TEACH Grant Program

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program can provide students with college grants up to $4,000 per year. These TEACH Grants are for students that plan on teaching in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families.

Conditions of the TEACH Grant

If you receive a TEACH Grant, you have to agree to serve as a full-time teacher in a high-need field in a private or public elementary or secondary school that provides for low-income students.

If you receive a TEACH Grant, you agree to teach at least four academic years within eight calendar years of finishing the program of study for which you were awarded the TEACH Grant.

It is important to note, that if you fail to complete this obligation of service, all amounts of TEACH Grants that you received will be converted over to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You have to repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the time you received the TEACH Grant money.

TEACH Grant Eligibility Requirements

In order to receive a TEACH Grant, you need to:

1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), but you don't need to show a financial need.

2. Be a citizen of the United States or eligible non-citizen.

3. Currently be enrolled as an undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, or graduate student in a postsecondary school that has decided to participate in the TEACH Grant Program.

4. Be enrolled in classes that are necessary for you to begin a teaching career.

5. Meet specific academic requirements (maintain a GPA of at least 3.25 or score above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test).

6. Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve.

What are High-Need Fields?

High-need fields are identified as areas with a shortage of teachers at the time you receive the TEACH Grant or at the time you being teaching in that field. Examples of these teacher shortage areas are English, Bilingual Education, Mathematics, Science, Reading Specialist, and Special Education.

Areas of teacher shortages are listed in the U.S. Education Department's annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing.

How do you locate schools serving low-income students?

Elementary or secondary schools that serve low-income students is listed in the U.S. Education Department's annual directory of designated low-income schools for teacher cancellation benefits.

TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve

Every year that you receive a TEACH Grant, you need to sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve that is available on the U.S. Education Department Web site. The Agreement to Serve outlines the specific conditions by which the grant is awarded and the teaching service requirements.

Included in the agreement is your acknowledgment that you understand if you don't meet the teaching service conditions that you have to repay the TEACH Grant. Essentially, the grant becomes a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You will have to pay interest from the date that you received the grant funds.

If you want to learn more about the TEACH Grant Program, contact the financial aid office at the college where you will be enrolled to determine if the school participates in the TEACH Grant Program.