Grants

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TEACH GRANT

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant is a merit based Federal Title IV program designed to encourage highly qualified teachers to serve in low-income schools in high-need fields.The U.S. Department of Education's TEACH Grant Program provides funds to students who are completing, or who plan to complete, coursework that is required to begin a career in teaching, and who agree to teach full-time for at least four years:

  • As a highly qualified teacher;

    At a school or educational service agency (ESA) servicing low-income students;

    and

    In a high-need field.

The four years of teaching must be completed within eight years after you complete or otherwise cease to be enrolled in the program for which you received a TEACH Grant. This teaching requirement is known as your TEACH Grant service obligation.

The TEACH Grant is a non-need based program that provides up to an aggregate amount $8,000 to students enrolled in a TEACH Grant Eligibility Program. 

*Each of these requirements must be completed each academic award year to receive the TEACH Grant.

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Eligibility

  • Only students pursuing a first Bachelor's degree or a Master's degree are eligible for a TEACH Grant. Students pursuing only a teacher licensure or a second Bachelor's degree are not eligible for the TEACH Grant.

  • Students must be actively pursuing coursework within a major that will enable them to teach in a federal or state-recognized high need field, at a low income school, as a highly qualified teacher.

Undergraduate

  • Students must be admitted to the TEACH Education program

  • Students must have Taken the Praxis I

  • Seeking a degree in one of the below high-need fields:

    • BSE in Art

    • BSE in Foreign Language (Spanish or French)

    • BSE in Mathematics

    • BSE in Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)

    • BSE in Special Education K-12

    • BSE in Social Science

Graduate

  • Seeking a degree in one of the below high-need fields:

    • MSE in Biology

    • MSE in Chemistry

    • MSE in Mathematics

    • MSE in Reading

    • MSE in Special Education K-12

    • MSE in Special Education P-4

    • MSE in Special Education 4-12

    • MSE in Special Education Gifted, Talented and Creative

    • MSE in Social Science

    • MSE in Computer Science

Academic Requirements

Students must either earn a GPA of 3.25 or better) or have scored in the 75th percentile or better on a nationally-formed admission test (such as SAT or GRE) to qualify to receive and maintain the TEACH Grant award.

*Current teachers are not required to meet the GPA requirements upon initial TEACH Grant award but must maintain the 3.25 GPA requirement to continue eligibility.

Obligation

Recipients must agree to teach as a highly qualified teacher, in a high-need field (within the state of which the teaching obligation is being fulfilled), at a low income elementary or secondary school for 4 years within 8 years of completing the program. If you do not complete the teaching obligation, your grants will convert to an unsubsidized loan, which you must repay with interest.

To complete your service obligation, you must teach full-time for at least four years:

  • As a highly qualified teacher;

  • At a school serving low-income students;

and

  • In a high-need field.

You must complete your required teaching service within eight years after you:

  • Complete the academic program for which you received your TEACH Grant,

    or

  • Are otherwise no longer enrolled in that program (for example, if you withdraw from school or if you change to a different program for which you are not eligible to receive a TEACH Grant).

Suspension

To prevent the TEACH Grant from converting into a loan program participants must notify FedLoan Servicing within 120 days of completing, or otherwise ceasing to be enrolled in an eligible program of study that you either:

  • Are employed as a full-time teacher in accordance with the terms and conditions of your TEACH Grant service obligation.

  • Are not yet employed as a full-time teacher, but still intend to meet the terms and conditions of your TEACH Grant service obligation.

**Please remember: Once a TEACH Grant has been converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a TEACH Grant.

For additional information regarding the TEACH Grant please go online to https://studentaid.gov/teach-grant-program.