TEACH Grant
Offered by U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
About this scholarship
The federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant supports students preparing to teach in high-need fields. A full-time recipient may be scheduled for up to $4,000 per year before mandatory federal award reductions; aggregate limits are $16,000 for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate study and $8,000 for graduate study. Applicants begin with the FAFSA, then work with the financial-aid office at a school that participates in TEACH and enroll in a program the school designates as TEACH Grant eligible. Before receiving funds, a student must complete TEACH Grant counseling and sign an Agreement to Serve or Repay for each award year. The agreement requires four complete school years of full-time teaching in a high-need field at a qualifying low-income school or educational service agency. That service normally must be finished within eight years after leaving the program. High-need fields include bilingual education and English-language acquisition, foreign language, mathematics, reading specialist, science, special education, and other fields on the federal shortage list. This is a grant with a serious repayment condition: failure to complete the service obligation can convert the award into a Direct Unsubsidized Loan with interest. Students should confirm program participation, the actual scheduled award, and school deadlines before accepting funds.
Eligibility
- Meet the general eligibility requirements for federal student aid
- Enroll at a school that participates in the TEACH Grant Program
- Enroll in a course of study the school designates as TEACH Grant eligible
- Complete the FAFSA for every award year in which funding is requested
- Complete required TEACH Grant initial or subsequent counseling
- Sign an annual Agreement to Serve or Repay before receiving the grant
- Agree to complete four years of full-time high-need teaching at a qualifying low-income school or educational service agency
- Understand that failure to fulfill the service obligation can convert the grants to Direct Unsubsidized Loans with interest