FAFSA
Federal School Code
#003920
TEACH Grant
A TEACH (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education) Grant is a federal grant that provides up to $4,000 per award year (maximum of $8,000 for graduate level) to students who are completing or plan to complete course work needed to begin a career in teaching, and who agree to teach full-time for four years at an elementary or secondary school, or educational service agency serving students from low-income families in designated low-income areas. The four years of service must be completed within eight years of ceasing enrollment where the student received the grant.
Eligible TEACH Grant Majors
- Masters in Special Education and Early Childhood
- Early Childhood Special Education Accelerated Licensure Program (MSE)
- K-12 Special Education Accelerated Licensure Program (MSE)
- Reading Specialist (MSE)
- Bachelors Degrees
- Mathematics with Teaching Emphasis
- Middle and High School Natural Science
- Computer Science
- English as a Second Language, Secondary and Elementary
- Spanish
- Bilingual Education Spanish, Secondary and Elementary
- Bilingual Education Hmong, Secondary and Elementary
- Special Education – Cross-categorical
- Special Education – Dual Licensure
- Special Education – Double Major
A student must be enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible program to be eligible for a TEACH Grant. A student who is returning to school to take courses needed for teacher certification is not eligible for a TEACH Grant unless also enrolled in a TEACH Grant-eligible program.
Important Information: Conversion to a Loan
If you do not complete your service obligation, all TEACH Grant funds you received will be converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan. You must then repay this loan to the U.S. Department of Education, with interest charged from the date the TEACH Grant was disbursed (paid to you or on your behalf).
High Need Fields
- Bilingual education and English language acquisition
- Foreign language
- Mathematics
- Reading Specialist
- Science
- Special education
Other fields may be identified as a high need by the federal government, a state government, or a local education agency, and are included in the annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing.
If you plan to teach in a high-need field that is included in the Nationwide List, that field must be listed for the state where you teach either at the time you begin your qualifying teaching service or at the time you received a TEACH Grant.
Application Process Details
- Review the details and eligibility criteria above. If you are interested in more information, contact Elizabeth Bloedow at (920) 424-0454 or Bloedowe@uwosh.edu.
- Complete the TEACH Grant application. Your academic major/minor, and overall GPA will be assessed to determine if you meet the requirements.
- If you meet the requirements, an award will be originated. You will be required to complete an Agreement to Serve (ATS) and Initial and Subsequent Counseling with the Department of Education. Once completed, your funds will disburse to your student account.
- Students who wish to renew the grant each year are required to complete the following for each year they receive the grant.
- Formal exit counseling is required before the student graduates or ceases enrollment in TEACH Grant eligible program
| Undergraduate Students | Graduate Students | ||
| Semester Credits Enrolled | Grant Amount | Semester Credits Enrolled | Grant Amount |
| 1-5 | $472 | 1-4 | $472 |
| 6-8 | $943 | 4.5-6 | $943 |
| 9-11 | $1,415 | 6.75-8 | $1,415 |
| 12+ | $1,886 | 9+ | $1,886 |
These amounts are per semester and cannot exceed the Maximum academic (Fall, Spring, Summer) yearly amount of $3,772. You must be enrolled full-time in order to receive consideration for the full amount of the TEACH Grant. At the undergraduate level, enrollment of 12 credits or more each semester is considered full-time. At the graduate level, enrollment of 9 credits or more each semester is considered full-time.
As required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (the sequester law), any TEACH Grant where the first disbursement is on or after Oct. 1, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2025, requires a reduction of 5.7 percent from the award amount for which the student would otherwise have been eligible.
| Award Year | Impacted Awards | Statutory Maximum Scheduled Award Amount | Percentage Reduction from Statutory Award Amount | Dollar Reduction Amount from Maximum Award | Adjusted Maximum Award Amount |
|
2020-2025
|
First disbursed on or after October 1, 2020, and before October 1, 2024 | $4,000 | 5.7% | $228 | $3,772 |
FAQs
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What if I accept the TEACH Grant and then decide I don’t want it anymore?
If you no longer wish to receive the TEACH Grant and know for sure you will not be completing the service obligation, you should contact the U.S. Department of Education to request they convert the grant to a loan. Repayment of the loan will not begin until your six-month grace period (starts after you graduate or cease to be enrolled half-time) is over.
If you decide you no longer want the grant and it is accepted but not paid, you can contact Elizabeth Bloedow and request that she cancel the grant and remove any checklist items concerning the grant from your To-Do List, in Titan Web.
If you decide you no longer want the grant and it has already paid towards your bill, you have a couple options (we cannot cancel a disbursement after 120 days):
- You can request we cancel all future disbursements and keep the amount already accepted for current semester. However, you should expect that any paid grant amounts will convert to an unsubsidized loan.
- You can request we cancel any funds for the current term that have disbursed up to 14 days after disbursement, and all future disbursements, without further action. However, you will be required to pay the bill that is generated due to us canceling the grant.
- You can request we cancel any funds for the current term that have disbursed. However, after 14 days, you will be required to bring in a check for the amount we will be canceling (charging back to the bill).
What do I need to do to receive the TEACH Grant each year?
- Complete a FAFSA every year
- Be enrolled in a TEACH-eligible program of study (see list of qualifying major and minors above)
- Meet certain academic achievement requirements (score above the 75th percentile on one or more portions of an ACT/SAT test or maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25).
- Complete two online requires of TEACH Grant Entrance/Subsequent Counseling and the TEACH Agreement to serve or Repay every year.
- Be meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress
What is the GPA requirement for the TEACH Grant?
You may qualify for the TEACH Grant if you have a 3.25 GPA. If you qualify by GPA, you must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 in order to continue to receive the TEACH Grant. If you drop below a 3.25 GPA, you’ll lose the grant until you increase your GPA to at least 3.25.
What is the TEACH Grant Service Obligation?
In exchange for receiving a TEACH Grant, you must agree to:
- Serve as a full-time highly qualified teacher for four elementary or secondary school years at a school or educational service agency that serves low-income students.
- Teach more than 50% of your day in a high-need field; and
- Complete the required four years of teaching within eight years after you graduate from or otherwise cease to be enrolled at the institution of higher education where you received the TEACH Grant.
If you do not meet the requirements of your service obligation, all the TEACH Grants you received will be converted to Direct Unsubsidized Loans. You must repay these loans in full, with interest charged from the date of each TEACH Grant disbursement.
What happens if I end up not following through the “agreement to serve”?
If you do not complete the Service/Teaching Obligation that accompanies the TEACH Grant, it will convert to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan that you’ll be required to complete Conversion Counseling which reviews loan repayment and responsibilities.
How can I find out if a school I am interest in or am teaching at is considered “low income”?
Elementary and secondary schools (public and private) and educational service agencies serving low-income students are listed in the annual Teacher Cancellation Low-Income (TCLI) Directory. In addition, all elementary or secondary schools operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) on Indian reservations by Indian tribal groups under contract or grant with the BIE qualify as low-income schools, even if they’re not listed in the TCLI Directory.
What is the school I want to teach at is not on the low-income directory or my school falls off the directory?
Just because the school is not on the low-income directory now, does not mean that it will never qualify. Let’s say your third year of teaching your school ends up on the directory; your third year of teaching would count as your first year of the service obligation being completed. Even if the school falls off the directory the next year, you can stay where you are and have the following years count towards the service obligation.
Who do I contact if I have questions about my TEACH Grant and employment after I leave UW-Oshkosh?
If you have questions about your TEACH Grant certification, contact Federal Student Aid.
How do I document my qualifying teaching service?
After you have completed each one of your four years of required teaching, you must provide your TEACH Grant servicer with documentation of that teaching service. A form for documenting your qualifying teaching service will be available in the Forms Library.
This form must be certified by the chief administrative officer (authorized official) of the school or educational service agency (ESA) where you taught and must confirm for each school year:
- You were a highly qualified teacher,
- You taught in a low-income school or ESA,
- More than half of the classes that you taught during the school year being certified were in a high-need field. More information: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/teach#terms
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