TEACH Grants

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program is a federal financial aid grant program available to students enrolled in eligible programs.

Students who receive a TEACH Grant must agree to teach in a high-need field, at a low-income elementary or secondary school as a highly qualified teacher, full-time for at least four years.

Students must meet the teaching requirements within eight years of completing the program for which the TEACH Grant was awarded. The student is required to sign a service agreement to this effect and complete all required counseling to receiving a TEACH Grant.

General Qualifications for the TEACH Grant

Students must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Have a valid FAFSA on file with the University and have an official EFC
• Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen
• Be admitted to and enrolled in a TEACH-eligible program and coursework at your university
• Have earned a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.25 or greater or meet certain academic achievement requirements (generally, scoring above the 75th percentile on a college admission test)
• Complete required TEACH Grant initial and subsequent counseling
• Sign an Agreement to Serve (ATS)
• Meet standard eligibility criteria for all Federal Title IV financial aid, such as not being in default on a student loan and maintaining satisfactory academic progress

Award Information

Academic Year Limit

Aggregate Limit**

*Based on full-time enrollment (amount may be reduced a small amount due to federal budget reductions)

**Aggregate limit: This is the combined lifetime limit from all schools.

The Agreement to Serve

TEACH Grant recipients are required to sign the Agreement to Serve (ATS) annually. The ATS is a legally binding document that:

• explains your TEACH Grant service obligation
• explains the conditions under which your TEACH Grant may be converted to a Direct Unsubsidized loan; and
• describes the repayment terms and conditions that apply, and your rights, responsibilities, and benefits if your TEACH Grant is converted to a loan.

Be sure to print and keep a copy of your signed ATS for future reference. You MUST sign an ATS every year you receive a TEACH Grant.

By signing a TEACH Grant ATS, you are agreeing to:

• meet the service obligation requirements of the TEACH Grant program

and

• repay, with interest, the full amount of all TEACH Grant funds you received that are converted a Direct Unsubsidized Loan if you did not meet your TEACH Grant service obligation.

TEACH Grant High-Needs Fields

More than half of the classes you will teach during each school year must be in a high-need field. Teacher shortage areas that qualify for TEACH service requirements are identified in the Teacher Shortage Areas annual listing. High-need fields across the nation are in schools that serve low-income students.

For purposes of the TEACH Grant program, high-need fields are:

• mathematics
• science
  
• foreign language
• bilingual education
• English language acquisition
• special education
  
• reading specialist
• any other field that has been identified as high-need by the federal government, a state government, or a local education agency, and is included in the Department of Education's annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing. The "other identified teacher shortage areas" are listed at the U.S. Department of Education site.

If you plan to teach in a high-need field included in the Nationwide Listing, that field must be listed for the state where you teach either:

• at the time you begin your qualifying teaching service in that field, even if the field later loses its high-need designation for the state in which you are teaching; or
• at the time you received a TEACH Grant, even if the field is no longer designated as high need for the state where you are teaching at the time you begin your qualifying teaching service in that field.

Note: The Nationwide Listing includes both subject areas and geographic shortage areas. To qualify based on teaching in a high-need field included in the Nationwide Listing, you must teach in a listed subject shortage area, not a geographic shortage area.

For 2018-19, the following are additional California Statewide Academic Disciplines or Subject Matter fields identified in the Nationwide Listing as TEACH Grant-eligible fields:

• English/drama/humanities
• mathematics/computer education
• science
• self-contained class
• special education (including State Special Schools)

Loan Conversion: Re-Consideration

• It is rare for CSU students to have their TEACH grants converted to loans.
• If, however, you did have your grant converted to a loan due to not complying with annual certification requirements and wish to request reconsideration, the U.S. Department of Education has established a process for reconsideration, described here.