A TEACH Grant is a federal financial aid program that provides grants of up to $4,000 a year to students who are enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible program and who agree to teach a highly needed subject in a low-income area where there’s a shortage of specific subject teachers in an elementary or secondary school. The program is designed to encourage students to become teachers in high-need fields and low-income schools. Here are some key features of the TEACH Grant program:
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Eligibility: To be eligible for a TEACH Grant, you must be enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible program, meet basic requirements for federal financial aid, submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year, and attend a participating TEACH Grant school as an undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, or graduate student.
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Award amount: If youre awarded a grant, you can get up to $4,000 a year while you’re in school. A student may receive up to $16,000 in TEACH Grants for undergraduate and post-baccalaureate study, and up to $8,000 for a TEACH Grant-eligible graduate program.
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Service agreement: If you participate in the TEACH Grant program, you’re required to complete a minimum four years of service within the first eight years of graduating or leaving school. To fulfill the service agreement, you must work as a full-time, highly qualified teacher serving low-income students at an elementary school, secondary school, or educational agency. The program also requires that you teach a high-need subject.
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Consequences of not fulfilling the service agreement: If you dont complete the required teaching service, the grant becomes a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan that must be repaid.
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Eligible subject areas: There are a number of eligible subject areas for which you can receive a TEACH Grant, including bilingual education and English language acquisition, foreign language, mathematics, reading specialist, science, special education, and any other field that has been identified as high-need by the federal or state government, or a local education agency.
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Eligible schools: You must teach at a low-income school or educational agency.
