TEACH Grant Information
What is the TEACH Grant?
The Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program provides funding to students who are completing or plan to complete course work needed to begin a career in teaching.
As a condition for receiving a TEACH Grant, a student must sign a TEACH Agreement to Serve agreeing to (among other requirements) teach:
- In a high-need field
- At an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency that serves students from low-income families
- For at least four complete academic years within eight years after completing (or ceasing enrollment in) the course of study for which the grant was received
Upon graduation you must complete a TEACH Grant Exit Counseling and you will be contacted by your TEACH Grant servicer to certify you are completing your service obligation. This certification must be completed annually by October 31.
If a student does not complete the service obligation, all TEACH Grant funds received will be converted to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan which must be repaid to the U.S. Department of Education, with interest charged from the date the TEACH Grant was disbursed. If your previous TEACH Grant disbursements have been converted to a loan you may be eligible for reconsideration.
60% of APSU teacher graduates are employed in Tennessee the first year after graduation. Many of the remaining students take jobs in other states, at DOE schools, and at international schools.
How much does the TEACH Grant pay?
The amount of TEACH Grant funds available is dependent on a student's enrollment level for the semester. Due to the Budget Control Act of 2011, TEACH Grant amounts change every year on October 1st.
First disbursed between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2024:
| Enrollment Level | Semester Amount | Annual Amount |
| Full-time | $1,886.00 | $3,772.00 |
| 3/4 time | $1,414.50 | $2,826.00 |
| 1/2 time | $943.00 | $1,886.00 |
| < 1/2 time | $471.50 | $943.00 |
An undergraduate student cannot receive more than $16,000 in TEACH funds over the
course of the undergraduate degree program. A graduate student cannot receive more
than $8,000 in TEACH funds of the course of the graduate degree program.
Who can get a TEACH Grant?
To receive a TEACH grant, a student must:
- Be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate
- A post baccalaureate program, which is a non-degree program after the completion of a degree, is not TEACH Grant eligible at Austin Peay because a Bachelor’s degree in education is offered
- Be enrolled in a TEACH Grant eligible program
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 or demonstrate a score above the 75th percentile on a national standardized college admissions test
- Complete the College of Education’s Transition Point I (if an undergraduate student)
- Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- Complete an APSU Teach Grant Application annually.
- Complete TEACH Grant Counseling that explains the terms and conditions of the TEACH Grant service obligation. Counseling must be completed each year the TEACH Grant is used.
- Sign a TEACH Agreement to Serve
What are high-need fields?
- Bilingual education and English language acquisition
- English
- Foreign language
- Mathematics
- Reading specialist
- Science
- Social studies
- Special education
- Any other field that has been identified as high-need by the federal government, a state government, or a local education agency, and that is included in the annual Teacher Shortage Area Nationwide Listing (Nationwide List).
Schools and educational service agencies that serve low-income students
Elementary and secondary schools (public and private) and educational service agencies serving low-income students are listed in the annual Teacher Cancellation Low-Income Directory. In addition, elementary or secondary schools operated by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) or operated on Indian reservations by Indian tribal groups under contract or grant with the BIE qualify as low-income schools.