get back to you and let you know whether or not you meet the basic eligibility requirements for application via these procedures.
*If there is little time left before the deadline and you are in a hurry to submit your application, you may include a printed copy of the Application Questionnaire in your set of application documents instead.

At the same time, in order to apply for a Joint Japan/ World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program scholarship, you must apply to the World Bank directly. For information, please see the World Bank's JJ/WBGSP website.
*Applications for Ritsumeikan admissions and World Bank scholarship are separate. Those interested in applying must complete both.

Ritsumeikan University Admissions Procedures

Joint Japan/ World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program Application Procedures

4. After Application

Once you have completed an application with Ritsumeikan University, your application will be screened by your graduate school of interest according to the Application Guidelines and an admissions decision will be reached. Results are scheduled to be notified to applicants by email on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, and those successful in Ritsumeikan’s admissions review will receive a Letter of Acceptance via post. Successful applicants should then follow the instructions of the World Bank and submit a data copy of their Letter of Acceptance to the World Bank via the World Bank’s online application system as soon as possible in order to advance their JJ/WBGSP scholarship application with the World Bank.

After completing application procedures with both Ritsumeikan University and the World Bank:

  • Please be sure to respond to any emails sent directly to you from the World Bank in a timely manner.
  • If you are selected for scholarship, the World Bank will directly contact you, only. They will not notify Ritsumeikan University of your selection. Therefore, if you receive an email notice of scholarship selection, please forward the message to the Ritsumeikan University BKC International Center at cger-bkc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp to inform the university of your selection for JJ/WBGSP scholarship award.
  • If you do not receive any notification from the World Bank by August 1st, please email the Ritsumeikan University BKC International Center at cger-bkc@st.ritsumei.ac.jp and inform the university that you have not been contacted.

Further detailed instructions will be provided individually to applicants once they have contacted the BKC International Center as mentioned above.


Scholarship Eligibility Requirements and Scholarship Details

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