Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant

For students who intend to teach full time in a high-need field at a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves students from low-income families

Recipients must fulfill a service obligation. If you fail to complete the service obligation:

  • The entire grant will be converted to a Federal Direct unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan, which you MUST REPAY.
  • You will be charged interest from the date the grant was disbursed.

High-need fields (subject to change):

  • Bilingual education
  • English language acquisition
  • Foreign language
  • Mathematics
  • Reading specialist
  • Science
  • Special education
  • Other identified high-need fields that are teacher subject shortage areas listed in the U.S. Department of Education's Annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing.

Effective July 1, 2010, If the field you will be teaching in was designated as a high-need field when you received the TEACH grant but is not when you begin to teach, you still can fulfill your service obligation by teaching in that field.

The field you teach in must be a high-need field in the state where you teach in order to satisfy your service requirements. For example, if music is a high-need field in Texas but not in Montana and you teach music in Montana, it will not satisfy your service obligation.

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


Eligibility requirements

In order to be eligible for this grant, you must:

  • complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid);
  • be eligible for federal financial aid;
  • be attending a college that meets the program’s academic requirements and be currently completing, or plan on completing, coursework necessary to begin a career in teaching (graduate degree alternatives exist for teachers or retirees with experience in a teacher shortage area);
  • have a grade point average of at least 3.25 for each payment period;
  • score above the 75th percentile on an admissions test (such as the SAT, ACT or GRE); and
  • sign a statement certifying that you understand the terms of the grant and the terms of your teaching service requirements.

For more information