TEACH Grant

Learn more about the TEACH Grant

The TEACH Grant is a federal program that provides grants to students who plan to teach full time in high-need subject areas at schools serving students from low-income families.

If you receive the TEACH Grant but do not fulfill the requirements of the program, 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.

Amount of grant

Full-time students may receive up to $4,000 per year ($16,000 total for undergraduates; $8,000 total for graduates). The grant amount will be reduced for students attending less than full time. (Three-quarter time students may receive up to $3,000, half-time students up to $2,000, and less-than-half time students up to $1,000).

Grant requirements

1. Teaching obligation

Within eight years of finishing your teacher preparation program, you must teach at least four years of high-need subjects in designated schools that serve low-income students. If you do not complete the teaching obligation, your grant will convert to an unsubsidized loan, which you will have to repay with interest accrued from the date the funds were first disbursed.

High-need subject areas

bilingual education and English language acquisition

foreign language

mathematics

reading

science

special education

other identified teacher shortage areas (listed by state)

2. Sign a service agreement annually

Each year that you receive a TEACH grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve (ATS). This agreement specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded and the teaching service requirements, and will require you to acknowledge that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you must repay the grant as an unsubsidized loan, with interest accrued from the date the funds were first disbursed.

3. Complete counseling

You will be required to complete online counseling through the financial aid office each year that you accept a TEACH Grant. You will also be required to attend exit counseling when you graduate or leave school.

Grant eligibility

To be eligible for the TEACH Grant you must:

Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
Complete TEACH Grant entrance counseling and sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Service (ATS) each year
Be enrolled in coursework or plan to complete coursework toward a career in teaching 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 section (English, math, reading) of a national standardized college admission test (SAT or ACT).
Complete the FAFSA, although you do not have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible

Eligibility at Calvin

Calvin students must either have been accepted into the education program (undergraduate or graduate) or be intending to apply to the education program after having completed the required prerequisite courses (e.g. EDUC 102, 202). Students must be majoring or minoring in one of the eligible programs offered at Calvin (see chart below). Note that:

Most elementary teachers, unless they are pursuing a degree in teaching English as a second language or special education, will not meet the full-time teaching requirement in a critical need field.
Students pursuing a second bachelor’s degree or certification following a first bachelor’s degree are not eligible for the TEACH Grant.
Calvin College does not offer any of the other identified teacher shortage areas as these are predominately vocational in nature.

Browse a complete list of education majors and minors and the coursework required for each.

Program	Elem. Major (K-8)	Elem. Minor (K-8)	Sec. Major (6-12)	Sec. Minor (6-12)	K-12 Major
Bilingual Spanish		X		X
Biology			X	X
Chemistry			X	X
Earth/Space Science			X	X
English as a Second Language		X		X
French	X	X	X	X
German	X	X	X	X
Integrated Science	X	X	X
Latin			X	X
Learning Disabilities (K-12)*
Mathematics	X	X	X	X
Physics			X	X
Reading Specialist (K-12)*
Spanish	X	X	X	X	X
Special Education					X

*TEACH grants are available for master's level students in the Learning Disabilities or Literacy programs.

After graduation