The 2011-2012 TEACH Grant application is now available.

The newly established Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program will be effective beginning July 1, 2008.  The TEACH Grant is awarded by The UA to students who are completing, or intend to complete, coursework to begin a career in teaching and who agree to serve for a minimum of four years as a full-time, highly-qualified, high-need field teacher in a low-income school. Eligible students must be degree seeking, as post-baccalaureate certification does not qualify UA students for this grant. This grant provides up to $4,000 a year in grant assistance to students with an aggregate limit for undergraduates or post-baccalaureate that cannot exceed $16,000.  The total amount that a graduate student may receive cannot exceed $8,000.  If the student is enrolled less than full-time, including less than half-time, the amount of the annual TEACH Grant that he or she may receive must be reduced accordingly.  For more information about the education field, teaching, and this grant visit the UA College of Education Website.

If students awarded the TEACH Grant do not complete the four years of qualified teaching service within eight years of completing the course of study for which the TEACH Grant was received, or otherwise fail to meet any other requirement of the TEACH Grant, the Grant will convert into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, with interest accrued and capitalized from the date of original disbursement.

In order to qualify, you must:

• Have a 3.25 cumulative GPA at a post-secondary institution when initially applying for the grant (first year students use your high school GPA) OR have scored above the 75th percentile on a battery of a standardized admissions test (e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE) once.
• Take coursework necessary to complete teacher certification in a high-need field.
• Complete the required application materials (see below).
• Be a Bachelor's or Master's degree-seeking student.

During college, you must:

• Be a degree seeking student.
• Maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA at The UA.
• Take coursework necessary to complete teacher certification in a high-need field.
• Complete TEACH Grant Exit Counseling right before graduation. – not yet available

In order to maintain grant status after graduation, you must:

• Serve as a full-time teacher in a low-income school, as a highly-qualified teacher, and in a high-need field for at least four years within eight calendar years of leaving the program for which you received the TEACH Grant.  For a listing of schools and teaching fields that qualify, visit the Nationwide List for the State in which you intend to teach.
• Write to the Secretary of Education (within 120 days of completing or otherwise leaving the program of study for which the TEACH Grant was received) confirming that you are employed as a full-time teacher in accordance with the terms of the TEACH Grant, or you are not yet employed as a full-time teacher but intend to meet the terms of the TEACH Grant service agreement.
• Upon completion of each year of teaching service, submit documentation of the service in the form of a certification by a chief administrative officer of the school.
• Comply with all other terms, conditions, and requirements that the Secretary of Education determines to be necessary.
  

To apply or renew your TEACH Grant submit the following: 

Note: If you have not yet completed at least one semester at a post-secondary institution. You will be required to submit an official, final high school transcript that shows a 3.25 unweighted cumulative GPA

The TEACH Grant Entrance Counseling from the Deparment of Education. The TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve from the Department of Education.Each of the above steps must be completed annually in order to receive the TEACH Grant.

Teaching Obligation
To avoid repaying the TEACH Grant with interest you must be a highly-qualified, full-time teacher in a high-need subject area for at least four years at a school serving low-income students. You must complete the four years of teaching within eight years of finishing the program for which you received the grant. You incur a four-year teaching obligation for each educational program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, however you may work off multiple four-year obligations simultaneously under certain circumstances. Specific definitions of these terms are included below.

Highly-Qualified Teacher
You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher, which is defined in federal law. The definition is appended to this informational sheet and can also be found online at: http://www.financialaid.arizona.edu/grants/highlyqualified

Full-Time Teacher
You must meet the state’s definition of a full time teacher and spend the majority (at least 51 percent) of your time teaching one of the high-need subject areas. Elementary teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill their service agreement.

High-Need Subject Areas

• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics
• Reading Specialist
• Science
• Special Education
• Other teacher shortage areas listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/pol/tsa.doc.

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 at https://www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp

There are other financial aid programs specific to teachers. Be sure to also review these programs.

Teach Grants FAQ