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World Bank Scholarships

World Bank Scholarships for graduate students are a great opportunity for those students from around the world in developing nations to apply for financial aid when attending college. The World Bank, which is an international institution that is engaged in assisting the developing world through economic grants and initiatives, offers several programs in which students in developing nations can find additional funding for programs which may help them eventually aid their local communities. Amongst them are the Robert S. McNamara Fellowship Program, the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program and the Japan Indonesia Presidential Scholarship Program. While none of these programs fund undergraduate studies, they are an excellent source of funding for any student interested in pursuing graduate level education and should be considered sincerely as a source of potential funding. Apart from the act of providing funding for graduate students, each of these scholarship initiatives provides access to an incredible alumni network which will help support developing students. Further, each program provides basic necessities for those who have entered fellowship work.

The Robert S. McNamara scholarship is both the oldest and most established World Bank Scholarship available. It is focused on providing financial support to students who are engaged in several specific research fields and will cover costs for a five to ten month period. All interested applicants should be under 45 years old while having already completed their coursework for the doctoral program they are enrolled in. Further, it is only available to researchers from one of the listed developing nations which the World Bank scholarship programs cover. It provides for books, database access, software needs, additional courses required and any seminars a fellow will need to better achieve their research goals. Fields which are covered by this World Bank scholarship include economics, health, education, and any other topic which is related to the developing world. Interested applicants will need to submit a research budget and awards will cover up to $25,000 in expenses. The deadline for applying to the Robert S. McNamara Scholarship is March 31, 2011.

Looking now to the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarships Program (JJ/WBGP) it is clear that this program is a great source of funding for any student from a general World Bank member nation interested in graduate studies. From a total of 61,319 applicants, the JJ/WBGP has funded scholarships for 3,412 students and on average awards $33,000 to each recipient. Students who receive the awards can choose to attend school from a pool of more than 150 institutions. In order to be eligible for the program students must be from a World Bank member nation, hold a bachelors degree, not be from an industrialized nation and be in good health. Preferably students should be interested in economics, health, education or other topics related to the developing world. This particular program is available to students entering a master’s level program. Applicants will be weighed according to academic merit, professional experience outside of school and the importance of their selected study program. All application material is due no later than March 31, 2011.

The final World Bank scholarship that is important to mention is the Japan Indonesia Scholarship program. It is funded every year by a grant from the Japanese Government and seeks to work with students entering PhD level studies. More focused than the previous two World Bank Scholarships, this program requires that applicants be residents of Indonesia, less than 45 years old and having maintained at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4 point scale. While students should be enrolled in a PhD program and already have their masters degree, those applicants who hold a bachelor degree and show outstanding performance are encouraged to apply. This program fully funds three to four years of university studies while also providing a monthly allowance. Further, the Japan Indonesia Scholarship program provides money related to travel expenses to cover airfares to and from a chosen university. Unlike the other two major programs, this World Bank scholarship 2011 covers many additional fields of interest including biotechnology, infrastructure and urban development. The deadline for application materials is March 26 annually.