JDS

The Project for
Human Resource
Development Scholarship

JDS - Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship

Sri Lanka

TopSri Lanka › Master's Degree Program

Master's Degree Program

1. Applicant Eligibility

Nationality Citizens of Sri Lanka
Age Below the age of 40 as of April 1st, 2025(in principle)
Academic Background Possess a Bachelor's Degree (Undergraduate level of education)
Target Group - Completed the probation period and eligible for confirmation
- Eligible Officer:
  • "Executives/ Senior Executives", those who are mentioned in the Public Administration Circular No.06/2006, Annexure II, Page 2, IV Senior Level, and Page 5, 3.10 & 3.11
  • Officials those who belong to Board of Investment (BOI) can only apply to the component 1-2-3 "Industry Development Policy and Investment Promotion"
  • Officials those who belong to National Building Research Organization (NBRO), Central Environmental Authority (CEA), National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB), Waste Management Authority (WMA) can only apply to the component 1-3 "Urban and Regional Development"
* Study Topics that are highly relevant to applicant's career development & beneficial to their organization will be given highest priority
English Proficienc Have a good command of both written and spoken English for study at graduate schools
Health Condition A person of sound mind and body
Applicants need to take and pass all medical check-up priority to the technical interview, arranged by JDS Project Office. Applicants who cannot take or pass all medical check-up will be disqualified from JDS scholarship.
Pre-condition
  • Applicants are expected to have special interest in studying in Japan as well as motivation to utilize their experience and human network developed through JDS in their career.
  • After completion of Master's degree, the Fellow should return to the country and serve to his or her organization as per the government Procedure.
  • In principle, study courses should be completed in Japan, and it will not allow to conduct Online for graduation.
Ineligibility A person falls under any of the following items is NOT eligible to apply:
  • Military personnel registered on the active list or person on alternative military service cannot apply for JDS.
  • Those who are currently awarded or scheduled to receive another scholarship
  • Those who have obtained a Master's or Higher Degree overseas under the support of foreign scholarship

2. Selection Procedures

1) Promotion Seminars

ONLINE Promotion Seminars are scheduled to provide more detailed information on JDS Project and how to prepare application documents for prospective applicants as follows:

Every Friday 14:00~15:00
30th August 2024 - English Medium
06th September 2024 - Sinhala Medium
13th September 2024 - Tamil Medium
27th September 2024 - Sinhala Medium
11th October 2024 - Sinhala Medium

Please contact us to join the program!

2) Information Session by accepting universities

Information Sessions by accepting universities are scheduled to provide more detailed information on JDS Project and Accepting University for prospective applicants.

Please refer to the schedule on the following link and register to the Information Session by the universities.
It will be available in early September.

2) Application Deadline

Deadline for Application: November 1st (Friday), 2024

Application documents will not be returned for any reason.
Application documents must be submitted to ERD from your Ministry or Organization by deadline.
Late submission and incomplete application documents shall NOT be accepted.
(NOTE: Only if the eligible and complete number of applications received is less than 60, the application deadline will be extended for 10 working days automatically. It will be announced on JDS Website soon after the original deadline.)

3) Tentative Schedule

Schedule Steps Description
Aug- Nov 1st, 2024 Application Closing Date: 4:30 p.m. on November 1st (Fri), 2024
To Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization, and National Policies, Department of External Resources through the ministry or organization to which you belong.
Further details → P6 "Application Documents"
Nov, 2024 IELTS Registration The instructions will be given in the application confirmation email from JICE JDS Project Office. Please inform the Registration Number to JICE within 3 days after completing the online registration.
Dec 7th, 2024 Academic aptitude test IELTS and Math tests. The test results will be reviewed by the Japanese universities in later selection stages.
* Applicants who have IELTS score valid until May 31st, 2025/have 6.0 mark or more from 2023 JDS IELTS TEST are exempted from IELTS test.
Dec, 2024- Jan, 2025 1st Selection Document Screening: Application Documents and research plan will be examined by the Japanese universities.
Jan, 2025 Health Checkup The health checkup will be arranged at a hospital in Colombo.
Feb, 2025 2nd Selection Technical Interview Faculty members of the Japanese Universities will visit to Colombo to conduct their interview exams.
March, 2025 3rd Selection Comprehensive Interview: The Operating Committee members will conduct the interview exams."Recommendation letter"will be required.
Early March, 2025 Approval by the OC Successful candidates will be approved and notified
Mar - Apr, 2025 Admission Procedure JICE will support admission procedures for each university
Apr - Jul, 2025 Japanese Language Training Provided to successful candidates in Colombo. (3 months)
Jul, 2025 Orientations Provided by JICA and JICE
Aug, 2025 Departure for Japan JICE will arrange air-ticket, visa, and also support after the arrival in Japan

* Above schedule is subject to change

<Important Notes>
  • Application Documents will not be returned (Please keep a copy of your documents)
  • Application Documents with false statements or plagiarism will be immediately disqualified
  • A result of each selection will be announced only to successful candidates
  • In principle, reasons of the selection-results will not be disclosed

3. Download of Application Guideline and Application Documents

Please refer to the Application Guideline and submit a full set of application documents by the deadline.

download Download
  1. Application Guideline
  2. Application Documents

4. Research Plan

In the JDS selections, each candidate will be evaluated on his or her academic abilities enough to pursue the master's program in Japan as well as the potential of the future contribution to the country. Thus, it is highly recommended to explain that the objective of your research plan be in connection with the development issues under applying Component, and to rationalize how the study will be addressed in accordance with the career path, corresponding to the current position and responsibility in the belonging organization.
It is also recommended to study your applying university to make sure if the curriculums of the university and fields of specialization of faculty members are relevant to your research.
Remember that plagiarizing from somebody's work or websites are strongly prohibited.
Please refer to 'Tips on Application and Selection (Reference)' and 'Guideline for Writing a Research Plan' in the Application Guideline for more information.

5. Supportive videos for the application

6. English & Math Exam

Every qualified applicant will be required to take English proficiency test (IELTS) as well as math test in Colombo in December 7th 2024.

  • IELTS consists of 4 parts with 'Listening' for 30 minutes, 'Reading' for 60 minutes, 'Writing' for 60 minutes and 'Speaking' for 11-14 minutes.

    * Applicants who have IELTS score valid until May 31st, 2025 or over 6.0 mark from 2023 JDS IELTS TEST may be exempted from IELTS test.

  • Math test of around 60 minutes consists of Arithmetic operations, Solving fractions, Equations, Inequality, Matrix, Basic quadratic functions, Basic operations of exponential and logarithmic functions, Basic Integral and Differentiation, etc.

The scores will be reviewed on the 1st selection by the accepting universities. The universities may require applicants to have a good command of English skill and numeracy skills. Please be well prepared for the exams.

Go to "Application" page
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