JICA SDGs Global Leader Scholarship 2027

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

JICA’s SDGs Global Leader Programme pays for public servants and future university staff to earn a master’s degree or a doctorate in Japan, on the understanding that they return to shape policy at home. The Japan International Cooperation Agency runs it as one of its long-term Knowledge Co-Creation courses and expects about 25 participants worldwide for the 2027 intake. In South Africa, DHET, the Department of Higher Education and Training, handles nominations through its International Scholarships unit, and the call for the 2027 intake closes on 28 September 2026.

The programme is aimed at a narrower group than JICA’s better-known ABE Initiative, which targets business and industry. JICA’s general information says candidates without an organisational affiliation are, in principle, not eligible.

Government departments and universities as the two feeder routes

The target list DHET publishes for 2027 has two lines for this programme. The Department of Public Service and Administration coordinates public sector capacity development, with government departments as the target organisations. DHET coordinates higher education capacity development, drawing from higher education and research institutions. In JICA’s words the programme is for young or mid-career government officials and prospective academics who are expected to help form or carry out policy on sustainable development.

Research topics should feed government policy on sustainable development. JICA gives examples such as public administration and policy, public finance management, international relations and diplomacy, regional studies, trade and investment, disaster risk reduction and maritime issues. DHET’s priority fields add engineering, agriculture, energy, mining, AI and digital technology, health innovation, water and sanitation, transport, biodiversity, science, the environment and education. MBA topics are not prioritised for South Africans.

Master’s or PhD, and the qualification each needs

DHET’s own call gives a broader age guide of 22 to 39 on 1 April 2027 for both tracks, so a master’s applicant between 36 and 39 should confirm eligibility with the JICA South Africa Office before applying. Some universities first admit JICA scholars as research students for up to six months; they must pass the university’s entrance examination within that time or return home. The language of study is English, and JICA sets the English benchmark at TOEFL iBT 80, IELTS 6.5 or a Duolingo score of 120 to 125. Applicants also need to be in good health, and they must not hold another Japanese government scholarship during the programme.

More than 80 Japanese universities to choose from

Applicants pick a preferred university from JICA’s university list for 2027, which DHET posts with the call. It covers more than 80 institutions that have agreed to take JICA participants, from the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University and the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies to regional universities such as Ehime, Kagoshima and the University of the Ryukyus. Each entry sets out the graduate school, whether a supervisor must be chosen at the matching stage, and the English test the school expects. Admission still depends on passing that university’s entrance process.

Allowances in yen

The scholar carries passport fees, some visa costs, travel within South Africa, departure and airport taxes and excess baggage. JICA recommends that participants also do an internship at a Japanese public body while in the country, unpaid in principle.

What goes into the application email

All forms are on the DHET SDGs Global Leader 2027 call page. The package goes by email to ScholarshipApplications@dhet.gov.za and must hold the typed Excel application form named after the applicant, a signed PDF version with photograph and employer endorsement, Annexes 1 to 3, certified degree certificates and transcripts, and a passport or ID copy. Add the university’s Form of Enquiry where the university requires one, and an English certificate if you have it. Leave no yellow field on the form blank; write “N/A” where it does not apply.

Selection after 28 September

DHET screens the documents and shortlisted applicants are interviewed. The DHET page says interview dates will be sent to those shortlisted, while the supplemental information for South Africa gives 14 and 15 October 2026. After interviews, JICA forwards research plans to each nominee’s first and second university choices for matching in December 2026 and January 2027. Nominees who match apply to a single university, which runs its own selection up to about July 2027, and JICA confirms the final group between July and early August 2027. Selected candidates also need official approval from the South African government and JICA.

The JICA South Africa Office takes questions on +27 (0)12 346 4493; the programme contact, Eva Nderumaki, is at Nderumakieva.SO@jica.go.jp. JICA’s help desk at JICE is africa@jice.org.

For doctoral funding at home, compare the DSI-NRF postgraduate scholarship and our guide to how postgraduate funding works in South Africa. Hungary’s government scholarship, also nominated through DHET, is on our Stipendium Hungaricum page.

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