TEACH Grant

The TEACH Grant provides funding of up to $4,000 per year to students who agree to serve for four years as a highly-qualified teacher in certain high-need fields at a low-income school.

Failure to Complete Service Obligation

Recipients who fail to complete the service obligation for this program will have their TEACH Grant(s) converted to Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans.  If the grant is converted to a loan, retroactive interest will be applied at 6.8% accrued from the date each grant was originally disbursed.  The federal Congressional Budget Office estimates that approximately 80% of students who receive a federal TEACH Grant will fail to complete the service requirement and thus have their federal TEACH Grants converted to loans.

The chart below shows an example of the interest charged and repayment amounts for a student who received $16,000 of TEACH Grant funds and failed to meet the service obligation of the program.

Eligibility

Only students pursuing a first Bachelor's degree or a Master's degree are eligible for a TEACH Grant at the University of Oregon. Students pursuing only a teacher licensure or a second Bachelor's degree are not eligible for the TEACH Grant.

Students must be actively pursuing coursework within a major that will enable them to teach in a federal or state-recognized high need field, at a low income school, as a highly qualified teacher.

High Need Fields

For purposes of the TEACH Grant, nationally recognized high-need fields are: mathematics, science, foreign language, bilingual education, English language acquisition, special education and reading specialist.

Individual states may recognize additional fields. These state-recognized fields are only valid for the TEACH Grant if recognized in the state in which you intend to teach. All fields designated by a state are subject to change each year and may no longer be considered a high need field by the time you begin your teaching service and would not then qualify as eligible service for the TEACH Grant.

For any student who submits this application, our office will review eligibility for the grant using information in a student's current academic record. However, there may be circumstances where the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships will need to request additional information from the student in order to document eligibility.  

Academic Requirements

Students must either earn a GPA of 3.25 or better based on their class status (as described below) or have scored in the 75th percentile or better on at least one battery of a nationally-normed admission test (such as SAT or GRE).   

Note that the GPA requirements may not apply to graduate students who are current or former teachers. 

TEACH Grant Exit Counseling

Any student who graduates or leaves the University of Oregon is required to complete TEACH Grant Exit Counseling within 30 days.

Advising

The Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships strongly recommends students take advantage of the advising services available to them for educator preparation program requirements and career opportunities.

• Karen Baldwin, Director of Teacher Education Degree Programs 346-1587  kbaldwin@uoregon.edu
• Jeff Edmundson, Director of Master's Degree Curriculum in Teacher Education 346-2490  jeffreye@uoregon.edu
• Brigid Flannery, Co-Major Director, Special Education 346-2496  brigidf@uoregon.edu
• Kathy Roberts, Major Director, Communication Sciences and Disorders 346-2588  robertsk@uoregon.edu
• Rachel Johnson, Undergraduate Academic Advisor, Educational Foundations  346-0658  rachelj@uoregon.edu
• Susan Hardwick, Pre-Education Advisor, College of Arts and Sciences 346-4557  susanh@uoregon.edu
• Katie Schumm, Pre-Education Academic Advisor, Adcademic Advising 346-1136  kschumm@uoregon.edu

 To Apply

1. Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for 2009-10

2. Complete an Agreement to Serve (ATS) with the US Department of Education each year 
3. Complete the 2009-10 TEACH Grant Application