TEACH Grant

Due to federal government sequestration, the award amounts listed on this page are subject to change. In the event of a change in an award amount, communications will be sent to the UNE e-mail address, and award updates can be viewed via U-Online.

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides grants of up to $3,716 per year to students who intend to teach in high need fields in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families. 

It is extremely important that you review all of this information prior to completing an Agreement to Serve.  You must teach in a school that serves low income students as well as teach a in a high need field to qualify. 

Conditions
In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to serve as a
full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students (see below for more information on high-need fields and schools serving low-income students). As a recipient of a TEACH Grant, you must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which you received a TEACH Grant.

IMPORTANT: If you fail to complete this service obligation, all amounts of TEACH Grants that you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education. You will be charged interest from the date the grant(s) was disbursed. Note: TEACH Grant recipients will be given a 6-month grace period prior to entering repayment if a TEACH Grant is converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan.

Student Eligibility Requirements
To receive a TEACH Grant you must meet the following criteria:

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), although you do not have to demonstrate financial need.   Answer yes to question 32.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Be enrolled as an undergraduate student in an elementary or secondary education program and teach a high need subject (see next section).   Or a graduate student in a masters of education program and teach a high need subject. 
• Meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admissions test or maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25).
• Complete the UNE TEACH Grant Information Form.
• Complete TEACH Grant Counseling.
• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (see below for more information on the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve).

High-Need Field
High-need fields are the specific areas identified below:

• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition.
• Foreign Language.
• Mathematics.
• Reading Specialist.
• Science.
• Special Education.
• Other identified teacher shortage areas as of the time you begin teaching in that field. These are teacher subject shortage areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing. To access the listing, please go to http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.

Elementary school teachers who teach many subjects would NOT be able to meet the service requirement.  You are required to teach in a high need subject area for the majority of the time (more than 50% of your time).

Schools Serving Low-Income Students
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. To access the Directory, please go to https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp.

TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve
Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve that is available electronically on the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve Web site. The TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded, the teaching service requirements, and includes an acknowledgment by you that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you must repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were disbursed. Specifically, the TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve will require the following: 

• For each TEACH Grant-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must serve as a full-time teacher for a total of at least four academic years within eight calendar years after you completed or withdrew from the academic program for which you received the TEACH Grant.

• You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher at a low-income school. The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.

• Your teaching service must be in a high-need field.

• You must comply with any other requirements that the Department of Education determines to be necessary.

• If you do not complete the required teaching service obligation, TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan that you must repay, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.

Award amounts
Undergraduate students
Full time (12 or more credits per semester) undergraduate students may receive $3,716 per year.  Less than full time students will receive partial awards as follows:  for 3/4 time students (9 - 11 credits) are eligible for $2,787 per year, for half time students (6 - 8 credits) are eligible for $1,858 per year, less than half time students (less than 5 credits) are eligible for $929 per year.  Funds are awarded for the fall and spring semesters.  The maximum amount of TEACH Grant funds available to undergraduate students is $14,864.

Graduate students
Full time (6 or more credits per semester) graduate students may receive $3,716 per year.  Half time students (3-5 credits) are eligible for $1,858 per year.  Funds are awarded over the summer, fall and spring semesters.  The maximum amount of TEACH Grant funds available to graduate students is $7,432.

IMPORTANT REMINDER
If you receive a TEACH Grant but do not complete the required teaching service, as explained above, you will be required to repay the grants as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.

Click here for the TEACH Grant Fact Sheet

Disclaimer
This page provides a preliminary summary of the TEACH Grant Program based on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. The information on this page is subject to change and is not binding on the Department of Education.