2026 Yokohama National University – JJ/WBGSP Infrastructure Management Program (IMP): (Deadline 19 February 2026)

Yokohama National University, with a grant funded by the Government of Japan and administered by the World Bank under the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP), is now seeking prospective students for its inter-faculty Master’s Degree Program in Infrastructure Management (IMP). The program, which will begin in October 2026, is specifically designed for training infrastructure policy planners from the eligible countries of JJ/WBGSP 2026.

IMP is an interdisciplinary program jointly organized by graduate schools of law, economics, business administration, engineering and environment. Stress is placed on management rather than engineering. The program offers lectures in the fields of engineering, environment, economics, management and law, together with practical Japanese, mathematics, computer techniques and other basic subjects in the first year. During the second year, students engage in practicum training programs related to their areas of studies. Finally, students submit thesis, which is a requirement for the completion of the Master’s program. Mid-career engineering professionals who have an active role in their country’s development in the World Bank developing member countries are eligible to apply for IMP.

Yokohama National University Masters Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of Yokohama National University Masters Scholarship

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

• Monthly allowance (most probably JPY170, 000 – JPY 200, 000)
• Round-trip air ticket to Japan plus a travel allowance.
• Tuition fees,
• Entrance examination fee,
• Admission fee, and
• Insurance.

Applicants must have at least three years of practical experience involving responsibility for infrastructure development and must also intend to pursue a career in the field of development. The scholarship benefits are explained on the World Bank web page

Requirements for Yokohama National University Masters Scholarship Qualification

• Be a national of the JJ/WBGSP eligible country.
• Do not hold dual citizenship of any developing country.
• Be in good health.
• Hold a Bachelor’s degree or it’s equivalent with superior academic achievement earned more tha 3 years before the scholarship application deadline.
• Be employed in a paid and full-time position at the time of scholarship application deadline, unless the applicant is from a country recognized by world bank as “Harmonized list of Fargile situations“.
• Have, by the time of the Scholarship Application Deadline, at least three (3) years of recent fulltime paid professional experience acquired in development-related work experience acquired within the past 6 years (Except for those from FCS list ) after a Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent in the applicant’s home country or in another developing country; If the applicant is from a country in the World Bank’s list of Fragile and Conflict States, at the time of the Scholarship Application Deadline, the recent professional experience does not have to be fulltime or paid.
• 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.

Priority consideration:

• Strong academic potential to study IMP Master’s Degree Program.
• Intention to return to the equivalent position (including the current one) in the home country after completion.
• Recommendation from appropriate agencies.
• Submission of Official English proficiency Test Scores (TOEFL/IELTS).

For full eligibility information, check the “Application Guieline” on the Joint Japan/ World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) page.

Documents Required for Application

1. Completed Application Form
   • The application form can be completed by entering each section through YNU Web Application System.
2. Official Transcript(s)
   • Transcript(s) should be uploaded as a file with your grades/scores and credits clearly readable and include the grading scale of the university you graduated.
3. Certification(s) of Graduation or Copies of Diploma
   • A certification of Graduation or a copy of diploma should be including the title of Bachelor.
4. English Proficiency Test Score (TOEFL / IELTS) ? Certificate of English Proficiency
   • Because the entire program is carried out in English, applicants must provide evidence of a satisfactory level of English competence, either through a certificate from English-taught university program or TOEFL/IELTS score. No exceptions are made. If the applicant has completed a university program conducted primarily in English, they must submit a certificate confirming that English was the medium of instruction and that they have successfully completed the program. The applicants may be asked to be interviewed by YNU academic staff via Skype, Zoom, Teams, etc, primarily for the purpose of ascertaining their proficiency in English.
5. Academic Performance Entry Sheet
   • Applicants are required to download the sheet below, read the notes on it carefully and fill in the relevant information from 2) Official transcript for all academic years of the last university attended.
   • Academic Performance Entry Sheet.
6. Research Plan
   • The applicant’s research plan must be uploaded as a PDF or Word file, with a maximum length of six A4-sized pages. An abstract should be included in the top one-third of the first page. The research plan should provide a detailed description of the research, including the background, objectives, methodology, expected outcomes, and ultimate goals of the research at YNU. Additionally, the plan should reflect the applicant’s academic background, professional experience, and commitment to their home country.
7. Names and contact information of Recommenders
   • One of the recommenders must be a person who has supervised the applicant in a work situation, and the other from a professor/academic staff at the university from which the applicant graduated. We will later ask the two recommenders to provide a recommendation letter for the applicant electronically. For this purpose, the recommenders must use official email addresses of the professional institutions they are affiliated with. We will not accept recommendation letters from private addresses such as Gmail or Yahoo!

If any forgery and false declaration are found in the application documents, the applicant will be subject to disciplinary action by YNU, which includes expulsion from the university, in which case the World Bank will be immediately notified and the student in question will lose all his/her scholarship entitlement, including the return airfare. -Do not send any document by e-mail or fax.

Application Deadline

February 19, 2026

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to World Bank on e-apply.jp to apply

• After examining the qualifications of applicants for admission, the GSUI Steering Committee will send the “Letter of Admission” to the successful applicants, who can apply for the JJ/WBGSP scholarships 2026 Window #2 by the World Bank (“Scholarship Application”) and several final passers will be accepted as IMP students and receive World Bank scholarships.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND APPLY