TEACH Grants

Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grants are authorized in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which was enacted into law in fall 2007 to amend Title IV, Part A, of the Higher Education Act.

These non-need-based grants are used to recruit teachers into hard-to-staff fields and hard-to-staff schools. Grants of up to $16,000 ($4,000/year) for undergraduates and $8,000 for graduate students preparing to be teachers in high-need fields can be used to cover the cost of tuition and related expenses. Students at eligible institutions qualify to receive TEACH grants by scoring in the top 25th percentile on college admissions tests such as the SAT or ACT and remain eligible by maintaining at least a cumulative 3.25 GPA.

Upon completion of their program, grantees must complete a 4-year teaching service obligation in a high-need field at a school that receives Title I funds. Note that if the service obligation is not completed, the TEACH grant funds convert to a loan for which the recipient is responsible.

In order to offer TEACH grants, both the teacher preparation program and the host institution must meet eligibility requirements. For details, see the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid. For the 2016-17 academic year, institutions in every state, Puerto Rico, and Guam disbursed TEACH grants.

Read AACTE’s recommendations to improve TEACH Grants.

Last Updated September 2021

Staff Contact: Michael Rose