Types of Aid

Amount: Up to $3,728 per year

The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides up to $3,728 per year in grants for graduate and undergraduate students who intend to teach full-time in high-need subject areas for at least four years at schools that serve students from low-income families.

Students may receive up to $16,000 for undergraduate study and up to $8,000 for graduate study. Part-time students are eligible, but the maximum grant will be reduced.

Student Eligibility Requirements

• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the year you are applying, although you do not have to demonstrate financial need. TWU School Code 003646.
• Complete the TWU TEACH Grant Application Form and submit to the TWU College of Professional Education, Stoddard Hall 2nd floor, for certification that you are taking coursework in an eligible program.
• Be a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Be enrolled in coursework that is necessary to begin a career in teaching or plan to complete such coursework. Coursework that will prepare a student to teach in a high-need subject area (e.g., math courses for a student who intends to be a math teacher) is acceptable.
• Meet the following academic achievement requirements:
  • Score above the 75th percentile on one of the following college admissions test(s) — SAT, ACT, or GRE, or
  • Graduate from High School with a Cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale AND maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 throughout your academic program for which you receive a TEACH Grant.
• Complete TEACH Grant counseling
• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay each year with the U.S. Department of Education (Agreement must be completed if you are awarded a TEACH Grant)

TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay

Each year you receive a TEACH Grant, you must sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve and Promise to Pay (service agreement) that is available electronically on the Department of Education Web site. The TEACH Grant service agreement specifies the conditions under which the grant will be awarded, the teaching service requirements, and includes an acknowledgment by you that you understand that if you do not meet the teaching service requirements you must repay the grant as a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, with interest accrued from the date the grant funds were first disbursed. Specifically, the TEACH Grant service agreement will provide that.

Teaching Obligation

To avoid repaying the TEACH Grant as a loan with interest you must be a highly-qualified, full-time teacher in a high-need subject area for at least four years within eight years of finishing the program at a school serving low-income students. Specific definitions of these terms are included below.

Definitions

Highly-Qualified Teacher: You must perform the teaching service as a highly-qualified teacher. The term highly-qualified teacher is defined in section 9101(23) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or in section 602(10) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Full-Time Teacher: You must meet the state’s definition of a full-time teacher and spend the majority (at least 51 percent) of your time teaching one of the high-need subject areas. Elementary school teachers who teach many subjects would not be able to fulfill their service agreement.

High-Need Subject Areas: 

• Bilingual Education and English Language Acquisition
• Foreign Language
• Mathematics
• Reading Specialist
• Science
• Special Education
• Other teacher shortage areas identified at the time you begin teaching. These are subject areas (not geographic areas) that are listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Teacher Shortage Area

Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Listing

Schools Serving Low-Income Students: Schools serving low-income students include any elementary or secondary school that is listed in the Department of Education’s Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.

Documentation

For each TEACH-eligible program for which you received TEACH Grant funds, you must also provide documentation to the federal Department of Education that you completed your teaching obligation. TEACH Grant recipients must also confirm to the federal Department of Education in writing within 120 days of completing or otherwise ceasing enrollment in the TEACH-eligible program that they are fulfilling (or planning to fulfill) the terms and conditions of the service agreement. Documentation of the teaching service must be certified by the elementary or secondary school’s chief administrative officer, upon completion of four academic years of teaching service. This documentation must show that you were a full-time, highly-qualified teacher at a school serving low-income students, teaching a high need subject area for at least four years.

Failure to complete the teaching obligation or properly document your teaching service will cause the teach grant to be permanently converted to a loan with interest. Once a grant is converted to a loan it can’t be converted back to a grant.

How to apply for the TEACH Grant at TWU

1. Complete the FAFSA — Request your FAFSA information be sent to TWU – Title IV Code 003646
2. Complete the TWU Certification and Information Form (required for disbursement) and submit to the TWU Financial Aid Office.
3. Complete the TEACH Grant Request Form
   1. Submit to the TWU College of Professional Education (COPE) for completion
   2. COPE will forward completed form to TWU Financial Aid Office

Reminder

Failure to complete the teaching obligation or properly document your teaching service will cause the TEACH grant to be permanently converted to a loan with interest. Once a grant is converted to a loan it cannot be converted back to a grant.

Limited funding for the College for all Texans Educational Aide Exemption (EAE) Program is available for eligible teacher candidates pursuing high-need certification areas and who are working full-time as an Educational Aide in a Texas public school district. Eligibility does not guarantee selection for this award. If selected for this award, candidates will be exempt from student teaching and the payment of tuition and certain fees the semester prior to student teaching. Eligibility requirements include:

• TWU Educator Preparation Program EAE Application
• Current College for All Texans EAE Application filed with TWU's Financial Aid Office
• 3.0 grade point average or higher
• All other degree requirements met and a minimum of 120 credit hours successfully completed on degree plan in order to graduate
• All practice and state certification exams passed
• 2 letters of recommendation; one from the campus principal; one from a campus colleague who is not a direct supervisor.
• 250 word statement as to how the EAE will support your professional development
• Resume

How to Apply

• Have your Free Application for Federal Student Aid or Texas Application for State Financial Aid completed and submitted in a non-rejected status as early as possible after October 1 annually.
• Check the College for All Texans website for deadlines, requirements, and the application.
  
  • EAE Frequently Asked Questions

Contact the Associate Dean for Research, Inclusion, and Innovation: 

Jorge Figueroa Flores, PhD
jfigueroa2@twu.edu 
940-898-2273
Stoddard 202

Find out more information on:

• College Credit for Heroes
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• Complete Veterans & Military Resources

Texas Woman’s is proud to serve those who have served. TWU has been named a Military Friendly® School. The 2022-2023 Military Friendly Schools list recognizes higher education institutions for exhibiting leading practices in recruiting and supporting post-military students.

Texas Woman’s also ranked among the Military Times’ Best Colleges for 2020. Formerly known as Best for Vets, the rankings factor in the results of Military Times’ annual survey, a comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement.

TeachDFW and Teach for Houston are TWU partners. They are non-profit organizationz that partner with Educator Preparation Programs to provide future Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston area teachers with one-on-one career advising, scholarships, how-to guides from experts, financial assistance toward application/testing fees, and more.

They will help you apply with confidence. Sign up now to gain free access to:

• $100 towards program application expenses
• 1-on-1 career coaching from local teachers
• Applications made easy how-to guides
• $1,000 scholarships to fund your education