The University of Michigan is participating in the U.S. Department of Education's TEACH Grant Program, which is being implemented for the first time for the 2008-2009 academic year.

• Amount of Grant
• Teaching Obligation
• Service Agreement
• High-Need Subject Areas
• Eligibility
• Eligibility Criteria for U-M Students
• TEACH Grant-Eligible Programs at U-M
• Documentation
• How to Apply

AMOUNT OF GRANT:  

The TEACH Grant Program will provide up to $4,000 per year ($16,000 total for four-year undergraduate programs; $8,000 total for graduate studies) in grants to students who plan to teach full-time in high-need subject areas at schools that serve students from low-income families. Three-quarter-time students can receive up to $3,000 per year; half-time students can receive up to $2,000 per year; and less-than-half-time students can receive up to $1,000 per year.

Please note: Because total financial aid must not exceed the cost of attendance, receiving a TEACH Grant may reduce the recipient's eligibility for other sources of financial aid.

Grant recipients agree to teach for at least four years within eight years of finishing their teacher preparation program and to teach high-need subjects in designated schools that serve low-income students. If you do not complete the four-year teaching obligation, your grant will convert to an unsubsidized loan, which you will have to repay with interest calculated back to the date the funds were disbursed.

Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (service agreement), which is available electronically on the U.S. Department of Education web site. When you sign the service agreement, you are agreeing to repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grants funds were first disbursed, if you do not complete the teaching service requirement. If the grant is converted to a loan, it cannot be converted back to a grant.

HIGH-NEED SUBJECT AREAS:  

• Bilingual education and English language acquisition
• Foreign language
• Mathematics
• Reading
• Science
• Special education
• Other identified teacher shortage areas (see the U.S. Department of Education's nationwide listing of teacher shortage areas)

To be eligible for a TEACH Grant, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Be enrolled in coursework or plan to complete coursework toward a career in teaching and/or in a high-need subject area
• Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 as a high school graduate and maintain that GPA throughout your academic program (or score above the 75th percentile on at least one battery on a national standardized college admissions test)
• Complete TEACH Grant counseling and sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Service each year
• Complete a FAFSA, although you do not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR U-M STUDENTS:  
U-M students must be actively enrolled in either a graduate or an undergraduate teacher certification program administered through the School of Education and be majoring in one of the eligible critical need fields cited above. Note that:

• The University of Michigan does not offer any of the critical need fields as currently defined by the State of Michigan: these are predominately vocational in nature. 
• Most elementary teachers, unless teaching English as a Second Language or Special Education, will not meet the full-time teaching requirement in the critical need field. The University of Michigan does not offer a Special Education certification program.
• Students pursuing a second bachelor's degree or certification following a first bachelor's degree are not eligible for the TEACH Grant.

Graduate Master of Arts with Certification (MAC) Programs (major in subject area only)

• K-8 Reading Specialist or ESL only
• Elementary 6-8 Mathematics
• Elementary 6-8 Integrated Science
• Secondary Biology
• Secondary Chemistry
• Secondary Earth/Space Science
• Secondary Integrated Science
• Secondary Latin
• Secondary Mathematics
• Secondary French
• Secondary German
• Secondary Physics
• Secondary Spanish

Undergraduate Programs (major in subject area only)

• 6-8 Language Arts (ESL or Reading Specialist only)
• 6-8 Mathematics
• 6-8 Integrated Science
• Secondary Biology
• Secondary Chemistry
• Secondary Earth/Space Science
• Secondary English (ESL or Reading Specialist only)
• Secondary Integrated Science Comprehensive
• Secondary Integrated Science
• Secondary Latin
• Secondary Mathematics
• Secondary Environmental Studies
• Secondary French
• Secondary German
• Secondary Physics
• Secondary Spanish

You must confirm within 120 days of completing or otherwise ceasing enrollment in your teacher preparation program that you are fulfilling (or plan to fulfill) the terms and conditions of your service agreement or your grant will immediately revert to a loan. You must document your teaching service, and your documentation must be certified by the chief administrative officer at the school where you teach.

Students who are interested in applying for a TEACH Grant for the 2008-2009 academic year should:

• Complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for 2009-2010.
• Complete the U.S. Department of Education's Initital Counseling for the TEACH Grant. 
• Print and sign the TEACH Grant Application/Certification for U-M Students and submit the signed statement to the U-M Office of Financial Aid.
• If approved by a financial aid officer, students will be contacted via email regarding the requirement to sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve.