Are you eligible?
8 questions against the published criteria
A self-assessment, not an eligibility decision — only the organisation can make one of those. It checks your answers against what has been published and nothing else.
Nothing you select here is stored or sent anywhere. The check runs in your browser, and the answers disappear when you close the page.
- 01
Nationality
Do you hold the nationality of a World Bank Group member country, evidenced by a current passport or an equivalent official document?
IBRD has 189 member countries, IDA 175, IFC 186 and MIGA 182, so for most applicants this is not a constraint. You upload the passport photo page; it confirms both your primary nationality and your date of birth.
- 02
Education
Will you hold a master's-level degree or a higher qualification in a relevant field before the September start date?
The deadline is completion before entry, not before application — so a candidate in the final year of a master's, or in the late stages of a doctorate, can apply provided the qualification will be complete in time. An enrolment letter stating the expected completion date is the evidence.
- 03
Professional experience
How much relevant professional experience will you have in a related work area?
Two to six years, as a band with a floor and a ceiling. It does not need to be continuous. Time in doctoral research studies, part-time experience counted proportionately, relevant internships and consultancy may all count towards the total.
- 04
English
Do you have an excellent command of spoken and written English?
There is no test to sit and no certificate to upload — which misleads people. It is assessed continuously: your written responses, an on-demand video interview, a group exercise with strangers, fifteen minutes of unedited written reflection, and a 45–50 minute technical panel interview.
- 05
Current WBG employment
Are you currently a World Bank Group staff member?
The exclusion covers term, open, short-term (ST) and extended-term (ET) appointments. Interns, Junior Professional Associates and consultants are treated differently and by cycle — check the current cycle's own wording rather than assuming last cycle's.
- 06
Employment eligibility policy
Do you have a close relative who works for, or performs services for, the World Bank Group?
The criterion applicants are least likely to know exists. Category I relatives are those by blood or adoption: mother, father, son, daughter, sister, half-sister, brother, half-brother, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew. Category II covers other close relatives, in-laws, grandparents, grandchildren, cousins, step- and half-relationships, and domestic partners of close relatives. Disclosure is required either way.
- 07
Mobility and start date
Are you willing and able to work in any Bank Group office worldwide, and to start in Washington, DC in September 2027 without deferral?
In applying you are assumed to be willing and able to work in any Bank Group office worldwide. Start dates are not deferred, because the YP Academy's learning is cohort-based. At least one of the three rotations must be country-office based.
- 08
Assessment availability · readiness
Can you keep the second half of October 2026 clear and reliably connected?
Candidates who advance are invited to an on-demand video interview, a leadership assessment and, in some streams, a technical assessment. The Bank Group states it will not reschedule or provide alternate dates.
0 of 8 answered. The result appears once every question has an answer — a partial check would be misleading in either direction.
Eligibility is not competitiveness
This check reads your answers against the six published criteria and nothing else. Meeting them is the entry condition, not a prediction — the programme is highly competitive and outcomes depend on the applicant pool, the Bank Group's needs, and factors outside any candidate's control. Verify every requirement against the official pages before you rely on it.
Candidates should always verify the latest requirements and dates on the official World Bank Group website.
No preparation service can promise, guarantee or imply selection. The programme is highly competitive and outcomes depend on the applicant pool, the Bank Group's needs and factors outside any candidate's control.