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Office of Financial Aid

TEACH Grant

(This grant may convert to a Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. See below for details.)

This program was established by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and was new in 2008-2009.

TEACH Grant Amounts

Eligible students may receive up to $4,000 per year in TEACH Grant funds. This amount will be pro-rated for less than full-time enrollment. The cumulative maximum total for undergraduate students is $16,000 and $8,000 for graduate students.

To Apply

To apply, students must complete online TEACH Entrance Counseling and an Agreement to Serve (ATS) on the Federal Student Aid website each year they receive a TEACH Grant.

Agreement to Serve and Entrance

Exit Counseling Required

After graduating or withdrawing from school, students must complete online TEACH Exit Counseling on the Federal Student Aid website.

TEACH Exit Counseling

Approved Majors

The following majors have been approved for the TEACH Grant:

Undergraduate Level
All Education majors  
Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
French
Biology
Mathematics
Business
Physics
Chemistry
Spanish
Graduate Level
M.A. Teaching
M.A. Literacy Education
M.A. Special Education
M.A. K-12 Education

(Graduate students who are pursuing a licensure only are not eligible for the TEACH Grant.)

Student Eligibility Requirements:

  • Students must sign an Agreement to Serve (ATS) each year they receive a TEACH Grant.
  • Students must complete entrance counseling annually.
  • Students must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
  • Undergraduate students must score above the 75th percentile on at least one admissions entrance test component (e.g., ACT, SAT) OR have a cumulative 3.25 GPA from their most recent schooling (high school GPA for first year undergrads, college GPA for continuing and transfer students).
  • GPA requirements do not apply to graduate students who are currently teachers or who are retiring and have expertise in a subject where there is a shortage of teachers.
  • Students must be completing the coursework required to become a teacher.
  • Recipients of a TEACH Grant must serve as a full-time, highly-qualified teacher in a high-need field, in a school serving low-income students for a minimum of 4 years within 8 years of completing their course of study.
This grant may become a loan.

If you receive a TEACH Grant but do not complete the required teaching service, or if you otherwise do not meet the requirements of the TEACH Grant Program, all TEACH Grant funds that you have received will be converted to a William D. Ford Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. The loan must be repaid in full, with interest (accrued from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement), to the Department of Education. Once a TEACH Grant is converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a grant.

Please note: Students who have a felony conviction may not be successful in obtaining a teaching position and therefore would not be able to fulfill the requirements of the Agreement to Serve. Failure to fulfill the Agreement to Serve obligation will result in the Teach Grant becoming an unsubsidized loan that must be repaid in full.

Highly-Qualified Teacher

For information regarding the requirements for a highly-qualified teacher, see the U.S. Department of Education website.

High-Need Field

High-need fields for purposes of the TEACH Grant Program, currently include:

Low-Income School

Schools serving low-income students include any elementary or secondary school that is listed in the Department of Education's Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.

See the Federal Student Aid TEACH Grant webpage for more detailed information regarding this grant or visit https://teach-ats.ed.gov/ats/index.action for a detailed fact sheet, FAQ, and to complete the Agreement to Serve.