Special Grants & Loan Programs
Your desired program at Teachers College may come with federal financial aid that is specific to your field of study. These special federal aid programs exist to encourage students like you to use your graduate school education to help meet national needs. The federal TEACH Grant (for teachers) or the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (for nurse educators) may apply to your program.
This grant provides funding to help cover the costs of certain graduate programs in education. Federal TEACH Grants are split up into two equal payments for the Fall and Spring terms. You may not be eligible for as much aid from other sources if you accept a TEACH Grant, so be sure the grant is a good fit for you before accepting it.
Each year that you accept a TEACH Grant, you sign an agreement to meet specific teaching requirements after you graduate. The agreement obligates you to teach full-time for four years within 8 years of finishing your program, in a high-need field and a low-income school.
Important note: Although this is a grant and not a loan, the TEACH Grant can be converted to a Federal Unsubsidized Loan in the future. If your plans do not include teaching a high-need subject in a low-income school, then this grant may not be suitable for you. Please review the terms and conditions for your TEACH Grant by logging into your account on the StudentAid.gov website.
Check out the Federal Student Aid site for more details on requirements, eligibility, and certification.
At Teachers College, we offer many programs that lead to initial or dual teaching certification. If you are a U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen enrolled in one of the programs below, you may qualify for a TEACH Grant.
- Applied Behavior Analysis - Dual Certification (MA-ABAS-DU)
- Bilingual/Bicultural Childhood Education - Dual Certification (MA-BILC-DU)
- Bilingual/Bicultural Education - Initial Certification (MA-BILG-IN)
- Bilingual/Childhood/Special Ed - Dual Certification (MA-BILS-DU)
- Biology 7-12 - Initial Certification (MA-SCIB-IN)
- Chemistry 7-12 - Initial Certification (MA-SCIC-IN)
- Earth Science 7-12 - Initial Certification (MA-SCIE-IN)
- Physics 7 -12 - Initial Certification (MA-SCIP-IN)
- Deaf Ed & Reading Specialist - Dual Certification (ME-DHRI-DU)
- Deaf HH/Adolescent Education - Dual Certification (ME-DHAE-DU)
- Deaf HH/Early Childhood Education - Dual Certification (ME-DHEI-DU)
- Deaf HH/Childhood - Dual Certification (ME-DHCI-DU)
- Deaf and Hard of Hearing - Initial Certification (ME-DHEA-IN)
- Early Childhood Special Education - Initial Certification (MA-ECSE-IN)
- Early Childhood/Special Education - Dual Certification (MA-ECSE-DU)
- Special Elementary Inclusive Ed - Initial Certification (MA-SIEE-IN)
- Elementary Inclusive Education - Dual Certification (MA-ELEM-DU)
- Intellectual Disability/Autism Early Childhood - Dual Certification (ME-ITDE-DU)
- Intellectual Disabilities/Adolescence Ed - Initial Certification (MA-ITDA-IN)
- Intell Disab/Autism - Dual Certification (MA-ITDS-DU)
- Mathematics Education - Initial Certification (MA-MATH-IN)
- Reading Specialist - Initial Certification (MA-READ-IN)
- Secondary Inclusive Education - Initial Certification (MA-CUSE-IN)
- Teaching of English - Initial Certification (MA-ENGL-IN)
- TESOL - Initial Certification (MA-TESL-IN)
- Physical Education - Initial Certification (MA-PHED-IN)
- Teaching of Social Studies - Initial Certification (MA-SSTE-IN)
- Teaching of English/TESOL - Dual Certification (MA-TSEN-DU)
- Inclusive Elementary Education - Dual Certification (MA-ELEM-DU)
Special Cohort Programs
A special cohort program is a graduate program that enrolls groups of students who progress through their studies on the same schedule. If you enroll in a special cohort program and are not taking Fall/Spring classes, the Registrar’s Office will enroll you in a course such as IND 9999 to maintain your enrollment. Please note that non-enrollment resulting in an inactive student status could result in your TEACH Grant being converted to a loan. Unfortunately, retroactive fixes cannot reverse this process if your TEACH Grant has already been converted into a loan. It is your responsibility to remain in close contact with the Office of the Registrar and your grant servicer if you are enrolled in a cohort program.
Nurse Faculty Loan Program
If you can commit to becoming a nurse educator after graduation, the Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) could give you extra loan help and potential loan forgiveness. The program aims to train nurse faculty in order to help fill vacancies in the medical education system.
Are You Eligible?
This is a federal program, so you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. To qualify, you must show a clear commitment to pursuing the nurse educator career path after you graduate. In addition, you must submit a new FAFSA for each year that you want to receive NFLP funding. You must be enrolled in graduate school as a half-time student or greater.
Learn more about the Nurse Faculty Loan Program [PDF].